I adopted my puppy from a shelter about 3 months ago, and I don’t know much about his background except that he was born to a fearful stray mother.
He has bonded strongly with me, but he’s still very scared of my partner, even though we live together. What’s confusing is that when I’m home, he’s noticeably more relaxed—he’ll even go on walks with my him but still can’t put the harness on him.
When I’m not home, the puppy hides in my room and avoids him.
We’ve been working with a positive reinforcement trainer, and my partner is very calm and never pushes him. Still, it feels like his anxiety around my partner is getting worse instead of better. Also, I’ve read a lot about the critical socialization window (3–5 months), and I’m worried that since I missed that period, it might limit how much progress we can make.
I’m starting to worry—has anyone seen this kind of “flight” behavior turn into aggression later on? So far he’s never shown any signs of aggression towards people or other dogs.
He’s a very active terrier mix, and I suspect he’s naturally prone to anxiety.
Would really appreciate hearing if anyone has gone through something similar or has advice.