Canine Fear And Anxiety Dos and Don’ts, Part I
I recently had the privilege to speak at yet another fun and educational seminar from the good people at Brooklyn Bark and FIDO, on “Canine Fear and Anxiety”. The title of my talk was “Dos and Don’ts”. I’ve distilled my notes from the talk into several installments; below is the first set.
Enjoy!
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Canine Fear/Anxiety Dos and Don’ts, Part I: Preliminaries
Anthony Newman, CPDT
Preliminaries
1. It is the norm, not the exception, for dogs in urban environments to show symptoms of fear or anxiety. For instance in New York City, where I and my pack live and work: tall buildings, concrete sidewalks, speeding cars, roaring buses, skateboarders…these things aren’t programmed deeply into dogs’ DNA. This doesn’t mean your fearful dog is destined to remain in that state! In fact quite the opposite: most fearful dogs are happy to let go of their fears if shown the way.
2. Don’t medicate independently of working with a professional trainer. Medication can certainly help in some cases to make therapeutic training possible – to open what you might call a “therapeutic window” for dogs who would otherwise be too far gone to benefit from exposure and trust exercises. But medication rarely works entirely on its own: even with medication, what a fearful or anxious dog truly needs is for his owners to build a relationship of leadership and trust. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of anxiety cases I’ve worked with, I’ve recommended discussing medication options with a veterinary behaviorist for maybe five percent or less. Excellent candidates for medication are dogs whose anxiety is pervasive throughout large portions of their life – they’re scared indoors and out, on the sidewalk as well as in the dog park, around people and dogs, etc. If your dog is only fearful of particular stimuli in the environment – e.g. skateboards, or buses – then in most cases you should be able to crack into the fear and make excellent therapeutic progress without medication.
3. Lead by example. At least once a week I see a client who tells me their dog “doesn’t like going to the dog park”. Usually there is some truth in the statement: the dog is either afraid of other dogs, or is anxious simply leaving the house. Yet in almost every case the emotions are not only mirrored by, but encouraged by, the owner. The owner has had bad experiences with other dogs, or is afraid of their small dog playing with bigger dogs, or doesn’t want their dog or their own shoes to get dirty, or is afraid of potential germs in the park…etc. Nine times out of ten I get these dogs to the park and ask the owners to sit while I lead, run, and play with the dogs…and guess what? They love it! Dogs have evolved to read their leaders’ physical and emotional cues: if their masters speed up as they pass other dogs, while tensing up the leash, the dog gets the message that other dogs are frightening. Same thing if the master hides on a bench in the corner of the park, not interacting with other dogs or owners. Walk in, enjoy, and socialize! Many of these same points can be made for owners who tell me that their dog “hates the rain”. Sometimes dogs have genuinely deep-seated thunderstorm phobia, which is indeed a recalcitrant problem to treat. But in the vast majority of cases, we suit up in rain gear and head out to do fun things in the rain – run, play ball, sniff and pee on stuff – and the owner is amazed that their dog forgets about the weather. Who in this situation didn’t want to go out in the rain? Remember, your dog will look to you for emotional cues, just like a young child.
NEXT: Part II, Leashing Up
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I have an Aussie who has much anxiety and I’ve been trying to walk him and if we go early morning and do not run into people or other dogs the walk is very pleasant. If we go at night and run into dogs either on the road anywhere or behind fences I try to keep him walking and ignore the other dogs, but it takes all my energy to just hold onto him until we get far away. This is draining me, any suggestions?
There can be a million different causes for your Aussie’s so-called “leash-aggression” Fran, and each requires different therapeutic approaches. (And frankly, fear/anxiety isn’t normally one of the contributing causes.) E.g. if he is undersocialized he probably needs daily offleash play with other dogs (supervised and guided at first by a professional); if he is underexercised he might need three hour-long walks every day plus offleash playtime and running; if he lacks obedience training he needs mental stimulation; etc. Whatever the case, the walk itself needs to be done properly, you guiding in front from the start, with him on a loose leash, and this takes a number of different techniques and practice. Email me if you want to discuss further and please give your baby a bellyrub for me!
I recently adopted a 2 yr old female pitbull thats shy and a bit anxious/skiddish. She will randomly run to her bed and curl up as if we were to beat her and doesn’t snap out of it for at least 10-30 minutes. She does it immediately after shes done something bad, but it will happen out of nowhere half the time…. or if i lure her with a treat to get down from the couch or something. She pees herself if anyone walks up to her when she has these fearful moments. Sometimes she pees herself immediately (on the furniture) and then goes to her bed. Shes fine outside but is hyper aware of everything. Shes great with other dogs and never shows any signs of agression. I’ve tried talking to trainers who tell me to medicate.. but i knkw theres a better way. Any idea how i can handle her when she goes into ptsd mode?
