Anxious puppy
Posted: 10 Apr 2021, 13:13
Hello everyone!
Our MS puppy Malik is 5.5 months old and completely won our hearts. He’s wonderfully smart and makes us laugh every day. He’s thriving in many respects and making progress in the areas that are challenging for him.
I’m writing hoping some of you great folks could share some insight on anxiety in puppies. I’m not sure whether Malik’s anxiety is a completely normal puppy behaviour or whether there is something we can do to work on it. It seems to be a very fine line for him between anxiety and excitement. For example, he loves walks, but when we’re getting ready to take him for a walk and he’s waiting, he gets anxious - yawning, panting, occasionally whimpering. When he recognises that we are going somewhere exciting he acts the same way. He adores other dogs (too much - we’re working on it) but he wants to play with every dog so badly that he cries and barks and pulls (if on leash) to get to them, and gets very upset when they leave. Today he actually bolted so fast to get to a dog that he broke off from the leash and ran across the street! Luckily he wasn't hurt but it was very scary.
He was a very fearless puppy until recently and still doesn’t seem very fearful but he is showing some fears - doesn’t seem comfortable with heights, he is fine being carried but grooming table and trolley both make him very nervous (he’s perfectly fine being groomed when he’s on the ground... but my back isn’t). He’s recently been nervous in the car and recently gotten really bad separation anxiety (he used to be fine left alone, we haven’t been leaving him alone very often or for very long and very suddenly he started being extremely anxious when left alone. We have always left him well exercised, with things he likes to occupy him).
He just seems much more nervous and wound up than any of his puppy friends. I'm not sure if he is just a normal, very alert schnauzer puppy going through a fear period, or if he is struggling. Otherwise he is a very healthy puppy, very well bred, fairly high drive and gets plenty of exercise and mental stimulation, he enjoys training, is eating and sleeping well, growing well, he’s rarely anxious or misbehaving at home... We are fairly firm with him but I think we are fair, we love him, he’s very bonded to us, and a very affectionate and sweet boy.
Any advice is much appreciated!
Our MS puppy Malik is 5.5 months old and completely won our hearts. He’s wonderfully smart and makes us laugh every day. He’s thriving in many respects and making progress in the areas that are challenging for him.
I’m writing hoping some of you great folks could share some insight on anxiety in puppies. I’m not sure whether Malik’s anxiety is a completely normal puppy behaviour or whether there is something we can do to work on it. It seems to be a very fine line for him between anxiety and excitement. For example, he loves walks, but when we’re getting ready to take him for a walk and he’s waiting, he gets anxious - yawning, panting, occasionally whimpering. When he recognises that we are going somewhere exciting he acts the same way. He adores other dogs (too much - we’re working on it) but he wants to play with every dog so badly that he cries and barks and pulls (if on leash) to get to them, and gets very upset when they leave. Today he actually bolted so fast to get to a dog that he broke off from the leash and ran across the street! Luckily he wasn't hurt but it was very scary.
He was a very fearless puppy until recently and still doesn’t seem very fearful but he is showing some fears - doesn’t seem comfortable with heights, he is fine being carried but grooming table and trolley both make him very nervous (he’s perfectly fine being groomed when he’s on the ground... but my back isn’t). He’s recently been nervous in the car and recently gotten really bad separation anxiety (he used to be fine left alone, we haven’t been leaving him alone very often or for very long and very suddenly he started being extremely anxious when left alone. We have always left him well exercised, with things he likes to occupy him).
He just seems much more nervous and wound up than any of his puppy friends. I'm not sure if he is just a normal, very alert schnauzer puppy going through a fear period, or if he is struggling. Otherwise he is a very healthy puppy, very well bred, fairly high drive and gets plenty of exercise and mental stimulation, he enjoys training, is eating and sleeping well, growing well, he’s rarely anxious or misbehaving at home... We are fairly firm with him but I think we are fair, we love him, he’s very bonded to us, and a very affectionate and sweet boy.
Any advice is much appreciated!