Coke - new anxiety!

I would say that I agree Gina, that different dogs will definitely have different preferences, and I would never jump to use touch to comfort a dog *just because*. That's why I'm often called in to help people with their dogs, to help them figure out what makes their dog tick, what makes their dog afraid, and what will help to calm their dog after _______________________ happens - whether it be a noise phobia, or a fear-aggressive Lab, or a puppy mill rescue who has never seen the outdoors. Different dogs, with different personalities, with different histories and stories that will leave them more or less responsive to touch/food/talk/redirection/escape/etc than the next dog. My own three dogs have different preferences, and I don't use touch the same way with them all. Nor do I use escape, or talk, or food rewards the same way.

Myself, I'm not a touchy-feely person all the time, but there are situations where when I'm scared a trusted person holding my hand in a moment of need can make all the difference, or when I'm stressed a good massage takes all the stress away. And yes, sometimes I just need to talk it out. Sometimes that last thing I think I *want* is to be touched, but once touched I can break through that situation and come back to rational thought. And our own personalities and experiences dictate what works for us. Not even all the time, but in that moment.

There certainly isn't a one-size-fits-all approach.

As a multi dog household...some observations, like when we have new puppies and they're scared of someone mowing their lawn or something in the neighborhood. They might all run off and want to hide, but their Mom is just doing her thing...sniffing around. Sometimes I try to play with the older dogs to get the pups natural inclination to play to override that inclination to hide.

I dunno...perhaps nothing of note but I wanted to share. The bitches certainly don't go to the puppy UNLESS the puppy gives that yip that indicates pain or sheer unadulterated terror...then they rush over, lick a little bit...nose them around and then go back to what they were doing. The pups don't really seem to run to their Mom's necessarily but away in general....find a hiding place. I guess this would be more useful in a feral setting. Mom might have to kick some tail and well, you would get in the way lol.

Gina, I think that there's a different state of mind for a dog when they are a puppy and the first reaction is whoa what is that vs. a dog who goes in to hyper-fear anxiety mode that involves drooling, pacing, whining, etc. A dog that is like whoa what is that can still think and learn vs a dog that is basically shut down. They aren't thinking or learning anything. Our reactions to those different dogs should be different.

Isn't there a point where one is NOT, the other? How does it get to this point? Perhaps there is the issue.  Our dogs ALL get scared sometimes...why do some go overboard with it and is it something one can prevent or simply have to deal with after the fact? We all talk about socialization and I know Coke is socialized out the whazoo...so what gives?

Update: we discovered another trigger - popping gum!  We were at the vet to get the hotspot shaved and Coke was fine, he loves the vet.  Then DH smacked his gum and Coke flipped out.  When the vet came in we had to explain that he was stressed over the gum, not being at the vet!  He was pacing, panting, and shaking.  He actually was MORE calm after the vet shaved and cleaned his spot (we could hear him screaming from the back) and got two vaccinations, but then the vet gave him treats which always interrupts his freak outs because he loves food THAT much.

We also had a major thunderstorm since I posted.  Coke stood up and checked the door after a huge thunderbolt, but otherwise was not effected by the storm.

Also on TV there's this ad that has some random chime-like noise at the very end that could possibly sound like a quieter version of a smoke alarm going off and I've noticed that when Coke hears it he immediately gets up and leaves the room.

Right now it's hard to assess his behavior because he is on pred and is upset over the huge hotspot so we are just leaving him be and keeping the puppy away from him.

You may think I'm crazy, but if you haven't had his thyroid checked, do a panel.  Anxiety and hot spots are common in hypothyroid dogs and they don't have to be that out of whack.