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Hi i'm new, i was looking for some advice regarding my labrador. Porsche is two nwxt month and is a wonderful dog. We have another dog called Dooton who is a collie cross. We have four children the youngest who is 20weeks and that's where Porsche comes into it.
Since having baby Seth Porsche has started to behave very odd. When people visit who we don't see too often she has started to crawl on the floor and hide behind my legs, she has never done this before. The other day she was shaking aswell. When i take her to our local park (Dooton doesn't come for the long walk as he is 13 and can't make it there and back) she runs up to me with her tail between her legs when she sees other dogs coming her way. I try to remain calm and have taken treats with me to try to side track her, she has never done this before either. She is very protective over Seth if i put him in his cot she says by his side until i come back into the room so i'm not really sure why she is acting in this way. Nothing bad has happened to her with strangers or any other dogs so if anyone else had had a similar experience with their dog and any advice i would love to hear from you. As i have said apart from this behaviour Porsche is a wonderful, loving member of the family.




Hi Tricia

I dont have any advice, but wanted to welcome you here

THere should be someone along soon, with some advice.




Im not in any way quailified , to advise you really but , when i read your post it reminded me of a collie x we use to have her behavior was very like that of your dog , but im afraid much worse , we did go to a behaviorist and the only real advice we were given was to ignore it as much as possible , as even when you try to reassure , that in its self is a reward ,and actully makes the dog even more anxious,sorry to be so vauge hope somebody better able to help will be along shortly, i would be interested to know the outcome .as im sure you'll get it sorted out soon .


By the way welcome to dog web




Hello. Welcome to Dogweb & congratulations on the new baby

The arrival of a new baby can be rather unsettling for a dog as it inevitably means some changes in routine etc. You may find this Dogweb article helpful in restoring your dog's confidence. The principles can be applied to desensitizing dogs to both humans and other dogs:

Here is another article which may be of interest as it addresses the issue of dogs and children, including small babies:




ignore the shy behaviour,dont speak,no come on baby,whats the matter,as soon as she ventures forward,praise,going through this with a rescued mastiff,he is coming on leaps and bounds,oooo n sorrywelcome




yes we have done the ignoring thing with Toby - he hates the wind, we go to a big open park place near Penshaw Monument and walks up to the famrers fields. we took advice from here and didn't make a fuss of him. Suddenly with out us noticing he has lost his nervousness in both these places, however it has taken quite a while, so persevere. (i was told if you try to fuss him he will think he has good right to be afraid).

Now all we have to deal with is the soudn of gunshot




I'm no expert, but it sounds to me a little like a child's tactic to get attention from the parent. Perhaps best ignored ? Paul




It is not possible to be sure without observing the dog and its actions/reactions, but it does not sound like attention-seeking behaviour to me (shaking is an involuntary behaviour). I believe that active desensitization rather than ignoring the behaviour may have the more positive results and lessen the chance that the dog may become a 'fear biter'




many thanks for your advice