Do you have any cats? If so, did it take Ricky a while to get used to her/him (and vise versa)?
I have one cat named Kitty (what else?). She was born in the crawlspace under the house next door to me about 1993. I used to put food out for her, her mom and the only other littermate I saw. The others disappeared, but Kitty adopted me. She grew up with my dogs, so is not afraid of dogs.
Ricky is afraid of her, LOL. Height-wize, they are about the same size. When she's still on the floor between him and the door to the backyard, he sees her and does an immediate about face. I have to go, pick him up and carry him past the cat to get him out, LOL.