Hello, i have a 6month old bernese mountain dog and he is scared of some other dogs like he will back away or run from then, i dont know why but i dont want him doing this as he will be a big powerful dog, also we bought him a power harness which has a velcro strap around his chest and for some reason he is scared of the noise that the velcro maeks when you pull it he kind of runs away, also he is scared of his lead when it hits the harness it makes a noise
any suggestions on getting around this as i do not want him to be scared of everything like a baby

Hmmmm? I am a new berner owner so I won't be much help. I do know that when my horse spooks at something and is scared we keep exposing him to it until he gets over it.

I've already experienced that before and I took my Bernese to a vet and they said that it might have some social problem. So they suggested me to often walk with my Bernese and mingle to other dogs. After that, my dogs is not afraid of other dogs.

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Have you worked on socializing your dog? We take ours to the dog park regularly, but when she was younger she went to puppy obedience classes which helped. She also goes to "daycare" occasionally so she can be with other dogs for the day.

I am sorry to hear this - we are seeing this all to common in this breed as a result of poor breeding. The increasing issue of severe shyness in the breed has become very widespread at this point and if this behavior is showing this young, then it is clearly temperament (genetic).

Socializing puppies is always critical but the behaviorally challenged due to termperament is even more so. It is of critical importance however with a dog like this that you do NOT force into the scary situations. Subjecting a dog this shy, and this young to the stressful stimulus is called "flooding" and has been proven highly detrimental in the long term. It will cause a dog to ultimately shut down (and seemingly not react to the stimulus so many think "improvement" in the short run) but this is the ultimate sign of stress and long term it will be reinforcing.

So do NOT take this dog to a crowded park, or dog park

Do NOT force the dog to endure scary sounds

This will require a lot of patience but here are the keys to improving this behavior (note: you will never have an outgoing dog):

1) Socializing this dog ONLY with known calming and supportive dogs. This means finding adults sympathetic to the fear and who will lick the dog to provide reassurance, and not do anything to further reinforce the fear. Dogs who run at him, ignore his fear, and are not sensitive should be avoided. Calming dogs will help him the most.

2) Make everything he is afraid of positive - as positive as possible by not being forced to endure, and by being introduced slowly and positively. This is best accomplished with HIGH food rewards - beef liver, steak, pure meat treats - and when you bring out the leash, give him treats to show that good things happen when the leash comes out...do this throughout the day without putting it on him, or taking him anywhere. Just de-sensitize him to the leash. Same thing for the velcro strap. Feed a treat as you employ the velcro - show him good things happen when he hears that sound. Do this 3-5 times a session, a few times a day - don't over do it.

3) Walk him only in relatively quiet, calm areas where he will not be bombarded by dogs, people and other stressors. Figure out his safe threshold at which he does not begin to show signs of fear (ears, mouth, tail etc.) If this threshold for example is 20 feet, then respect this and do not allow other dogs to infringe on it. At this threshold give treats generously when he sees other dogs - again counter conditioning the fear.

4) Be sure to introduce him to new stressors slowly, and at a safe distance with lots of high rewards (treats). Introduce him to strollers, scooters, kids on bikes, roller blades whatever....but do so at a safe distance that does not cause stress and reward.

5) Put him in the car and be sure to take him to positive places - so that this does not reinforce fear. If he is afraid of his leash, it is because he has now associated that to mean he is going out to be subjected to scary things. So re-program this to mean it just means quiet car rides.....or solitary walks in a quiet area.

6) Drive him to the vet when there is no vet appt - Just go in the lobby and feed some treats and leave. Or go in, and weigh him....feed treats and leave. This is how you make this a non-scary place by having it not ALWAYS be scary.


You will need additional tools:

Look into a calming vest which is an invaluable tool to helping with sound issues. Many dog sites carry them

Try this supplement - ProQuiet: It helps many dogs take the edge off and improves sound reactions:
ProQuiet (60 Tablets)

In a lot of Berners, we have an endocrine issue whereby the adrenal cortex is deficient. This is where cortisol is produced and the stress response occurs. The flight or flight response is driven by this and so when deficient we also see these issues. This occurs later in life usuually but must be treated with adrenal supplements, and often Natural Hydrocortisone. So FYI......

Check out my other posts on this subject on this site - I recommend several training books and good authors to help with this, namely Patricia McConnell.

Hope that Helps!

When I got my Berna, she was afraid of a lot of things but with a little training, she is not scared anymore.

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Bernese Mountain dogs have a way of finding the people who need them, filling an emptiness we don't even know we have.