There are so many variables I want to know about! Does she go on long walks every day, and play offleash at the dog park every day? The first thing your description makes me think of is being pent up with physical energy and social/emotional needs as a result of not having sufficient daily outlets for physical exercise and social interaction and play. The second thing I’d like to know about is what are these things she does that are “something bad”? This will tell me a lot more about her needs and frustrations. Overall you can’t go wrong with more physical exercise and social outlets. If anxieties still persist after that, in addition to medicating there are calming leadership exercises we can do such as working the “lie down” and “show belly” in various trigger situations. Always followed by tons of rewards — treats, bellyrubs, and praise and play! Let me know how things go, I’d love to hear!
I just adopted a mix breed 11 month old puppy (I think she’s a bull terrier lab) 3 days ago. The first problem is that she’s afraid to go on walks. I don’t pull her any further than she wants to go and give her treats when she walks. She also has bad separation anxiety. Even if she is in the crate for 10 minutes alone, she tries to escape and has cut up her face. I know that exercise will help with the anxiety, but she doesn’t want to walk.
This story sounds all too familiar. Anxieties are usually interrelated: where there’s one there tend to be others. They are also what I call “self-reinforcing”: if left untreated, they tend to get worse rather than better. The good news is that treating any one of the anxieties can help fix the others. The kind of collar you use can definitely help, as can your body language, attitude, how you leash up, whether you’re leading or following, and how fun you make the walk. Treats are often unhelpful for very anxious dogs because they won’t be lured by the reward in the trigger situation. Look for alternative means of rewarding and motivating — such as running, play, tug of war, balls, toys, meeting other dogs, hitting a dog run or dog park, bellyrubs, sniffing, peeing . . . even just physical exercise can itself be rewarding and calming. Don’t underestimate the rewarding power of social play with other dogs: many dogs I’ve met who are anxious on walks simply haven’t been led to fun enough destinations, which most often means the dog park. Keep experimenting and rewarding, and keep me posted!
I have 1 year old shih tzu mixed Norfolk terrier since young she was scared when I picked her up from her breeder she urinated on me it took a month or so to get used to me but that was because I let her sleep with me . But now she is 1 she still gets scared easily plastic bags makes her go crazy. When she sees people she hides she runs from other dogs the only dog she is close with is a puppy I just got to socialize her more. When I walk her outside its hard I have to walk her early in the morning or late at night when no one is on the street because she would walk but always look behind her get scared and stop and won’t walk it’s driving me crazy I don’t know what to do anymore
I adopted a 10 year old terrier mix a couple months ago and no matter what I do he is still fearful on the bus panting and shaking it is very rare when he is calm not sure what to do
Exercise, socialize, and work!
Daily offleash physical exercise at the dog park running and playing. Daily offleash socializing with other dogs.
Daily leadership rituals and obedience work at home, out on leashed walks, and offleash in the park.
This will give you a base to start adding calming trust exercises in stressful situations. Contact a professional to help guide you through — someone who puts a premium on physical exercise, leadership, and socialization, not just treat-based obedience tricks!
My fiance and I adopted a wonderful three year old beagle/lab mix two weeks ago. We live across the street from a very large dog friendly park and when we go on walks as a pack (myself, fiance, and dog) we have a great time. The issue is when we take her out solo she is very inconsistent. I took her on a Sunday evening walk by myself last night and she did great, but in the morning before I leave for work she seems terrified and has no interest in going to the park. This happens every week day morning where I feel like I’m pulling her down to the park and she’s pulling me home. Is this something you’ve seen before? Would love to discuss! Thank you.
How you enter the dog park, not to mention how you walk there, is extremely important. Your dog is looking to you as a leader. If you follow her fear, it will worsen. Lead her out of it, show her you love going to the park and interacting and playing and running with other dogs . . . she will open up.
I have a 9 month old Pyrenees and German Shepard mix, we have walked her a lot since we got her at 6 weeks, and on one of those walks she was attacked by a German Shepard who got out of a fence. Before that attack she was very playful around other dogs, now she’s not so sure about them and I don’t know how to help her enjoy being around other dogs. She doesn’t seem aggressive, just doesn’t want them to touch her at all.
The important thing is how you handle this incident afterward. She’ll forget about it if you lead her calmly and happily and confidently in and through other packs of dogs — every day, multiple visits to the dog park. Don’t follow her, lead. Work obedience exercises and show her how to interact and play around other dogs. She wants to forget the trauma; help her by showing her new memories!
Thank you! We just got a dog park at our apartment complex and she played with a couple dogs that were smaller than her and had a blast!
Great work, keep it up!
My dog is scared of roads. We live in an apartment and it’s on a busy street. She hates leaving the building (or even the elevator). If we drag her out and across the pavement to the car to take her somewhere else she is good once she gets there. We don’t know whether to stop taking her out to places she likes and just focus on leaving the elevator/ building? If we do she might not actually go out to the fun stuff for ages? What do we do? She is still terrified at 5am if I take her then when it is quiet.
