View Full Version : What is your dog afraid of?
I don't know if this question has ever been raised here but I was just curious. Yesterday was "Township Day" and it ended with fireworks. It is held in a field about a mile from my home and the noise was such that we might as well have been right there. Bella felt the need to bark during the finale :rolleyes: and Ripley sat on the sofa and shook off and on. I felt bad for the little guy. :rolleyes: Later on my son came home and he had bought a new umbrella. (We have had unbelievable amounts of rain around here, but that's another story! LOL) Well, when he pushed the button to open it Ripley started barking at the opened up umbrella. When you push the button again it automatically closes up. Instead of barking at it as it closed up he jumped straight up in the air and backwards. Needless to say my son found this very funny and play the 'umbrella game' a few times. Each time Ripley responded the same way. :) We were both laughing so hard! Silly boy!
Is your dog afraid of anything?
lovemyshiba
06-09-2003, 06:44 AM
Pam, I hear you about the rain:rolleyes:
Anyway, Abbey is our scaredy-dog. She is afraid of so much. I haven't had them for fireworks yet, but it's coming up soon--our town does a huge show for the 4th. Abbey is afraid of the guitar, the drums (she barks and howls incessantly when my husband plays--I had to make a new rule that he could only play when I'm not home), the brush, and plenty of other inanimate objects. Thunderstorms don't bother her though.
Kito is more skittish than afraid--he acts all tough, but if there's a loud noise when he's lying down, he jumps so high--it's funny!!
Riley is a tough guy--he's only afraid of Kito and cats. All Kito has to do is look at him and he runs. And I took him to my friend's house with cats, and he hid the whole time.
slleipnir
06-09-2003, 10:30 AM
Can I say everything? Cause thats what Zeke seems to be afraid of ;) lol
chloe's mom
06-09-2003, 12:00 PM
Chloe is very afraid of the vacuum. When she was a puppy, she chewed through the cord. We fixed it and she chewed through it in 6 places. She really doesn't like the vaccum. Lucky for her, I don't use the vacuum any more frequently than I absolutely must. Other than the vacuum, she is a pretty fearless dog. Her cousin Jaxun, on the other hand, shakes uncontrollably in fear at fireworks, thunder and other loud noises. (he is not bothered by the vacuum)
binka_nugget
06-09-2003, 06:01 PM
Kai seems to find fireworks amusing. He heard fire crackers a few times and he just starting barking and running to the window to find out who it was. lol..silly pooch. He's also afraid of my dad. Kai tends to be a bit shy with strangers (unless they're in our house, then he just "welcomes" them with a half an hour barking session). A funny thing that he is afraid of is the plastic bottom of his crate. I take it out to clean since he eats his raw bones/food in there and he just ran away from me, so I started chasing him with it LOL.
Originally posted by lovemyshiba
Abbey is afraid of the guitar, the drums (she barks and howls incessantly when my husband plays--
:D :D :D My son also plays guitar but the dogs don't seem to notice or mind. I can just imagine Abbey howling along with the music. I have seen videos like that on Animal Planet and they are soooo funny! I think it's a hound thing because they are usually bassets or beagles! LOL!
Cincy'sMom
06-09-2003, 07:19 PM
Cincy is afraid of loud noises...thunder if she is outside, fireworks, the vacuum etc. She has gotten so much better inthe last year though (since last 4th of July) I hope when this year's festivities roll around we don't go backward!!!
I have seen prodcuts "Comfort Zone" which I think is simialar to Feliway or rescue remedy , but designed for Dogs. I know several people on the cats side of things have used similar products to help ease the stress of their cats. Anyone ever tried something lile this for the dogs?
micki76
06-09-2003, 08:25 PM
Chester's afraid of almost nothing. Can't think of anything. Millie's afraid of everything. Big dogs, cats, cameras, hair dryer freaks her out. Pretty much anything new or unusual. My RB Stolly was afraid of cameras, flashlights, brooms and mops, and thunder. :)
lovemyshiba
06-09-2003, 09:38 PM
Oh, boy, I can't believe I forgot about the hair dryer--Abbey cannot handle it!!! She and Kito used to go crazy over the vaccuum too, and we finally sat her down and told her she needs to accept the household appliances,lol. The hair dryer just drives her nuts though--she barks and jumps at it!!!
