You wrote she stalks it, but she is afraid of it, these are two completely different and opposite reactions to someting. Stalking is a predatory action. Fear is avoidance...what exactly is going on???? My suggestion is to continue ignoring the bhavior if it gets compulsive you might have to stop her from doing it...but I need cleare information on what her body behavior is doing. thanks

Ok stalking is the wrong word....when she sees her shadow she puts her head down and looks at it. I'm not sure how to describe it. She's clearly afraid and not "stalking" it. She kind of slinks away from it. Lowers her head, she sometimes woofs at it, very cautionary, not a bark but a woof (a soft kind of bark...it really does sound more like woof though). Her shadow took her toy last night and she was very upset. I was ignoring it but it seems to have gotten worse. She got trapped in the dining room because she saw it, and then last night when her toy went between a doorway she would not cross it because of her shadow. She actually slinked around it a bit with her head down and then sat a little away from it and just stared at her toy. Now I have been getting her past her shadow by offering her treats if I want her to come into the room. I just feel so bad for her, being scared like that can't be good for her. Oh I got it.....imagine a dog that does something wrong...how they go about looking....toots kind of looks like that....same demeanor.

You're going to have to stop with the treats. It's reinforcing her behaviour. Eventually she will realise "I act like this - mom/dad calls me to give me a treat"

Coda was terrified of everything. If it moved, made noise, looked like it could make noise, was shiny, etc, etc, etc.

The best way to deal is to ignore it and force it. Tether her when you notice her shadow is infront of her - and make her walk. When she eventually realises A) you won't let it hurt her and B) it can't hurt her, she'll be fine.

Chances are you just need to ignore it some more though, and she'll get used to it. It's never going to go away, so she'll eventually learn to deal with it.

I hope you're right...I only did the treat thing last night when she was trapped in the dining room. I didn't want to force her because I thought it would make things worse. The problem is we were ignoring her but it seems her fear is growing not diminishing. Toots was also terrified of everything. She's also afraid of light... flashlights and when the sun shines through the blinds and makes "sunspots". She has gotten better ..alot better with leaves blowing and noises. I guess we will just give it time and see what happens. We will not give her anymore treats....I only used it to lure her out of the dining room but I can see where it could cause more problems.

Okay here is the deal - your dog is having trouble with adjusting. I suggest lots of walks outside, if you can find another person to walk with the better, but being out of the house and being stimulated outside will help. Also, if you see she is freaking out at something, go over to that thing and in a high voice say things like oooohhhh, whats that, look its a sunbeam!!! Show your dog there is nothing to fear. Next I suggest you go get some rescue remedy to help her out with her anxiety....but I would try desensitizing her first. Little bits, aways end on a positive note and ignore or correct unwanted behavior. You need to be careful not to let her associate the thing she is fearful with - with anything negative or her "condition" will become worse. Find a dog park and go out out out...that will help alot

We have been taking her on walks everyday, and we take her out with us almost every time we leave the house, she also has alot of playtime in the yard. This weekend she went to the bullympics and on sunday went to the dog park. I also have been playing little mind stimulating games like hiding her treats and having her sniff them out. Mazer what is "rescue remedy"? Toots unfortunately was not a rescue dog....we brought her from a breeder (I couldn't handle a dog with any issues so soon after losing my Candy), she was not traumatized at the breeder, she really seemed to like it....you think the lack of all the other dogs around is having this effect on her. When we walk her I always makes sure she goes past one of my neighbors house who has a good dog and they say hi to each other....I can't let her play with him because he always tries to pee on her. We did meet a couple at the dog park with two well behaved dogs and we are going to be having them come over for play dates. I will also take your advice Mazer and go ga ga over sunbeams and anything else that scares her. And don't worry I never get angry at her when she is scared...there is no negative vibes towards her at all ever.

Have you looked into hiring a certified behaviorist?
Below is a link of some certified behaviorists. See the closest one near you, if it isn't close enough maybe they can recommend one that is.

Here is a link that might be useful: certified behaviorists

Good to hear that she is getting out and has 4 legged friends. Rescue Rememdy is a homopathic remedy to calm down people and pets. It is great for dogs who dont handle things well like trips to the vet. We used it on a friends dog who had a spiral fracture of her ankle she was not to walk on it at all for one month so we went to the health food store, bought a jar of rescue remedy and a couple of drops on her tongue every hours hours and she could have cared less about walking anywhere....just layed around soaking up the sun and attention. It gave her leg time to heal and kept her calm. Good luck with your baby.

The rescue remedy sounds interesting....what is in it?

