How Long Do Puppy Fear Periods Last
Whilst the pup is going through human socialisation it also has an important fear/hazard avoidance period.
How long do puppy fear periods last. They can be cute, hilarious, and awful. During zoomies, puppies race round in circles and bounce off the walls. While the 8 to 12 week puppy fear period is in some cases hardly noticed by puppy owners, the second fear period appears to have a much bigger impact.
There are certainly times in a puppy's life when they are a bit more timid than usual, this can occur when they are separated from their litter mates and mother at about 8 weeks, and can last for as short as a few days to several weeks. This starts at 5 weeks and peaks between 8 and 10.5 weeks. And quite frequently all three, in under a minute.
If puppies have bad or scary experiences during this time, the impressions are likely to last a lifetime and resurface during maturity. Puppies go through an important socialization period from approximately three weeks. A puppy at this age is just starting to spread its wings and is likely going to want to test you and their boundaries.
This also coincides with a very critical socialization period. Understanding your adolescent puppy webster’s dictionary defines adolescence as “youthful, exuberant, immature, and unsettled”. The second fear stage occurs right around four to six months, which is when your dog is reaching adolescence.
Zoomies, also known as frenetic random activity periods, or frapping, are sudden bursts of wild, unbridled activity. The how and when of fear periods also depends on the individual puppy, so you may or may not see it in your puppy as described. This fear period lasts generally a bit longer, it tends to take place generally between 8 and 14 months and can occur more than once.
These fear periods are evolutionarily programmed and are protective for dogs in the wild. Rover has grown now and if he is a large breed he may even weigh 100 pounds or more! The fear imprint period, 8 to 11 weeks: