[Rushpuppy]

Here lately she has become very afraid of things she wasn't afraid of before. She never ever minded the sweeper, now she's scared of it. She would go out in the garage with her daddy just to hang out, now she doesn't want to go out at all. She used to be scared of Thunderstorms, last night she did beautifully. What's going on with her? She's 3 years old, shouldn't she have worked through this by now?

 

[YellowJakesMom]

The first two things made me think of her eyes - maybe have them checked?

I'd say count yourself lucky about the storms

 

[BigBrownDog]

Dogs can develop fears at any age. My shepherd became increasingly fearful of thunderstorms as she grew older. As a pup and young dog she was not at all afraid of them.

Maybe there is a smell in the garage she cannot tolerate or there is a sound that is new and hurts her ears?

Has she been to the vet lately? Have you ruled out any sort of health issue?

 

[Rushpuppy]

Dogs can develop fears at any age. My shepherd became increasingly fearful of thunderstorms as she grew older. As a pup and young dog she was not at all afraid of them.

Maybe there is a smell in the garage she cannot tolerate or there is a sound that is new and hurts her ears?

Has she been to the vet lately? Have you ruled out any sort of health issue?

The vet says she's fine. Eyes are good, ears clear, no issues to cause the fear. I guess we need to continue to work with her letting her know it's ok to go out in the garage, ok if the sweeper is running. She's something else.

 

[BigBrownDog]

The vet says she's fine. Eyes are good, ears clear, no issues to cause the fear. I guess we need to continue to work with her letting her know it's ok to go out in the garage, ok if the sweeper is running. She's something else.

Just don't make the mistake of reassuring her and soothing her when she is exhibiting fear - that will re-inforce her fear reaction and make her worse. Ignoring her fear behavior and acting like there is nothing wrong is really the best path. In fact - act upbeat and happy in the face of her fearfulness. She won't get any payoff from her behavior.