I Love Brian, Forever <3
06-09-2003, 11:15 PM
Molli, Zoe and Rosie are all afraid of Iggie, my iguana. Bart finds her very interesting. Rose, my 200 lb. rottweiler is afraid of Riley, my hamster.:eek: lol!!! :D Iggie is afraid of the cats and the vacuum. Bart is afraid of the vacuum and me for some reason. Louie, the tokay gecko, is afraid of me. But that's EVERY tokay gecko. ;) :D
I don't know if you could say that Ripley is afraid of the vacuum but he barks at it and tries to bite it if I vacuum close to where he is. I think the little light bothers him. HA! :rolleyes:
Cisco's Mom
06-10-2003, 07:37 AM
Very intersting to read about all of ya'lls fur babies fears. Cisco never use to be scared of anything until...One day when we were sitting in a bench on St. Gearge st in St. Sugustine, Fl were it is very crowded most of the time. Well, some young boys had a couple boxes of those snap things. Ya know those things ya throw on the ground and they pop kindda like a firecracker. One of the boys ran right up to the end of the bench and threw a couple of them on the ground!!! Absolutely scared my poor Cisco out of his skin!!(he was sleeping). I didn't see it coming and couldn't avoid it. Now Cisco is afraid of anything that makes a similiar sound.:(
redruby
06-10-2003, 08:05 AM
FAlon and Shadow are afraid of my boyfriend. falon and Rikki are afraid of vaccuums and brooms (why brooms.....?) BEau is to stupid to be afraid of anything. i also think rikki is afraid to be alone...
my dog is scared of..........EVERYTHING!!!.......he's scared of the wind,rain,toys,food,me,my family,literally everything!
he will walk up to you so you can pet him,but he will get scared after a few min.
Tiffany is afraid of the {{{ DARK}}} and not being able to see me around the corner. She boltted inside and once, and crashed into my legs she was running so fast one night after being outside for toilet.
WWFanz
06-10-2003, 02:58 PM
My "smaller" dog is afraid of almost everything. My other dog isn't scared of anything....except for one of my dad's friends.
wolf_Q
06-11-2003, 01:15 AM
Smokey is afraid of NOTHING. Fireworks? No problem. Hairdryer? As long as it stays away from the face, no problem. Sticking your head in a bowl of food belong to a dog 5 times your size while he growls at you? No problem, eat away!!
Reggie is afraid of EVERYTHING. Fireworks are horrible, or anything that sounds remotely close to fireworks. He will jump in the shower with me if he hears them. During July we find Reggie in very odd places. Strange objects and sounds are also terrifying. Balloons are among the ultimate evil, the vacuum cleaner is rather scarey also.
Nebo is the in-between dog.........he's afraid of the vacuum cleaner. That's the only object I can think of. He doesn't mind hair dryers at all....and I use the big strong (and loud) force dryer on him. I don't think he's really experienced fireworks yet. He is afraid of random people on a random basis. He'll be fine with one person, and terrified of the next (for no apparent reason) within minutes. He's ok with most people, and rather friendly to some. Others he hides behind my legs. Of course, nobody is as scarey as my friends brother, Craig....I've never seen a dog so afraid of a person (there's no logic to this either). :rolleyes:
Tonya
06-11-2003, 02:28 AM
Raven (kitty) is afraid of everything, including us. We can't make sudden movements around her. Her litter was tortured, so it's taken years for her to warm up to us.
Dusty (aussie-husky) and Roxy (husky) are fearless. Well, Roxy gets really upset if I yell at her. I have to be really careful with how I discipline her.
