Fear Periods

I understand why obedience is so attractive.

A fear period is a period of time that the dog’s danger brain activates more readily than usual.

It is normal for most puppies and adolescents to go through ‘Fear Periods’. The first fear imprint period generally occurs between 8-11 weeks. Between 6-14 months there can be further periodic fear periods which are also normal.

Dogs whose genetic heritage has programmed them to be alert and focused will often outwardly have a more pronounced fear period. Breeds with guarding instincts and those that are prone to hypersensitivity like your herding breeds will need a healthy socialisation protocol in place during the socialisation period and adolescence.

Unfortunately, these periods do not come with a warning, there are no obvious signs that your dog is about to go through or is going through one. You may notice that your dog is more easily spooked or startled than usual, that they are more vigilant and that they are noticing things that they never seemed to notice before.

Early signs to look out for are: hesitance, such as stopping when walking; and avoiding certain areas objects or individuals. The dog may start growling or letting off low chuff like barks, this is the dog communicating that it is unsure.

If this happens, then it is important to take it easy on what you expose your dog to, keeping things simple for the dog to digest, and most of all, keeping the dog comfortable. It would be a mistake to force the dog to confront what it fears by taking it closer to it unwillingly or repeated over exposure, this may induce panic in the dog.

On the other end of the scale, some dogs go hyperactive or fidgety when a fear period hits. This can be spotted in behaviours such as more attention seeking than usual, following around the home and more pacing than usual. Because so many owners are completely unaware that fear periods exist in the first place, their first thought is usually to take the dog out and exercise them to ‘drain some energy’.

Unfortunately, this could be detrimental to the dog’s mental health, everything they learn whilst taken out in this frame of mind may be associated with fear, stress or anxiety. They’re always learning and what frame of mind they’re in while they’re out in the world will be a good indicator of the emotional associations they are building at these times. So at these times, less is more!!

If we spot a fear period, our goal should be to make them comfortable and teach them to settle down through calm communication and some gentle brain games of mental enrichment. Old sayings like a ‘tired dog is a happy dog’ can be a bit misleading in our experience, we feel that a more accurate saying is a ‘content dog is a happy dog’

A dog that is pushed over their threshold, by repeated exposure to what they find stressful may become averse to it, either trying to flee from it or even display aggressive towards it with the aim of creating distance from what it fears.

Barking and lunging are communication patterns used to make things go away, the more the dog gets to practice these behaviours with the outcome of the dog being safe at the end of the experience, the more learnt the behaviour will become.

In moments of fear and anxiety, the only goal for the dog is to stay safe, whatever behaviour it completes in these moments will become the learnt coping mechanism should this event happen again. The dog never wants to behave aggressively, but in moments where they feel they have to, in order to stay alive, they will.

When handling a dog that is displaying signs that they may be going through a fear period:

Create positive experiences for your dog between environments, objects, people, cats and dogs.

Dogs can develop anxieties from one bad incident.

In moments of stress, comfort the dog by creating distance and then giving reassurance through positive reinforcement.

Don’t force your dog into situations that make them uncomfortable.

Give your dog time to adjust. Do not over expose or overwhelm your dog, do activities that your dog enjoys at home and when in public, use environments that are easy for your dog to digest

If it means taking a day or two off of walking, and training them at home, then do this. A couple of days off of what scares the dog will allow them to regroup, give time for their cortisol levels to drop back down and be in a frame of mind ready to take on new things.

One of the hardest things that owners of young dogs that suffer from fear periods struggle with is that the way that they have to interact with and treat their new best mate is not exactly what they signed up for.

When people bring their dogs into their lives, they so often envisage playing in fields and running along beaches where as so many of these pups and dogs that suffer from fear periods simply cannot cope with this level of stimulation at this stage of their lives.

We want people to adopt quite a boring approach when fear periods hit. Think about it like your aim is to make each day easy, not to give them lots of new experiences. Basically we need them to recover, BEFORE we can get back out there and do all the fun stuff again.

We know this can seem less appealing to some dog owners. Unfortunately we do not always get what we sign up for when we take a dog into our homes. However, it is so important to recognise the level of care they need and move at their pace, regardless of what ‘might of been’ had we been dealt a different hand.

These stages are temporary in the dogs life if handled well, and while some may never be able to cope with the high levels of environmental stimulus that others can, all young dogs stand a better chance of desensitising and becoming better equipped at coping with these pressures later in life if we move at their pace and build calm and positive associations.

When we take our dogs out, they are learning one way or another. If they get exposed to everything while they are panicking, this is what they will learn from the world. If they get exposed calmly, at their pace and using positive reinforcement then the world seems like a great place.

If we do this, we will raise emotionally stable dogs and far fewer undesirable behaviours will crop up down the track.

