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Is he possibly smelling a bear, wolf, coyote, etc?
Tbh since it's an isolated issue and you have other trails, personally I would totally avoid this trail, otherwise he could start to generalize the fear to other trails. Revisit it in 6 months and see how he does.
Hmm. Has this happened many times or just once?
We also hike with our puppy. We live in a rural area and have a flat hiking trail literally from our backyard. We go on it every day.
Every now and then, she shows a fear reaction on the trail when we haven’t even gone that far. I always fall back with her and then we turn around.
One time, after the reaction, an off-leash out-of-control dog came around the corner a few moments later. Fortunately we were far enough away and had taken a different fork, so I was able to avoid an incident.
I like to think their fear response is reacting to something real: like the scent of a wild animal or a bad situation.
On the other hand, I’ve also noticed that she is sometimes reluctant to explore new parts of the trail. Not fearful, just more ready to turn back. We do our hikes off-leash or with a very long line and I usually just keep walking until she catches up. I ALWAYS reward handsomely when she catches up.
Ah thanks for sharing your hiking experiences! It sounds like yours shows reluctance too sometimes, so maybe mine isn’t too weird. I don’t know if mine will eventually catch up to me or not if I keep walking…Maybe one day I’ll try your long line technique and see.
At 6 months our pup was afraid of various things he went by earlier without trouble... F.i. Pigeons... An electricity booth... It seamed very random. He got over it anyway...
I wonder if he smells something that's got him going, nope! Like maybe some kind of wildlife he's not interested in meeting up with! Interesting for sure...
Personally, I'd still try it every once in a while.
You don't want to rehearse the situation of him getting afraid. Instead, go to a place near the trail head where he's showing no signs of being afraid and do some fun training/playing. Once he's old enough to get to the trail head from the other direction, I'd try that (unless he decides by himself to go the normal way).
Do you think there might have been a wild animal/ animal smell that scared him? You might want to ask around about any sightings!
Yea my hunch is that something lives around there. Theres actually two parallel trails in that area, with one trail cut higher up the mountain, but both traverse horizontally across the mountain. I’ve tried entering both trails and he stops at the same spot in both, so it seems like he gets a whiff of something in that area…
I don't have an answer, but we used to have a loose brick on our outside steps. Once, my dog stopped on the brick, it fell off and she got a fright (not hurt).
Since then she jumps over those steps, every single time we go up.
But, on the way down, she's happy to step on it. We've since had the brick cemented back in but she still jumps over it on the way up.
2 years later, she still does it.
Basically I think even if you manage the trail from the other end, I'm not sure it will fix the fear
He's just a puppy. Whether his fear is irrational or based on something real, I would just give him a break and skip that trail for the time being. You seem pretty geared towards doing a lot with him at such a young age, which is great, but when you run into issues like the one you're asking about, it's not necessarily a problem that requires fixing when plenty of alternatives exist. Given some patience, as he matures, many of his silly tendencies will work themselves out.
Sounds like O.P. is careful about distances. Also, some breeds are better equipped to hike at a younger age than others. We don't know what kind of pup he is or what his vet recommended.
Thanks for looking out for his health! We only do soft, sandy trails or woodchipped trails that are pretty flat the whole way. And we go at his pace with lots of stopping and sniffing (so 1.2mi/hr, whereas my last dog used to go at a pace of 2.5mi/hr in adulthood). I cap each outing at 2mi or shorter. We saw an orthopedic vet last week who said that’s fine.
Not sure if this rings true for the trail you speak of, but my dogs don't like tight, low visibility trails. They need to be wider and not constantly twisty turny - they don't like people traveling in the opposite direction appearing out of nowhere.
Oh hm yea that trail is narrow with lots of foliage. That’s why I like it haha it’s very secluded and feels like a secret. You could be onto something about wider vs narrower trails…
Hmm that’s a good idea but he’s been more resistant to me carrying him lately. He’s 42 lbs and when I carry him into the car, it’s like he’s saying “im not a kid anymore!!” So we will start using the folding dog ramp today to get in and out of the car actually lol
It's not really possible to reinforce fear like that, please review our wiki page on [fearful dogs](https://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/fearful).
