1st May 2006

Our seven-month-old male puppy is scared of my husband’s voice. What can we do about this?

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Question:

Our seven-month-old male puppy is scared of my husband’s voice. Whenever he raises it, our dog runs away – he has also taken to leaving the room when my husband comes in. What can we do about this?

Answer:

Deep male voices are often more threatening to dogs than the high-pitched female voice. However, for your puppy to be so afraid, it is likely that either he did not have much experience with men at a young age or he has had bad experiences with men in the past that have frightened him. If he is a very sensitive puppy, these experiences do not need to have been very extreme – a simple scolding may have caused the fright. Your puppy needs to learn to trust your husband. Your husband will need to stop all discipline for the time being and leave that to you (for such a sensitive puppy, it is much better to prevent bad behaviour and encourage and reward good behaviour instead, rather than scolding for things the puppy does wrong). Then, for the next few months, all good things in life from your puppy’s point of view need to come from your husband. These include walks, food, titbits and games with toys. Ask your husband not to stare at the puppy or force it to approach him but instead to gently encourage him and reward him well with something he enjoys when he does get enough confidence to approach him. In this way your puppy should begin to get his confidence back, and then all should be well.