It’s easy to see why puppies would be scared—they’re so small and the world can look so big and terrifying, even the bravest puppy. If you were a small puppy, you would probably be afraid of big dogs and humans, too, even if one had never hurt you.
And while it is understandable that puppies would be scared of other dogs and of humans, this fear can become a serious problem as your dog ages, creating the potential of fear aggression when he is an adult dog. Here are some tips that will help you socialize a scared puppy and tramp out that fear:
1. Start with a low-stress situation
It’s not a good idea to take your scared puppy to the dog park and plop him down in the grass with dozens of barking, playing dogs. This will probably just intensify his fear. But do invite one calm dog and one calm, new person over and introduce your puppy to them. This is a very low-stress arena for your puppy to learn that new dogs and people are no big deal. Choose a dog that is not going to roughhouse your puppy and a person that understands you are trying to gently start the socialization process, so will be calm and careful with your pup.
2. Start inviting more people and dogs over
As your puppy begins to be comfortable in an environment with one new person, start having your puppy interact with more and more new people and dogs. Always having a treat or a favorite toy on hand is a great way to make sure that the puppy is having the best possible experience. It is very important to have your puppy interact with as many people outside of your household has possible. Every dog will comfortable around the people they live with—this is his pack, but can still be extremely fearful of dogs and people that are not in the pack.
3. Socialize your puppy with children
Even if you don’t have any small children in your house, it is still important for a scared puppy to get to know children and understand them. If your puppy has only ever been around adults, he will likely have no idea what a child is. It can be difficult for a puppy, therefore, to understand why they are yelling and running and are maybe not handling him as gently as the adults do. Every dog has to learn patience, not just with other dogs, but with young humans, too. Make sure these interactions are supervised, so you can also help the child understand how they should or shouldn’t interact with a dog.
4. Have your puppy meet other species
Again, even if you only have dogs in your home, it is still important for your puppy to meet members of other species that he is likely to encounter in his life. This will help to eliminate the aggressive response that many dogs have towards those animals when they see them as adults. We don’t want the puppy to be afraid of other animals and we also want him to be calm (not aggressive) around cats, birds, rabbits, and similar animals.
Taking these steps can help to prevent the fear that can plague a dog later in life. Start off small and as your puppy grows comfortable, introduce him to more new experiences. Eventually, he will learn that the world is not as scary as it once appeared!
