# Dog afraid of sewers?



## MochiBear (Mar 17, 2013)

Hey everybody, I have an almost 5 month old Shiba Inu. We had some trouble getting him to walk on the leash at first, (ie he would not walk) but we got over that with a lot of persistence and treats. Anyways, lately in the last week, he's been doing this really weird thing when we go on walks where he will come to a dead stop when even 20 feet away from one of many sewer grates in our neighborhood and will start to go the complete opposite direction. You literally have to drag him to get him to go near one. This morning he was evening shaking. He will walk anywhere, in the grass, on mulched flower beds, etc. to avoid walking on the pavement and getting near one of these things. Has anyone ever encountered anything like this before??


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

No, but my dogs won't walk on grates in the street, and will hop over -- they don't like the way it feels on their feet. Your dog could also dislike the smell of the sewer! Have you tried just standing near one at the right distance so he's not actually afraid and shaking? Will he eventually approach on his own? If you can treat him for being near a grate and not reacting fearfully, that's a good first step. Don't drag him up to it, but associate the grate with good things (yummy treats) in his head. 

Your puppy also could be coming into the second fear stage, where seemingly random things will scare him. Be careful during this time not to create any lasting bad associations!


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