Ron's only fear is an empty food bowl.
Teddy's is my son's pony on a stick. He thinks it's alive.
Fuzzy317
06-11-2003, 02:32 AM
Eli is afraid of a B-A-T-H. He even knows how its spelled. :)
Sassee is afraid she won't get feed or treats.
Ginger is afraid she will miss out on something. :rolleyes:
cloverfdx
06-11-2003, 08:51 AM
Absolutely scared my poor Cisco out of his skin!!(he was sleeping). I didn't see it coming and couldn't avoid it. Now Cisco is afraid of anything that makes a similiar sound.
awww that is just awfull poor lil cisco:(
clover is afraid of some people (moslty men :) which is good) i like her to be cautious, oh and fireworks that she witnessed on the weekend (had left the dogs in the caravan to got to a dinner just near where the caravans were and a whole load of fireworks were being set off and clover freaked and nearly crashed down the caravan door) :( so she ended up joining us and quite a few other terrified dogs in the function room :) ohh the cat (yumi the tabby) lmao
penny isnt afraid of much, just the bathroom (sink, and bath tub) ahh water say puddle's and lake's creeks, ponds (but enjoys her baths) overly excited large dogs thats about it
theodore is afraid of alot more , strangers (90% men), overly excited big dogs, the vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, lol the cat sometime's, the dog obedience club (club rooms only, where puppy pre school was and he did not enjoy puppy pre school)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p3a50f3b726da09af94ed88d5dc809c16/fbf54a4e.jpg
Cameron is afraid of old men who wear hats (sad story about that dog)
ParNone
06-11-2003, 09:43 AM
Maddie and Murph aren't afraid of anything, if they're in the
house. They don't like fireworks or big storms, if they're
outside though. I was painting inside one day and they were
both outside. All of a sudden they went nuts, scratching and
whining at the door to come in. Very unlike them. I wasn't sure
what the deal was. Couldn't see anything out of the ordinary,
but I let them inside, since their behavior was definitely out of the
ordinary. Not 2 minutes later a whopper of a hail storm came
through. Next time I'll listen to them even better and get the
car in the garage too.
Oz is a lil' more wary of things. He's overcome a lot of fears
through socialization, like walking through doorways, taking
a bath, riding in the car, vacuum cleaner, walking past manholes,
etc. He hasn't shown any fear towards storms or fireworks yet,
but anything new he encounters, he's usually initially timid.
Except people and noticably friendly dogs, those he universally
loves and hasn't shown any wariness towards.
I bought these dog toys the other day... a monkey that eeee...
eeee...ahhhh...ahhhs... a rabbit that boing... boings... and a
sheep that baaaaa...baaaahhhs... The monkey sound was
a lil' too much for him, so if he squeezed it and it made the noise,
he'd jump back from it... He didn't really like playing with it, until
after Murph broke the sound mechanism. With Murph and Maddie
new sounds like that just make the toy more enticing vs scary.
Never consciously ever had to socialize them to new things.
Par...
Originally posted by wolf_Q
Smokey is afraid of NOTHING. Fireworks? No problem. Hairdryer? As long as it stays away from the face, no problem. Sticking your head in a bowl of food belong to a dog 5 times your size while he growls at you? No problem, eat away!!
I love everyone's comments! Amy, do you think there might be a possibility that Smokey is losing his hearing? My Pumpkin, toy poodle who went to the Rainbow Bridge at the age of 17, was increasingly *brave." On day when he was sleeping, I walked right up to him and clapped about 5 inches from his ear. No response.... I don't remember how old you said Smokey is, but I think you said he is a 'senior doggie' and it could be that his sudden braveness is due to lack of hearing. :confused: :(
Kfamr
06-11-2003, 04:48 PM
Simba- Too many things. Fireworks, bags, people in hats, vacuum, water, loud voices, people fighting, he gets really scared when i'm sick and throwing up... lost more
Nala= Bags of any sort, she hates them.