It is up to us to expose them to what they’re ready for and not push too hard, monitoring their levels of stress and and ensuring they’re forming a memory bank full of positive experiences. Each dog gets dealt a different genetic hand and this will account for their behaviour in many ways, we cannot change genetics and working against them is futile.

I understand why obedience is so attractive.

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Even Aggressive Behaviour Is an Expression of an Unmet Need

By Bondi Behaviourist • March 19, 2026

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A Tired Dog Is Not the Same as a Relaxed Dog

By Bondi Behaviourist • March 12, 2026

A lot of people think the goal with dogs is simple: “Just tire them out.” Play with them. Exercise them. Stimulate them. Keep them busy. The idea is innocent enough. “If my dog is tired, they’ll relax.” But there is a very important difference that often gets missed: A tired dog is not the same as a relaxed dog. And many dogs today are not relaxed at all. They are simply exhausted. Exhaustion Is Not Relaxation Many dogs live lives full of stimulation. Constant activity. Constant engagement. Constant entertainment. They’re always doing something. Then eventually they crash. People look at this and think: “Great. My dog is finally relaxing.” But collapsing from exhaustion is not the same as feeling comfortable enough to relax. A dog that truly feels safe and settled can: Drop their guard Rest during the day Switch off without needing to be exhausted first Be calm even when nothing is happening That’s a very different experience from a dog who only stops because they’ve hit their limit. A Story From My Own Life I often think about this when I look at my daughter. She loves swimming. She loves going to the park. She’s great with people, so she enjoys coming to the pub with me while I have a pint and she plays in the play area. She also loves playing with her toys at home. All of these things are great for her. But if I tried to do all of them in one day , it would not end well. By the end of the day there is a very high chance that getting her to sleep would be a challenge. The next day would probably be a challenge too, because she’d still be dysregulated from the day before. If I repeated that kind of day again and again, her behaviour would likely become unrecognisable from the happy, well-adjusted and social kid I know her to be. And if it went on long enough, some people might start describing that behaviour as her personality . Which would be completely unfair. Because it wouldn’t be who she is. It would simply be the result of too much stimulation and not enough recovery. The Same Thing Happens With Dogs Dogs are no different. If their lives are full of stimulation all the time, it becomes much harder for them to settle. Because settling is a skill. And like any skill, it has to be practiced. If a dog is constantly being stimulated, entertained or activated, they never actually practice switching off. So when we suddenly want them to relax, they simply don’t know how. Down time can feel uncomfortable when you’re used to being busy all the time. But that discomfort is often misunderstood. People assume the dog is just energetic . But there is a big difference between: • A dog that is energetic • A dog that is unable to settle Those are very different states of being. Stimulation Should Be Quality, Not Quantity Dogs absolutely need stimulation. They also need: Sleep Enrichment Exercise Interaction But the key is balance. Stimulation should be about quality, not quantity. Even things we love can become draining when there is too much of them. Too much stimulation — even if it’s fun — eventually becomes taxing rather than enriching. An Exhausted Dog Isn’t At Their Best A dog that is constantly pushed to exhaustion ends up just like an exhausted human. They become: Less tolerant Less resilient More reactive More easily frustrated More prone to stress behaviours They become narky. Anti-social. Short tempered. That’s not enrichment. That’s fatigue. My Baseline Is Calm Instead of trying to keep my dogs busy all day, I invert the approach many people take. My baseline is calm. Throughout most of the day, my dogs are: • Resting • Relaxed • Calmly present in the environment Even if they are around while I’m doing something, the expectation is that they are settled . If a situation is too stimulating for them to relax and it isn’t about them, then I simply don’t involve them. They stay home. They rest. They recover. Because rest is not laziness. Rest is regulation. Then We Bring The Enrichment At times that suit my day, my preferences and their needs, we bring stimulation to the table. That might be: Enrichment Exercise Play Training Exploration Social interaction The goal is not just to burn energy. The goal is to satisfy something meaningful . Their minds. Their instincts. Their bodies. Their curiosity. Then, when the activity is finished, we return to our calm baseline. The Goal Was Never a Tired Dog Many people aim for a tired dog. I never do. I aim for a dog that is: • Satisfied • Fulfilled • Comfortable in their own skin A tired dog is exhausted. A satisfied dog is regulated. And those two things create very different lives. If you’d like help applying this and in doing so, improving your and your your dogs lives, I can support you in a few different ways. Through Canine Caregivers , I offer online courses and webinars to build understanding, structure, and consistency at your pace. If you’re based in Sydney, I also offer 1:1 training across Sydney , socialisation and puppy classes , and can provide all recommended training equipment to support the work we’re doing. I offer The Complete Care training program that covers every single base you will need as well as The Starter Program which allows you to tailor the training and support you need with flexibility. 👉 Join Canine Caregivers 📞 Or get in touch for 1:1 help in Sydney

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Fear Periods

I understand why obedience is so attractive.

I understand why obedience is so attractive.

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