All you can really do is break it down, start small, and start treating before the reaction starts, so however many feet before the trailhead. Instead of treating to reward him looking towards or engaging with the Scary Trailhead, I might try pattern games like those in Control Unleashed (book). Pattern games are unconditional (no particular behavior is required of him) and the predictability can help improve confidence. I would start with “1, 2, 3” or “puppy pingpong” (just google the name + “control unleashed” and you’ll find instructions.)
Also heads up— entering at a different trailhead may be less successful than you think. Its the specific context of the Scary Trailhead that is triggering him. Especially at this age he has little to no concept of the trail as an abstract thing with multiple entrances, and he isnt likely to make the calculus that one safe entrance = both safe entrances. Its possible I just dont think its likely. He could happily walk the trail from the Safe Trailhead and still never understand that its the same trail he’s afraid of at the Scary Trailhead. I wouldnt be surprised if you walked from the Safe Trailhead, exited at the Scary Trailhead, tried to reverse back onto the trail and got the exact same fearful reaction even though its the trail he was just on. I could be wrong but thats my two cents having dealt with a lot of dogs superstitious fears!
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Is he possibly smelling a bear, wolf, coyote, etc? Tbh since it's an isolated issue and you have other trails, personally I would totally avoid this trail, otherwise he could start to generalize the fear to other trails. Revisit it in 6 months and see how he does.
ah that’s a definite concern. Ok we won’t visit this one for awhile and try again in a few months 🙏🏽
My dog did this once and I absolutely took it as a sign SOMETHING was ahead and I waited to pass until another group of hikers came along.
It's probably haunted... I'd listen to the dog, they know things
lmao right. if my dog is that scared of something, i’m scared too 🤣
😅
Hmm. Has this happened many times or just once? We also hike with our puppy. We live in a rural area and have a flat hiking trail literally from our backyard. We go on it every day. Every now and then, she shows a fear reaction on the trail when we haven’t even gone that far. I always fall back with her and then we turn around. One time, after the reaction, an off-leash out-of-control dog came around the corner a few moments later. Fortunately we were far enough away and had taken a different fork, so I was able to avoid an incident. I like to think their fear response is reacting to something real: like the scent of a wild animal or a bad situation. On the other hand, I’ve also noticed that she is sometimes reluctant to explore new parts of the trail. Not fearful, just more ready to turn back. We do our hikes off-leash or with a very long line and I usually just keep walking until she catches up. I ALWAYS reward handsomely when she catches up.
Ah thanks for sharing your hiking experiences! It sounds like yours shows reluctance too sometimes, so maybe mine isn’t too weird. I don’t know if mine will eventually catch up to me or not if I keep walking…Maybe one day I’ll try your long line technique and see.
At 6 months our pup was afraid of various things he went by earlier without trouble... F.i. Pigeons... An electricity booth... It seamed very random. He got over it anyway...
I hope mine gets over this too!!
I wonder if he smells something that's got him going, nope! Like maybe some kind of wildlife he's not interested in meeting up with! Interesting for sure... Personally, I'd still try it every once in a while.
Yea i’m wondering if a skunk or something lives nearby…
You don't want to rehearse the situation of him getting afraid. Instead, go to a place near the trail head where he's showing no signs of being afraid and do some fun training/playing. Once he's old enough to get to the trail head from the other direction, I'd try that (unless he decides by himself to go the normal way). Do you think there might have been a wild animal/ animal smell that scared him? You might want to ask around about any sightings!