Kfamr
06-11-2003, 04:49 PM
Originally posted by Fuzzy317
Eli is afraid of a B-A-T-H. He even knows how its spelled. :)
Simba too!
wolfsoul
06-11-2003, 07:04 PM
Timber is a total chicken. It makes me angry, cuz guard dogs are what I want lol.
She's afraid of the vacuum, electric toy cars, masked people, and a few other things. She sleeps through thunderstorms, even outside. She barely notices loud noises :rolleyes:
Leather is my brave fierce guard dog! :D The only time I've ever seen her afraid was actually a funny story...Great, now I'll have to tell it :rolleyes:
There was a bunch of noise going on behind the house. None of us knew what it was...Leather went to investigate and we just stayed on the front porch, watching. The end of the porch is about 2 metres away from us. Took her atleast ten minutes to walk that amount, because she was so scared. She was slowly going to go down the steps and over to the back where the noise was...Slooowly...Still hadn't made it to the first step....She starts to growl...My dad creeps up behind her quietly, and PUSHES her off the porch :D lol, it was hilarious, to see that huge german shepherd yelp and run away. lol. Well, int the morning, she had tore all the linoleom off the bathroom floor from trying to get under the house to where the noise was. Blood from her paws everywhere :eek: :mad: Turned out it was a couple of raccoons :rolleyes:
Gone Doggin'
06-11-2003, 10:45 PM
my dog, Maple, is afraid of firecrackers, like on new years or halloween or something. She runs around crazily and tries to dig holes in the carpet, and if no one's home, she might pee
wolf_Q
06-11-2003, 11:06 PM
Originally posted by Pam
I love everyone's comments! Amy, do you think there might be a possibility that Smokey is losing his hearing? My Pumpkin, toy poodle who went to the Rainbow Bridge at the age of 17, was increasingly *brave." On day when he was sleeping, I walked right up to him and clapped about 5 inches from his ear. No response.... I don't remember how old you said Smokey is, but I think you said he is a 'senior doggie' and it could be that his sudden braveness is due to lack of hearing. :confused: :(
He's 17. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he can't hear much.......he hasn't been able for a long time. Honestly though, things didn't scare him when he was younger and could hear well either. And stealing food from Nebo has nothing to do with hearing, lol, that's a pretty brave act! Poor Nebo just stands there looking at me when he eats his food like, "Moooooom, do something!!"
Originally posted by wolf_Q
Poor Nebo just stands there looking at me when he eats his food like, "Moooooom, do something!!"
:D :D :D Awww Nebo! :)
Smokey ~ Ripley says he likes your 'tude! :D
babolaypo65
06-15-2003, 09:22 PM
Owen's afraid of bubble gum bubbles and lit matches. For some reason fireworks don't bother him.... He's also a little afraid of dogs that are smaller than him.
Adge Gibbs
06-16-2003, 11:34 AM
Seven only shows aggression towards caucasian males that are around 6ft tall and up. He growls and barks and tunes me out completely. Women, kids whatever, he is completely fine, but these guys get a reaction from him even when they are friendly or I greet them.
Craig is my height and caucasian and Seven loves him to death, so I think his former owner (he was abused before I adopted him and still had the scars when I brought him home) must resemble they guys he gets aggressive with.
Other than that, he's afraid of cats. He always starts out wanting to play, but after the first swat by a cat, he's done and won't go near them.
Oh!! today I have found something else Tiff is afraid of. While we were in the car, on the Freeway,I had her window open (she is in the back seat) and she could just get her head out..............Motor-bikes ! ! ! !
Wow, she barked and whined........and came forward enough to put her big paw on my shoulder,,,,,,,,,and licked me tooooooo much!! So, I pulled over, and she was shaking. So, I got one of her fluffy toys out of the boot to occupy her. I closed the window and put the air on, but each time a motor-bike went by, I could hear her teeth crash on the window. ( is it fear? or hatred of the noise?)
