Hi. I thought this was a very interesting topic, and I think it applies to my mutt (well, at least the "fear" part).

The family dog (a female Japanese Spitz) has been with us since April of 2001, and she has always been extremely jumpy/afraid. I don't think it is her personality, because normally she is playful and very, very hyperactive. Anywho, I think her fears are far beyond irrational. They include and are not limited to: mailboxes, the Christmas tree (we have two, and she's only afraid of one), a certain part of our living room, the bathroom (we don't bathe her in there either), two posts on the porch that she runs past every time she comes back inside from peeing, and the middle of our yard. She also has weird OC habits like this "cow path" she's made in the yard that she HAS to follow every single time she goes outside.

I am thinking that since we got her when she was four months old that maybe she had a hard time adjusting from her "fear period?" What do you guys think? She is the most schizo little dog I've ever seen...my cat thinks she's nuts. I need some help with this one. Thanks.

PS Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...we don't know where she came from - could be a puppy mill dog. We got her from a store that has tons of purebred puppies (VERY well cared for, I might add) but we don't know anything about her life before that. She also seemed to be the runt - a bit smaller than average...could have to do with the size of the litter she's from though.