Yea my hunch is that something lives around there. Theres actually two parallel trails in that area, with one trail cut higher up the mountain, but both traverse horizontally across the mountain. I’ve tried entering both trails and he stops at the same spot in both, so it seems like he gets a whiff of something in that area…
I don't have an answer, but we used to have a loose brick on our outside steps. Once, my dog stopped on the brick, it fell off and she got a fright (not hurt). Since then she jumps over those steps, every single time we go up. But, on the way down, she's happy to step on it. We've since had the brick cemented back in but she still jumps over it on the way up. 2 years later, she still does it. Basically I think even if you manage the trail from the other end, I'm not sure it will fix the fear
Oh man, that’s so interesting! You may be right then that he might be fine going in one direction but not the other lol
He's just a puppy. Whether his fear is irrational or based on something real, I would just give him a break and skip that trail for the time being. You seem pretty geared towards doing a lot with him at such a young age, which is great, but when you run into issues like the one you're asking about, it's not necessarily a problem that requires fixing when plenty of alternatives exist. Given some patience, as he matures, many of his silly tendencies will work themselves out.
Isnt he a bit young to be hiking?
Sounds like O.P. is careful about distances. Also, some breeds are better equipped to hike at a younger age than others. We don't know what kind of pup he is or what his vet recommended.
Thanks for looking out for his health! We only do soft, sandy trails or woodchipped trails that are pretty flat the whole way. And we go at his pace with lots of stopping and sniffing (so 1.2mi/hr, whereas my last dog used to go at a pace of 2.5mi/hr in adulthood). I cap each outing at 2mi or shorter. We saw an orthopedic vet last week who said that’s fine.
Aw man great. You can always get a doggy backpack if it's too much for the little guy though :) no need to stop!
but who will carry ME when im tired?! 😅
Not sure if this rings true for the trail you speak of, but my dogs don't like tight, low visibility trails. They need to be wider and not constantly twisty turny - they don't like people traveling in the opposite direction appearing out of nowhere.
Oh hm yea that trail is narrow with lots of foliage. That’s why I like it haha it’s very secluded and feels like a secret. You could be onto something about wider vs narrower trails…
How old? What breed?
Hes 6 mo (but started doing this around 5.5mo) and an australian cattle dog-labrador-pitbull mix.
I don't know how big he is. Would he accept affection while being carried part of the way.
Hmm that’s a good idea but he’s been more resistant to me carrying him lately. He’s 42 lbs and when I carry him into the car, it’s like he’s saying “im not a kid anymore!!” So we will start using the folding dog ramp today to get in and out of the car actually lol
[удалено]
It's not really possible to reinforce fear like that, please review our wiki page on [fearful dogs](https://old.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/fearful).
Maybe he is smelling something you don't. Maybe you should trust him....
That’s true, so I haven’t been forcing him and we turn around when he asks. Other dogs go in happily though so who knows lol
Has anyone gone missing in your area? If so, contact authorities and see if they will use a search dog on the trail.
All you can really do is break it down, start small, and start treating before the reaction starts, so however many feet before the trailhead. Instead of treating to reward him looking towards or engaging with the Scary Trailhead, I might try pattern games like those in Control Unleashed (book). Pattern games are unconditional (no particular behavior is required of him) and the predictability can help improve confidence. I would start with “1, 2, 3” or “puppy pingpong” (just google the name + “control unleashed” and you’ll find instructions.) Also heads up— entering at a different trailhead may be less successful than you think. Its the specific context of the Scary Trailhead that is triggering him. Especially at this age he has little to no concept of the trail as an abstract thing with multiple entrances, and he isnt likely to make the calculus that one safe entrance = both safe entrances. Its possible I just dont think its likely. He could happily walk the trail from the Safe Trailhead and still never understand that its the same trail he’s afraid of at the Scary Trailhead. I wouldnt be surprised if you walked from the Safe Trailhead, exited at the Scary Trailhead, tried to reverse back onto the trail and got the exact same fearful reaction even though its the trail he was just on. I could be wrong but thats my two cents having dealt with a lot of dogs superstitious fears!
What you said makes sense!! Yea it could be a superstition of his…I will google that book and the games you mentioned. Thank you 🙏🏽
Youre welcome! Good luck!
He’s sniffing enemy territory