Love Mich.
mpoier
06-17-2003, 12:00 PM
I know this may sound bizarre, but my yellow lab ceebers is afraid of his doggy BRUSH!! I have had him for 8 months now and I've only been able to brush him ONCE, and he barked like crazy!!!!
Anyone else have this problem??? :confused:
Oh!, not unless someone before you had hurt him with one? Have you had him from a babe? Or did you get him from someone else? I rescued a poodle once, and he would sit and show his teeth and growl at my hubby's steel cap boots. When I got him sterilised, the Vet told me he had a lot of damage done to him similar to being kicked. Regards Mich.
mpoier
06-17-2003, 12:13 PM
I got him when he was just a puppy, and I am concerned that maybe something happened that he associates the brush with? He has been thoroughly checked by the vet, she found nothing that would indicate abuse.
I have been working with him though, using lots of treats and stuff and I even let him play with the brush to know he is the "dominate" one between the two.
We'll see how it goes!
You sound like a very caring person. I wish you all the best with your dog. What a good idea letting your dog play with the brush....at least pup will know it can't harm him.
mary_jsn
06-18-2003, 11:39 AM
Leika is scared of everything! the hair dryer, the vacuum, balloons, bags, the grass cutter, and loud noises.:rolleyes:
MiMi_Kat
06-19-2003, 10:54 AM
I have 5 dogs. and Rosie is the biggest baby, shes soo afraid of water and leashes. Next is Pappy, he's afraid of squeky toys. lol. The rest I dont think, or havent seen much of a fear of anything.
babolaypo65
07-02-2003, 10:10 PM
FLIES! ok, now i've seen everything. It's been pretty warm here. Its also the desert. So we all have swamp coolers (air conditioners that run on recycled cold water, pretty efficient, not huge wasters of water, but i digress). anyway, the swamp cooler works better if a window is open. so if its really hot i open the window in the room I'm in. Long story short a BIG fly came in a few days back (or several). During the day its not a problem, at night owen freaks! its so funny. once the lights are off if the fly goes by forget it. owen stares in to space like he's on drugs, for a few minutes then whines, jumps off the bed and gets in his kennel for safety. I just killed the big ole mean fly, so hopefully tonight will be peaceful. My big brave boy. protector of the universe. afraid of flies.
tikeyas_mom
07-02-2003, 11:06 PM
Tikeya is affraid of our cat Fuzzy, thunder, bikes, and moving cars.
Oscar is affraid of umm... nothing that I can think of lol.
cocker_luva
07-06-2003, 11:11 AM
my cocker jesse, is only afraid of the groomers. :rolleyes: she hates getting baths and clipped. we have to have only chain leashs because she chews through the cloth, nylon whatever ones and we would have to buy another one right after. the groomers are kind enough to super glue the leash back together though. :rolleyes: :p ;)
Cocker*Lover
07-26-2003, 04:27 PM
Windsor is scared of loud noises and boxes...Cally is scared of nothing.
Dobiegirl24
07-26-2003, 04:35 PM
pep is afraid of this garden thing my mom has, it digs up dirt or something, lol. honey is afraid of really loud noises
QueenVee
07-27-2003, 09:13 AM
All of my dogs have been afraid of thunder and loud noises like firecrackers. My cockerspaniel, Ben, used to be afraid of cats -- would cross the street to avoid one -- until he got to know my friend's cats; later in life he lived with four different cats, quite happily. My current dog, Henry, is afraid of stairwells. I can never take the stairs in an apartment building with him, always have to take the elevator.
beachbabe4ever
07-27-2003, 12:36 PM
My Pug Quincy is afraid of sprinklers and the garden house. He will not og near them when they are on, even though he loves baths and playing in pools of water. And he is always on the lookout for people trying to "get after his humans" so whenever he sees the slightest unusaul thing outside he growls and starts barking! He's such a little watch dog hahaha :D
If your dog is afraid of the groomers, then, my friend, you have some serious issues you should talk over with them. All groomers should have the greatest patience with dogs.....golly that is why we take our pets to them, as they are supposed to be fully trained in that field.
