last week I composed about five suggestions to assist a fearful dog. numerous of you shared some excellent concepts from your own experience. say thanks to you! right here are some extra suggestions from myself as well as a few of you on exactly how to assist a timid dog.
How to assist a fearful dog
1. work on your dog’s general obedience skills.
Most of you understand this, however the general dog-owning population doesn’t. Dogs with solid obedience skills have much more confidence as well as self-control. people question exactly how they can stop a dog’s separation stress and anxiety or stop a dog’s whining, as well as everything comes down to obedience. If you can get your canine to sit at your side as well as inspect in with you in any type of situation, it will be that much simpler for your canine to deal with stressful situations. This can’t occur overnight, of course. It’s about starting little as well as slowly building your confidence in addition to you dog’s confidence. begin by working on the fundamentals at house as well as slowly work in much more as well as much more difficult environments. Don’t work as well quickly. Take the time to develop a solid foundation.
2. Observe an obedience class with your fearful dog.
Most dogs will benefit from a group obedience class. If you have a timid dog, I suggest you take her to an obedience class to assist her feel much more positive working around other dogs. For some timid dogs, an obedience class will be as well overwhelming since of all the other people as well as dogs in a new environment. If your canine is freezing up (like a statue), crouching to the ground with her tail down, closing her eyes as well as looking away, shaking or anxiously trying to jump into your lap, you may want to think about working one-on-one with a fitness instructor as well as perhaps one other dog.
Another choice (if you get consent from the instructor) is to just bring your canine to the class to observe. You would not take part in the class with your dog. Instead, you would sit or stand with her in the exact same space as the class as well as just watch. just being in the exact same space as the others will be psychologically tiring as well as overwhelming for your dog, however it’s a method to slowly get her much more comfortable. You can leave if she seems as well stressed. perhaps take a short walk or sit in the cars and truck a few minutes as well as go back in. Make sure you are not triggering as well much of a disturbance for the class. A bit distraction is great for the other dogs, however you don’t want your canine barking or whining the whole time.
3. instruct your timid canine a command for “watch.”
If you instruct your canine to make eye get in touch with on command, you can utilize this to assist her focus on you in stressful situations. instruct your canine to “watch” by holding treats by your deal with as well as providing them to your canine when she makes eye contact. This command is available in useful in numerous circumstances such as when you pass other dogs on walks, when your canine is feeling overwhelmed at the canine park or when she is having difficulty focusing because of stress. inspecting in with you ought to always be a positive experience that makes your canine feel safe.
4. force the canine to deal with her fear.
There comes a point where it’s finest to just force the canine to deal with her irrational fears. You can shower a canine with treats all you want as well as motivate her to comply with you, however at some point this becomes impractical.
For example, I walked an English bulldog who was terrified of the blue recycling bins people put out on recycling day. When he saw those bins, he seemed to believe “Oh dear God! This is not right!” as well as then he’d try to run home.
I had a few choices on exactly how to offer with this. I could’ve ignored the habits as well as kept dragging him along. (Keep in mind that walking an English bulldog is like walking a bowling sphere with legs.) I likewise could’ve taken him home, or I could’ve bribed him with treats. When a canine is in panic mode, however, treats are not much help. So in this case, I kept the dog’s leash short as well as I required him to walk circles around one of the blue bins with me. Our circles were broad at first, as well as then we got better as well as better up until we were walking in a tight bit loop around the bin. I’m sure I appeared like an idiot, as well as we did this for about two or three minutes. After that, the canine had forgotten why he was scared. The bin was no longer a huge deal, as well as we continued on our walk.
The next recycling day, the canine was a bit concerned again, however not as much. We did our circle routine once again as well as he was fine. After that, he never showed a worry of the bins again.
So, you can spend hours as well as hours over a number of months utilizing treats to assist a canine conquer his fear. Or, you can “flood” his brain as well as deal with the fear. canine fitness instructor Ty brown has a excellent publish discussing exactly how to assist a canine conquer a worry utilizing this “flooding” method. This will not work for each canine in every situation, however it’s an choice other than treat-treat-treat-treat-treat to keep in mind.
5. Ask your canine to do something new every day.
It will go a long method if you can motivate your timid canine to try something new every day. It doesn’t have to be significant like going to the canine park. It can be small, like jumping onto a park bench, walking in a different neighborhood, sitting on a mat or going to a friend’s house. Each canine has a different comfort level, so discover something that stretches your canine just a bit every day. Reward her huge time when she attempts to try these things, even if she’s not successful. provide her praise for trying. For example, if she’s uncertain about the park bench however puts her two front paws on it, that’s great! That’s progress.
Gradually, you will see much more “stressful” locations as your canine boosts her confidence.
6. Don’t motivate your canine to lean on you.
Your timid or fearful canine most likely spends a great deal of time leaning on you or jumping into your lap. While I don’t believe you requirement to concern about “rewarding the fear” I do believe it’s finest to stretch your dog’s comfort level a bit. As I stated in my earlier post, I’m a timid person as well as I understand I requirement to stretch my own comfort level from time to time. I can’t just hide at house 24/7. It’s great for me to get out as well as satisfy new people as well as socialize. The exact same is true for your timid dog.
My former foster canine Cosmo is an example of an insecure canine who would always lean on me at adoption events to feel much more secure. When he did this I would relocation away from him or method having him lie down as well as stay. This was extremely difficult for him, however it assisted develop his confidence as well as self-control. It likewise made him much more attractive to adopters.
Additional suggestions visitors shared
Try not to be self-conscious yourself. numerous canine owners concern as well much about what others may or may not believe about our dog’s behavior. – NancysPoint
Make a distinction between shyness as well as anxiety. “Shyness is a character trait that doesn’t necessarily requirement to be fixed. stress and anxiety is a lower capability or an inability to process specific stresses.” –Ty Brown
Laughter in some cases helps. “It didn’t take long for him to partner laughter with fun since I always laugh when I play with him.” – Dawn
Try to take advantage of the moments when the canine is much more outgoing, like in the mornings when she has much more energy. Also, in some cases it assists for the canine to hang around one more dog. – Rachel @ My two Pitties
Visit locations from afar as well as slowly relocation better as the canine is much more comfortable. “I try to get as close as possible without an anxious reaction.” – Alison
What are some extra suggestions to assist a fearful or timid dog?
Thank you for your input!