Between seven to nine weeks of age Anywhere from four to six months Again at around 12 months At approximately 14 to 18 months and with some dogs can even be as late as 2 years
So think of it as he's regressing vs. confused.
Yeah he doesn't let much people pet him, he'll move away. He does however let all the people I know personally and see quite often pet him, and a few random strangers out of a hundred lol.
Yeah, I take him to petsmart and etc. He still flinches/moves away when people try to touch him but for the most part he's distracted by the treats laying around haha.
To be honest, random strangers people should not be reaching out to touch a dog who is expressing discomfort. Good thing you haven't mentioned dog bites or snaps/growls yet.
Other than taking him to dog parks and petsmart, have you enrolled him in any puppy training classes, either Sirius pup training or with A Dog's Life in Sunnyvale/Palo Alto, or at PetSmart?? It might be a good idea to get some professional opinion from people who are familiar with normal puppy behavior in person, vs. you describing to us online. Most of us are pet owners and not behavior specialists. I can give you a couple of local recommendations if you are interested.
And, at first I thought it was because he had gotten into the habit of pooping on concrete, so I have been re-training him to go outside in the bushes/grass for 2 weeks or more now and it still is happening so I have come to the conclusion that he is just nervous around large crowds of people and moving cars or motorcycles.
I feel so stuck on what to do
Consider asking your vet re: the poop part too. He seem to have an awful lot of it. Mine seem pretty good at emptying their bowels. What you describe sounds odd, and I feel so sorry for him...
@dennis_sly - regarding pooping. How often are you feeding him? We're transitioning Saigo to only 2 meals a day now. He only poops twice a day.
Perhaps you're feeding him too many meals/snacks? Are you feeding him regularly? We were able to get Saigo on a schedule. He eats at 7am and 5pm and poops when we walk him after that, at exactly 8am and 6pm everyday.
My girl Shiba poops whenever she is scared. Because sometimes her way of showing fear is simply to shut down, it's not always clear to people, including me for awhile, how fearful she was. Now I know how to read her--but then, she might be terrified, but only show it through a dropped tail and slight panting. So sometimes I didn't know that going to strange places terrified her. But she'd poop, and she was doing it out of fear.
It kind of sounds like your guy is doing the same thing. He is a fear period, as noted above, and I would suspect that it's just too much for him. so yes, I think I'd relook at how you're socializing him and back off things he finds too frightening. If you're having a hard time reading his mood, just do this: does he look like he's having a lot of fun? Tail up and lively? If not, see if you can't find something else to do. If he's looking anxious, for now, take him out of that situation. The problem with pushing them, esp. in the fear period, is they may get phobic about certain things. (My GSD got his leash tangled around a fan in a dog class at 7 mos. old. He was afraid of fans for the rest of his life).
And if he doesn't want to be touched right now, then don't let him people touch him. Get him to sit, so they can look at him (if he's ok with that) but say he's shy, and let that be that.
I let him off leash and the first thing he does is goes down the slide! know, I shouldn't have at a public park. However, there was no one around and I wanted to see if he would be okay.
@dennis_sly, I know of Kkomi, he's a Facebook celebrity, kind of like Boo, also from our area I think a few of the JA owners on the JACA forum know him and the owners personally
@dennis_sly, I know of Kkomi, he's a Facebook celebrity, kind of like Boo, also from our area I think a few of the JA owners on the JACA forum know him and the owners personally
He doesn't look like a full JA though does he?
I asked the owner if it was a long-coat but he said, "no normal"
but he looked like a long-coat, that or some sort of mix.
I posted a picture on Kkomi's facebook page now, Meichan and Kkomi leading parallel lives, you can see the difference between long coat and normal coat :-)
Comments
@WrilyBrinkle and @MapleTwinkie both share some good points on socialization. Another thing is your pup is going through the 2nd fear period in their life.
http://www.positivedogs.com/articles/early_doesnt_mean.html
Between seven to nine weeks of age
Anywhere from four to six months
Again at around 12 months
At approximately 14 to 18 months and with some dogs can even be as late as 2 years
So think of it as he's regressing vs. confused. To be honest, random strangers people should not be reaching out to touch a dog who is expressing discomfort. Good thing you haven't mentioned dog bites or snaps/growls yet.
Other than taking him to dog parks and petsmart, have you enrolled him in any puppy training classes, either Sirius pup training or with A Dog's Life in Sunnyvale/Palo Alto, or at PetSmart?? It might be a good idea to get some professional opinion from people who are familiar with normal puppy behavior in person, vs. you describing to us online. Most of us are pet owners and not behavior specialists. I can give you a couple of local recommendations if you are interested. Consider asking your vet re: the poop part too. He seem to have an awful lot of it. Mine seem pretty good at emptying their bowels. What you describe sounds odd, and I feel so sorry for him...
Perhaps you're feeding him too many meals/snacks? Are you feeding him regularly? We were able to get Saigo on a schedule. He eats at 7am and 5pm and poops when we walk him after that, at exactly 8am and 6pm everyday.
It kind of sounds like your guy is doing the same thing. He is a fear period, as noted above, and I would suspect that it's just too much for him. so yes, I think I'd relook at how you're socializing him and back off things he finds too frightening. If you're having a hard time reading his mood, just do this: does he look like he's having a lot of fun? Tail up and lively? If not, see if you can't find something else to do. If he's looking anxious, for now, take him out of that situation. The problem with pushing them, esp. in the fear period, is they may get phobic about certain things. (My GSD got his leash tangled around a fan in a dog class at 7 mos. old. He was afraid of fans for the rest of his life).
And if he doesn't want to be touched right now, then don't let him people touch him. Get him to sit, so they can look at him (if he's ok with that) but say he's shy, and let that be that.
Kodak moment!!!
I totally have to invest in a good camera and start learning how to use one.
Video of Cyclops meeting another Akita
@Rikumom are u familiar with Kkumi? He's from San Jose
I know of Kkomi, he's a Facebook celebrity, kind of like Boo, also from our area
I think a few of the JA owners on the JACA forum know him and the owners personally
I asked the owner if it was a long-coat but he said, "no normal"
but he looked like a long-coat, that or some sort of mix.