[Tess]

It sounds like something about the male friend really scared the puppy. Correcting him for being fearful, just made his fear and anxiety worse, as you noticed. (its not a good idea to punish a dog for being afraid... he is just trying to tell the scary person to keep a distance.)

I don't think this has anything at all to do with a haunted house. The puppy was fearful and stressed and things just escalated for him because the situation was so frightening for him and the people around him probably made him feel worse. From his perspective a "correction" is sort of like a mild attack from his people.

 

[Tess]

Good job. Your instincts are right on.

If a pup won't accept treats, it just means his brain is on overload. You did the right thing to take him home.

I'd just make sure he gets a quiet couple of days. A dog who has been stressed by fear like this has a lot of stress hormones in his bloodstream for a while. It can take up to a week for them to clear out. This would be affecting how he feels about strangers and such for now.

Once he's had a break, you could start slowly reintroducing him to other people, but take it slow and make sure you create the positive associations using food and treats and keeping people from hovering over him, staring him in the eyes, or reaching for his head/face. Let the dog take things at his own pace, so he can get his confidence back.

There are lots of really helpful folks here at DF who can work with you over time. You seem like a great owner. Hope you stick around!