Dog scared of heights?

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

I'm not sure if this is normal or not, but I'm increasingly coming to think that PestDog is unduly scared of heights.

In the last few days we have had

• refusing to go more than half way up the high walk thing when we had a go at agility, not even for treats
• refusing to step on the trapdoor in the kitchen floor, even when it's shut and his favourite ball is on it (he whines until I help).
• refusing to walk over bridges and a boardwalk if there are gaps and he can see through them (I had to carry him)

He's also very cautious around any heights (eg he won't go near the edge of the patio, which has a one storey gap beneath it - though this is excellent from a safety point of view)

Is this normal?!

[OverFedStanley]

Very very common. Lots of dogs hate heights,bridges etc Also different surfaces or different feeling eg trap doors drain covers rooms with cellars underneath

It is really important to map this into socialisation as a puppy

[OverFedStanley]

Also why a good agility club will not let you go over a full height dog walk but will start it on the ground and move up - same with A frame

[Veterinari]

Very common especially if no early exposure

[Langrish]

Ours is the same on bridges, boardwalks, decks, anything where there’s a slight gap between the boards, particularly with running water underneath. Fine if the boards are tight together.

[OverFedStanley]

Another one is open stair cases where the dogs can see through the gaps

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

At least he's normal!

I'm afraid he's a rescue, and I've long known that his socialisation as a puppy evidently left something to be desired! Not a proper club at all - I took him to an indoor dog park and there weren't many other dogs there but they do have agility equipment permanently set up so we did it very casually. He loved the jumps, tunnel and weave poles but we rapidly have up on the high walk bit as he wasn't keen.

[OverFedStanley]

Are there any Bravery Boost, or Life skills, building up skills, classes near you. We run them for rescue dogs.

They are like obstacle courses and we build up the dogs confidence on each session. So session one may just have rubber mats and rubber tyres on the floor maybe also a plank of wood etc.

Then we increase and change the variety height and texture each week - they are fun classes and it is great to see fast and postive progress

[nometal]

We had a couple of Dalmatians that were exactly the same. Footbridges were a nightmare.