What random things is your dog scared of?

[Radiodread]

I’ll start:

Flags fluttering or anything particularly flappy, which made coronation weekend a bit of a trial and makes me nervous about going camping…

inanimate things that look like animals or people - there is a house nearby with very large, baffling, pair of stone Great Danes outside, which shall not be passed under any circumstances.

Tinfoil, sellotape and Velcro (being pulled off the roll/ pulled apart)

Helium balloons - not to be trusted.

Lamps (he'll leave the room when you turn one on)
Squeaky toys
Applause (single claps or rounds of)
Tortoises
Escalators and lifts (I have to hold him in my arms to go up – he's nearly 35kilos)
The sea (we live on a small island so that's fun)
Opening the top drawer in the kitchen (I once got a plastic box out of it that made a 'click' noise when it opened and now that drawer is clearly the gateway to hell)
Chihuahuas (to be fair, I don't blame him at all for that one)

What makes it even better is DDog is MASSIVE.

People here often ask me 'Does he bite?' and I have to laugh – he's the most ridiculous, gentle, scaredy-baby on the planet! If you were made of chicken he might try a nibble, but even then he won't take food from a hand unless it's with his very front teeth, very very gently...

neighbours flowers poking over the fence

People with two heads (also known as people with babies in carriers).

People who do the horrible thing of turning their dog into a pull along suitcase as soon as DDog gets nearer to play with it.

Never had a dog.

but the junior cat, who had the heart of a lion and was afraid of nothing including large dogs and strange men, the vet etc. , was absolutely terrified of DH whenever he donned the flat cap he wore to get the logs in if it was raining. Just that cap, she didn’t mind his trilby. Full on tail twice the size under the bed scared. I suppose it must have changed him in some way so she didn’t know him.

oddly, I could put the same cap on ( must have looked weird because it was much too big) and she was totally unfazed and would sit on me while I wore it.

Dog had a hard life before we got her. So a rather long list
Bin bags
Tin foil
Shoes
Broom
Hoover
Feather duster
Hairdryer
Bath
Cans of pop etc
Small dogs
Those swinging signs outside shops
Black dogs - she's black 🙄
Men in caps
Men in general
People with disabilities
She's racist
Anything on 2/3/4 wheels that's not a car
Was scared of kids but now socialised
Bouncy castles - found out last wk
But will sit at the window and watch fire works
And took some training, no longer barks at planes and neighbours dogs
I'm sure there's more
Belgian malinois cross

Hot air balloons! We have a place nearby that take off and land over our house she hates that thing!

Tbf he's crashed a few times, scared the local horses to actual death 😱

Also large flappy sails on boats.

When I was little my grandparents dog was terrified of home and away! As soon as the music started he would jump up and circle at the door whining and yelping until someone let him into the other room.

Sadly he was a rescue and had a very bad start in life so we always wondered if there was a connection or memory of something happening to him whilst home and away was on?

Ladders - specifically the window cleaners ladders

Flags and empty carrier bags flapping.
Large animal shaped helium balloons as the float/waft/sway around!
Some statues.
Sometimes people walking with umbrellas- but not always...
she also used to be scared of orange life rings along the edge of the river but she's got over this fear.
Brooms/rakes/leaf blowers in the garden

Not at all bothered by fireworks, roadworks or wild animals, bikes, scooters, roller skates, prams, joggers, Halloween costumes, hats etc

Anything new on his walk routes:

At Christmas he hates inflatable santas, model deer etc that people have in their gardens.

If there are roadworks and there are those barriers up around holes in the road.

wheelie bins that have fallen over in the wind.

Take DDog to a garden centre and pat the head of a big stone dog while giving DDog a treat.

Mine is scared of the jingle on ice cream vans, he howls like the hound of the Baskervilles!
Not scared of fireworks though 🙄

Ah yes Joe could I forget snowmen and inflatable santas at Christmas

An open door on an internet cabinet in the street. Proper jumped and took a step back.

A tree stump she has walked past for about two years which she suddenly noticed and made her jump.

Signs and things on the pavement at dusk. I think she has poor night vision so can't work out what things are.

When she was much younger she used to freak me out by looking underneath cars and then getting all jumpy with her walking. This used to happen most evenings. Or, she'd keep looking behind her as if there was someone there. There wasn't, but it didn't help my nerves.

The broom. I think it fell when near her once. One wave of it and she off like a shot. Also the hoover I think although she trieds to eat it so not sure if that’s fear or just a game.

Anything out of its usual place, so a traffic cone in the road is fine but if one ends up in a field or woodland it’s scary.

’inanimate things that look like animals or people - there is a house nearby with very large, baffling, pair of stone Great Danes outside, which shall not be passed under any circumstances.’

Mine tries to befriend stone statues. Every time we go past. She’s convinced they’re real and just being standoffish.

My old dog used to do this. It’s so bizarre. Full on howls.

The usual fireworks, thunder. But also:

hot air balloons
people dressed up in mascot suits
brushing

One of mine does this. Nose in to sniff out the good stuff, but also anyone else's bag. Walking through our local park, sees someone carrying a shopping bag, must go stick nose into it. It's good that she has brilliant recall or I would be in huge trouble daily.

I forgot, both dogs run away if the hosepipe comes out. Washing the car and the outside tap is next to another car, if hosepipe attached, neither dog will go past it. Filling up paddling pool for them, they wont go outside the house while the water is running.
Yet both love the sea and any disgusting sloppy muddy puddles.

Mine tries to befriend stone statues. Every time we go past. She’s convinced they’re real and just being standoffish @Papernotplastic I love this SO much 😂

And if the football is on I have two dogs trying to climb onto my head at the first whistle.

My dog is also scared of football on the TV. If OH puts it on, dog just quietly sneaks out and comes to find me. This is undoubtedly because OH can become very animated when watching a match so will jump up out of his seat, gesticulate and exclaim; the dog interprets this as anger and doesn’t like it.

(I mean sometimes it IS anger but the poor mutt has no way of differentiating between this and out of control anger that might be dangerous).

2 that spring to mind are the Dyson and feathers
There are many many more tho!
Often wonder what goes on in her little head

The huge watering hose things that farmers have in their fields. Specifically the pulsating noise that it makes

Older dog doesn't like anything out of place, so if wheelie bins are left in the middle of the pavement ect, also people down the road have an inflatable snowman out side their house at christmas and she hates that. Younger dog is scared of everything, hates anything buzzing, so even the smallest of flies he will leave the room. We can't raise our voices without him scuttling off.