Dog frightened of utility room

[3AndADog]

Our puppy is 6 months and cowers in the doorway of the utility room barking at me when I go in there. When we got her I made sure she was ok with the washing machine, she’d obviously seen one before and was not remotely fazed. Then after a while we had work on the house ask the utility room was rebuilt and out of bounds for a few months. Now the dog is allowed back into that area of the house she is terrified and won’t go in there. Ultimately we want to use it for her to stay in occasionally when we need her to. That’s not a priority at the moment - at the moment I need her to not panic and bark when I am doing the washing! I can shut her in the living room but that doesn’t work as she cries when she isn’t with me! (That’s another story!)
Will she just grow out of it with more exposure or is there something I should be doing? I have a trainer but she’s off now over Christmas and I don’t want to bother her.
Thanks I’m advance

From memory that's the right age for a fear imprint period I think? Sorry if that's dodgy science, I might be wrong

Either way it's about gently building confidence by ensuring that interactions with the scary thing are ha does calmly, and end on a good note.

For example, if she's woofing when you go in there, keep your own speech low and minimal so you're not 'joining in' with the barking. Then build positive associations by giving a treat when you go in and when you come out. Maybe settle her on a mat in the hallway, step into the room and out again, and reward for staying calm. Build up to being able to go in for long enough to do the actual washing!

*are done calmly

Could well be a second fear period, 6 months is about the right age, dependent on breed.

I wouldn’t do anything to actively encourage her in there, just take the pressure off. Can you nip in, grab the washing and sort it in the kitchen or living room for now? Not ideal, but a workaround to give you some peace and take the pressure off her while you work out the best approach.

If you are on FB, join Dog Training Advice and Support and read their resources on fear and the second fear period, as these will be really useful for deciding the best way forward.

This is the article the FB group links to that explains the secondary fear period and how to handle it.

There is clearly a ghost in there

Agree with pp,sounds like the second fear phase.this phase passes quite quickly.I would not even try to put her in utility room at moment.in this phase,the dog needs a lot of reassurance from you.it is quite important the dog establishes further trust in you in this phase.if the dog feels safe and gets reassured when frightened,the dog will get over this phase with no future issues.My collie was like this when 6 month old.suddenly everything seems to scare her,I thought I had a different dog.apparently it happens when they sexually mature.My collie started first heat 6 weeks later.

Is there different flooring in there?

One of our dogs really struggles with the kitchen tiles. Always has!

When our lab was a pup he was in the kitchen when a very loud firework went off nearby and he scarpered slipping on the hard floor. He is 8 years old now and despite lots of encouragement with tasty treats has never been in the kitchen since and struggles with hard floors.

The strange thing is fireworks dont bother him at all, he will happily go a walk when they are going off and ignores them.

Thanks for the replies. Second fear period sounds worth looking into. She’s been unusually cautious in lots of situations recently. She did follow me in there yesterday and I gave her a bit of sausage then she quickly reversed back out as soon as she came in!
Yes there is different floor - it’s bare screed atm before tiles go down.

One of my collies had terrible 2.phase fear period.the thing is with collies,if they get something in their mind stuck,it stays there forever in a good or bad way.thats the joy and peculiarity of collies.try not to make a big issue of it at the moment.good luck.

@Gartanbou

Is there different flooring in there?

One of our dogs really struggles with the kitchen tiles. Always has!

I was going to ask the same thing. Our dog completely fine on our laminate floor for the first few months with us then he had one skitter on it and he was terrified of it. We had to create a 'bridge' of door mats to let him cross the room and have now got a gumtree bargain rug that has restored his confidence. Doesn't fully cover the laminate so he has to walk on it a little bit covers enough that he's happy to do this now. He's not a massive fan of our kitchen tiles, either and when we do eventually replace them week we'll think very carefully about what with!

Ultimately we want to use it for her to stay in occasionally when we need her to
It doesn’t sound like a very nice space to put her into (unless it’s an unusually luxurious utility room).

I would leave the door open to utility room and make sure nothing is switched on in there – the whirring and beeping and whooshing of machines can really freak young dogs out so make sure everything's off, go in there casual as you like just pretending like it's a regular Sunday morning.

Potter around and just call the puppy in with a lure of whatever favourite toy or treat you know they like and when they step inside the room, just give a short and sweet “Yeeeeeee” head rub and then leave the room again and have the pup follow you out.

You can start to then build up and maybe have a toy laid out next to a bed but build up in stage and baby steps. Only invite once with a gentle tap on your leg or whatever.

The aim really should just be to lead by example, not let on there's anything to worry about and give your puppy the opportunity to see there's nothing in there that's worrying you – it will help to follow suit.

Tempting though it can be, don't make an issue or start to offer reassurance it'll only make things worse.

Don't force, fuss, faff and make as though you couldn't give a shiny one is what you need to be radiating and giving the pup.

I have a few resources for helping with fear and will dig them out and come back later to post.