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My dogs are suddenly terrified for no reason. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Male | unneutered | 11 months and 2 days old | 54 lbs

My 11 month old boxer boomer and 6 month old bully jax started acting scared too death all of a sudden out the blue what's wrong im worried too death

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 23rd, 2020

Dogs have much better hearing than us, and it may be they heard something that scared them. I'm wondering about the weather where you live, and if there is a thunderstorm going on, which could also scare them. One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure him. We think we are comforting him when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling him it's ok to be scared. I'd just keep an eye on them for now and hopefully they will be back to normal in the morning.

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    Answered By Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

    Published on April 23rd, 2020

    It could be something they heard (like a loud noise, something buzzing, an alarm beeping), something that scared them earlier today, something they smell, even sensing pressure changes before a storm.

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