As for the behaviorist I think that would be a last resort..thanks for the advice though....I think shrinks for people are bad enough unless they prescribe meds. :-)

Simple solution: Ask yourself this question: Can or will the shadow actually hurt your dog? Obviously the answer is NO? Now since you are the advanced creature in this environment you need to provide comfort and guidance to help the dog learn this is not something to fear and that it will have to be addressed. Someone here mentioned "not forcing"... unfortunately that is exactly what needs to occur. But please understand what "force" really means. Any time you do something that causes your dog to react in any way it is "force". Force isn't bad it is part of a dogs learning process. Now to solve your exact problem simply get your dog under control on a leash or hold its collar. Close physical contact is going to be necessary so that the dog feels comfort from you and will allow you to move it over the shadow. Now simply comfort the dog and move it over the shadow praising as you go. Do not allow the dog to escape dealing with the issue and do not stop and focus on the issue instead simply ignore that it is there and comfort your dog physically and praise through the process. Repeat this process 10, 15, 20 times or more, although I doubt it will take more than a few times before the dog realizes there is nothing there.

The predisposition of the dog as you describe is that it lacks environmental socialization. In other words it fears what it does not know and because it has not been raised with direct acknowledgement of a "leader" it has to trust the instinct of fear to address things it has yet to identify as non-threatening.
The lack of an owner to assist the dog in learning to deal with certain innate emotions allows these things that seem so ridiculous to become major issues. The Acronym: F.A.S.T. is a simple way to help your dog through environmental and situational socialization.
F= Fear
A= Anxiety
S= Stress
T= Trauma
These emotions are often avoided by trainers or owners thinking that by not exposing the dog to them they are helping the dog. Quite the opposite is true. These 4 things will occur in the dogs life regardless of what we do. By avoiding them in training and handling of the dog we simple complicate the situation when one or more occur in the dogs day to day life. By allowing these emotions to be exposed and dealt with during training and interaction, at which time we can guide and comfort the dog, we can actually help the dog realize how to deal with them and accept them as a natural part of life. If we avoid these things during training then when they do occur the dog must react instinctively which could mean a dog hurting itself or worse yet result in aggressive behavior such as an attack. The basic "fight or flee" instinct.

Hopefully I've kept this simple enough so that you understand how actually "forcing" your dog to deal with it makes it a much better dog and you a much better owner and leader.

Thanks you very much for the advice.....we have been "forcing" her....when her toy goes near her shadow and she gets afraid...I have been going up to the shadow and speaking in a high voice and calling her to me and making her come and get the toy....she has been approaching cautiously but seems to be getting over it little by little.

Good for you it sounds like you are on the right track. A couple more suggestions. Don't use a high pitched voice or any command, as those will just need to be "weaned" out of the process anyway. Instead use physical touch to bring her across so that although she is being forced to do it she is also feeling comforted and reassured by your touch at the same time.
By the way do you know why dogs react to a high pitched voice? It is their natural instinct to locate and attack wounded or suffering prey.
Although this does get their attention it is a process that I have eliminated from my teaching or training protocol as I want them to be attentive to me as a learned behavior and conditioned response rather than an instictive reaction which is based on an aggressive outcome.

Very interesting bit of information....I will keep that in mind. When we first brought her home she was fine with her shadow....everything scared her....but she has gotten over that and now investigates new things before she runs...but her shadow and light...I just don't get it...and then yesterday all of a sudden she stopped walking. I thought it was because her daddy didn't come for a walk too but today we all went and she did the same behavior....what is the right course of action there? If I pull her she just resist more....today everytime she stopped I tried calling her to me and when she didn't come I showed her the treat and she came and walked a bit and then stopped again. We have been walking her daily for weeks now....and this behavior just started....she likes her walks...or used to....and as soon as I get her leash she would get excited and then sit patiently while I put it on. I don't get it...it seems the longer we have the weirder she becomes.

docden, - I have a new rescue and your comments about working through fear of shadows and objects was very helpful to me. My pup is about 2 years old and I rescued him 3 months ago. I don't know anything about his past. He is sweet and adorable but has lots of anxiety. When he is faced with a new object, like a new planter on the patio or a pair of shoes that got left out for the first time, he ducts and cowers around it and sometimes won't go passed them to his potty spot in the backyard. I have been very gentle with him and have basically tried to ignore the behavior. But now I will try what you suggest and see if that helps.

Question, how can I help him overcome his fear of new people, especially men? He barks and growls ferociously at men but thankfully he doesn't try to bite. If they move toward him ever so slightly he cowers and runs away, then barks/growls more. I feel sorry for him b/c I know he's scared, but I need to help him through this because I have a son, and neighbors and friends who are male, though none living in the home. I have asked men who come over to be gentle and offer treats. He will take the treat and it seems to help him calm down a little, but it takes a good 20+ minutes for him to calm down and accept that they are staying a while. When we go on our daily walk he is better but he will walk out and away (on lead) from any men. He is great in the dog park, not afraid of anyone or anything, though I have noticed he is a follower, not an initiator with other dogs or people, and he'll back up when approached, but he doesn't bark or growl and he doesn't seem afraid, just a little cautious. I would love any advice on how to help him get passed his fear of men. Thank you!