I changed my groomer once as I didn't like the way she handled my dog. There are plenty around, just go look and find a better one that won't scare the life out of your dog.
pitc9
07-28-2003, 08:31 AM
Buddy's #1 thing that scares him the most is my hubby. I am very very sure the person that left him to die looked or maybe even just sounded like my hubby. We are having a problem still, we have good days, and we have bad days. Buddy will let other men pet him, but is VERY careful about Rick (my hubby)
The only other thing he's afraid of is thunder.
Now Sierra.....I think it would be easier to list what she's NOT afraid of.....lol.... thunder doesn't bother her at all...and...I think thats it!!
When we have the lawn mower going and she's outside, she acts like she's been runover by one!! OMG!:eek: she goes cRaZy!!!! She is head shy of men, then the guy that is trying to pet her feels bad, so they try again and again to pet her on the head, and she just keeps ducking and weaving to get away from ther hand!!
denver83tet
07-28-2003, 11:08 AM
Both my pups are afraid of my vacuum. Everytime I get it out, they go hide!
kingrattus
07-30-2003, 11:23 PM
I don't think Max has any fears.
He's not deaf, trust me on this, theres no sneeking into the house at night.
He doesn't notice thunder storms, he will sit outside with us in the rain.
He loves fireworks, he'll watch them for a few mins & then fall asleep & I'll use him as a puppy pellow, cuvered with a towel of course, I don't want pecker germs on my head, hehe sorry thats what my dad calls it.
You can't vaccum the floor with vaccuming him first, he loves it sooooooooo much, he'll fall asleep & moan.
He loves car rides.
Loves to jump off 3' foot cliffs into water.
No fear of other dogs.
No fear of Men, just doesn't trust them near me. a stranger can go up to him & pet him, but they can't go near me, or else.
he'll watch a train or transport drive by.
He'll walk on a see through bridge.
He'll fall down a 5 foot cliff to rescue a drowning bird I can't reach.
He goes fishing with me & loves to sniff the fish & he'll cock his head when its flooping on the ground.
I'm not too sure if he fears trash cans at night, but boy does he ever snarl at them & push me away from them.
But I've never seen him shake in fear, run away from anything or anyone.
Hes my super dog :)
puppygrrl4eva7
08-03-2003, 11:21 PM
The Vaccum Cleaner and the broom. lol
K9karen
08-05-2003, 12:23 AM
The Codmeister was afraid of nothing. Since Logan (Klo) has been here 1 month, I noticed that she hates flashlight beams (I take one with if we do a late night walk before bed) and the evil, wicked soda can of pennies..(used to stop her from eating my shoe as I'm wearing it and nipping at ankles)
*LabLoverKEB*
08-05-2003, 11:02 AM
Sadie is afraid of our parakeet, Izzie!:eek::D And they call her a 'bird dog'! Ha!:D
K9karen
08-06-2003, 11:39 PM
Originally posted by *LabLoverKEB*
Sadie is afraid of our parakeet, Izzie!:eek::D And they call her a 'bird dog'! Ha!:D
ROTFL!!!!!
Toby's Mommy
08-16-2003, 11:54 AM
My dog Boo Boo is afraid of a gun shot and if you throw a tennis ball or any kind of ball he goes and hides!!:) :) :)
MHMama
08-28-2003, 07:08 PM
has always been afraid of thunder but now he is afraid of people on bicycles.
I was walking him one evening when a couple of young teenage boys came by with bikes. One of them came back and went right for Ricky, spinning his tire and just barely missing him. Then they took off laughing. I yelled at the one boy: "did you think that was funny?" And he said "you're(&*()*^%$%^ing right I did, you stupid _)*(&%$#%. I now carry my cell phone and a baseball bat.
Now, when ever Ricky sees someone with a bike coming down the street, he starts barking and hides behind me.
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