Have you ever been with your dog and all of the sudden something happens and now your dog is afraid? When something scary appears dogs will generally try to run away from it, bark at it to try to get it to go away or they’ll just freeze. I was walking my dog the other day when I saw a newer client of mine also being walked. Phoenix is her name and she has overcome many of her fears, but new things can still startle her. As I was looking back at her I saw her looking at the water delivery truck in front of her house. She was skeptical to say the least. Next, the door on the truck shut and really scared her. She started heading back to the house quickly. She went into “flight mode.” Her walker handled it very well and allowed her to get the space she needed and also tried to offer her a treat.
The game-plan for Phoenix is the same one I use for all clients. The goal is to turn scary things into predictors of high value treats. With repetition the scary thing is no longer scary and the behaviors that were happening due to the fear are now gone.
For this to work we have to manage the distance between our dog and the scary thing as much as possible. If we’re too close, our dog will be overwhelmed and not in a mental place to be able to build new associations. If we do end up too close to the scary thing, the best thing to do is to increase distance. Some dogs will already start to do that while others will be barking and lunging at the scary thing which means you’ll have to put some effort forth to get them moving.
Another important part of this is making sure that your dog notices the scary thing before you try to offer the high value treat. Doing so will clearly turn the scary thing into a predictor of treats instead of treats becoming the predictor of something scary.
Helping a dog overcome their fears takes a lot of time, patience and consistency. One thing you’ll find though is it really helps develop the bond between you and your dog.
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