I'm with Candy. I read a lot about that fear period when I first got my Star. There was one specific week, I recall, around 3 mos., when they are especially prone to life long trauma if exposed to a sudden, fearful situation. I remember the vacuum handle fell right in front of her and made a very loud noise. To this day she is very frightened when anything slams or falls loudly in front of her. She cowers with tail tucked tight and goes into hiding! And this is a dog who under all others circumstances is fearless and full of confidence!