I recently went through this myself. ​

One of our girls, 18 months old now, had been shown as baby puppy and as a pup.
At one of the shows when she was 12 months old, it seemed like she shut down. 
She was extremely scared.
​I can blame the venue, it was small and loud but it was very likely a few consecutive things happening in a row that reinforced her fearful behavior at a dog show. 
 At the next show, we knew and were prepared and the healing began. 
Not so dog savvy people look at this as a scared undersocialized dog, but often this is simply not the case. 
Being comfortable one moment then totally shutting down in the same situation happens and the studies show it. Acknowledging this behavior and training the dog to more self confidence will ensure success. ​

Critical puppy development starts at the breeders home in the first fear impact weeks at age 8-11 weeks old.
In this period it is imperative that puppies are not being scared in any way. This can impact them for life.
​ I like to keep my pups a little longer than normal, imprint during this age is said to be permanent and I like to socialize them to scary situations (first time walking in a strange area, first time in a car etc etc) with a very calm, very secure, older dog to teach them there is nothing to be scared about. 
The second fear period I will quote from the study. (link at the bottom of this page) 

"Second Fear impact period (6 - 14 Months):
Also called, "The fear of situations period", usually corresponds to growths spurts. This critical age may depend on the size of the dog. Small dogs tend to experience these periods earlier than large dogs. Great care must be taken not to reinforce negative behavior. Force can frighten the dog, and soothing tones serve to encourage his fear. His fear should be handled with patience and kindness, and training during this period puts the dog in a position of success, while allowing him to work things out while building self-confidence."


This is exactly what happened to our girl. 
Luckily I am surrounded by some awesome people, I continue to learn from, who helped me and my girl through this period. 

She is a happy girl, who is attached to me like no other. I am looking forward to a great season with her where we will overcome her fears and make it a thing of the past.

​She is well on her way. 


                                                                   http://ice.ucdavis.edu/~robyn/Korina/BCIdeas/Criticalperiodsinpuppydevelopment.html

Heidi will turn 11 years old in 2 weeks. 
We will celebrate with croissants, cake and lots of TLC. 
Heidi has Mast Cell cancer and is paralyzed on her hind legs maybe because of DM or maybe because of a tumor pressing on her spine. (see the post from January "Heidi's journey continues") 
So how did croissant day happen?
3 years ago after heidi was operated and diagnosed with Stage 1 Mast cell cancer with curative measures. Yay!! BUT...... The day the results came back we found another one about 1.5" from the incision site.
She also formed two more, one on her breast bone and one on the side of her ribs. A needle biopsy confirmed Mast Cell again, but we decided not to operate anymore. 
Not even a month later Heidi became deadly ill when the Mast Cell went systemic. The vet advised to love her and enjoy the time we had with her.  (She was given a few weeks to a few months) 
She had stopped eating, had lung problems and extreme allergic reactions to what we do not know. 
I made major adjustments to her diet (no more histamine provoking foods, quercetin wasn't working and benadryl made her drowsy and more down then she already was so another antihistamine was tried)
But it wasn't enough, she was on the decline and losing weight and the will to live.  
With the help of 2 awesome friends who found medicinal marijuana for her in the form of oil (CBD and THC) we decided to give that a try. 


I picked up the oil early in the morning and upon returning into the car I gave her the suggested 3 drops. At this point Heidi was lethargic and not interested in what was happening around her. (She had given up and I was hoping she would get to her 8th birthday but it was looking grim) 
It was a 50 minute drive back to my house.  
Halfway I decided to stop at McD and grab a coffee, I didn't have breakfast that morning and decided to get a croissant with my coffee. 
While back on the highway, I opened the bag with the croissant, Heidi smelled it and jumped over the back seat to basically grab the croissant from me..  She was hungry, her eyes were huge and focussed. The munchies?!?
I didn't care, I had my girl back... U turn to McD to get another croissant for her and me, while the tears were streaming down my face.  I texted my friends to tell them what just happened, Heidi was eating.. 
The road to recovery was started.  


I think at this point we have reached a status quo. She is happy, her lungs are holding up (she is on NAC from progressive and TCM Herbs) We are still using mostly non histamine provoking foods but recognize the importance of medicinal mushrooms and gut health (fermented foods) so these are given periodically in small amounts. (as long as she is not having a histamine reaction) 
She also uses other supplements like astaxanthin, VIT A, B, D, E and many other things on a rotational basis to not overload her system. 
She is now also on TCM to slow nerve damage and to keep her muscles from atrophying but that is slowly getting worse. 

For us, we enjoy her for as long as we can, and as long as she wants too. Heidi is still an extremely happy girl. She understands asking for help if she wants something, she does not drag herself but whines for us to come and help with her ears perked forward. 
She enjoys her Croissant every saturday (the only processed carbs in the form of grains she eats). 

Tuesday April 9th will be Heidi's 11th Birthday and we will be celebrating this milestone with of course a croissant.  

        Tuesday April 9th, International Croissant Day in Heidi's Honour 
                                                                        

One of the biggest things that causes cancer in dogs is ...... STRESS......
Stress comes in a lot of different forms and most of the stress triggers we know (being home alone, even if they don't ruin your stuff or bark incessantly, not enough exercise, stress from domestic home situations like fights, etc).
What really hit me in a lecture I recently followed and I would like to share with you is that stress also comes in the form of being a domesticated dog
It makes perfect sense to me.
This form of stress is totally being ignored. Over the past decades we have seen an influx in dogs, dogs are everywhere. We also see an incredible influx in cancer in dogs. Where you used to see a dog here and there, especially in urban settings, are now dogs galore. Totally adjusted to our city life and a perfect addition to our city lives.
Think about it, where dogs used to run and play, had sex haphazardly, sniffing other dogs crotches taunting our neighbourhood cats, this is now viewed as totally unacceptable behavior.
 A research is ongoing at the moment about the effect of Oxytocin in humans and cancer( Oxytocin is a central nervous system neuropeptide hormone, which is composed of nine amino acids) . The production of oxytocin seems to inhibit cancer growth. To me it makes perfect sense. People who never show their feelings have way more health problems. Why not the same for dogs.
Dogs are not allowed to be dogs anymore, and in this day and age, it is not acceptable or safe to have your dog roam around, mate with just any dog, sniff dogs, eat poop, sniff human crotches and the list goes on.
To avoid this type of stress f nt being a dog, we can do more stimulating things with our dogs. It is proven that even looking into your dog's eyes, really seeing your dog, really getting the connection, will produce oxytocin (much like people in love).
Put your phone or computer down for a few extra minutes here and there and truly spent quality time with your dog just sitting on the floor connecting, go for an invigorating walk with your dog, dance and be silly with him/her for a minute, do games you can easily find on youtube, include your dog in daily life more, do a dog sport where you both have to constantly interact. etc etc etc.
Make quality interaction a part of your daily routine, a great habit for life. So many things you can do to get the unseen stress levels down and oxytocin flowing through the body.
Think about it. A compliant well trained dog is a good thing but a compliant eager to please incredibly happy dog is a great thing!
Isn’t it a great incentive to try to have the longest living Bernese Mountain Dog just by being happy.