First of all we need the right tools. I recommend a Martingale collar adjusted correctly, so you can lead and prevent planted feet and pulling. Second I recommend getting out out out, as much for as long as possible as frequently as possible — through the tough streets, but always visitng joyful fulfilling spots which e.g. perhaps pet stores and friends houses, but primarily for most dogs the offleash dog park. With lots of other dogs to play with. Then we add calming obedience rituals out on the streets . . . but nothing beats gettin your dog positively reinforced physically and socially for walking through his fears!
Hi i adopted a 2 year old female that has a really bad noise phobia to that extend she will not leave the house and if she leaves house she brays, pulls and simply wants home
Don’t: use a harness, which puts her and her fear and foot-planting in control! Do: use a martingale collar and lead, long fast and far without turning around — every walk to offleash dog park to have fun romping and playing with new friends! Other calming trust and vulnerability exercises like lying down showing belly can be hugely helpful too, but probably a ways away for her training-wise.
I listen to and read everything I can about fearful dogs. My Ali is a puppy mill mom I adopted two months ago. She was rescued from the puppy mill in December 2016 and was with a foster for 6 months. Shetland Sheepdog, 4.5 years old. Global fears. The neighbors, other people coming to the house, rain, wet pavement and then of course raining and storms. She is shy of other dogs, doesn’t not know how to play with them or play with toys. She has come a long way with trusting me– will show me her belly, paws me if I stop petting her “too soon”. Hates her harness but though I was told she had no experience on a leash right up until the moment I took her home, she is able to walk with me, though anxious. I get the message “Too much! Too much!” But I don’t really think stopping is the thing to do. Yesterday we went three blocks total. She would definitely rather hide in the house. Startles at any noise including children talking in the neighborhood, car doors slamming, etc., etc.. I could go on. She came to me on Trazadone and Fluoxitine. One night I could swear I saw her have an anxiety attack. Pacing through the house and vocalizing, wild eyes. Eventually I was able to calm her. Nothing I could perceive was going on in the environment to trigger.
I have taken her to Level one class that is off leash, she will not take treats, hangs by me now after hiding behind a bench the first 2 weeks.
I was very interested in what you had to say about the back loop vs. the front loop of the harness. I was told that shelties are very susceptible to flight when adopted and I should keep her in two leashes outside. One on the harness, one on the martingale collar. She hates the leashes. Submissive urination when I put them on if I’m not careful in my approach. What are your thought on this? It scares me to move back to just one leash on the martingale, like I will lose her as predicted. My hope is to help her instead.
Get out out out! Trek and explore. Hike, have fun! Lead, ideally every walk to a dog park for her to socialize and exercise. Use a martingle collar (not a front-clip harness that has a martingale attachment; that’s just a form of harness, puts her in the lead, and she can slip out). Martingales were originally called “safety collars” because they were originally designed for dogs with small heads and thick necks so they couldn’t slip out/off. (You have to make sure it’s adjusted properly.)
My Bailey always s barks at skateboards how can I stop him from lunging and barking.
Typically this happens when a dog is in front, often pulling on a harness. If you can practice being the leader with your dog following behind you on loose leash, he’ll be much less reactive and when he does react you’ll be able to cut it off more easily.
We recently adopted a globally fearful dog. We were not aware of issue when we got him. He is 2 years old, lab bloodhound mix. We contacted a behaviorist after a few weeks at advice of vet. He is on gabapentin after failing other short term meds – causing more anxiety and panic. We tried buspar this week and are pretty sure his increased anxiety was a result of that. When we got him we knew he was heartworm positive and will get his final treatment in a few weeks. He is here with 2 other lab mixes – similar in age and very social.
We have been on a rolleroaster for the 6 weeks he has been here. We are using techniques suggested by behaviorist with some success but the meds reactions have complicated things. We are wondering if this could be our first ever failed rescue – we have had 9 dogs over the years and have participated in training for them as well.
I could use some advice
Sorry to hear that! It always makes me cringe when behaviorists prescribe medication as a first resort. Medications are rarely the solution to any emotional or behavior issues on their own: in order to create a calm peaceful happy trusting dog they have to be used in combination with leadership routines and daily exhausting and fulfilling outdoor exercise and socializing. At best, I see medications as providing a “therapeutic window” that can sometimes allow those other elements to take hold and create a positive effect. Whatever the case, this is too complex to be able to advise without seeing and feeling the case — but you can’t go wrong exercising and socializing, getting out and having a blast trekking, tracking, and exploring every day, as long as you can do it safely. Best of luck and please keep me posted!
My12 year old Shiba in the last 2 years is terrified of thunderstorms firecrackers. We have a quiet spot that we stay with her but it doesn’t seem to help. Our veterinarian has given her Silio which helped at first but isn’t helping the last couple of storms. Anything you can suggest would be greatly appreciated.
Firecrackers and thunderstorms are common and serious triggers, not easily desensitized or counterconditioned. I’ve found success limiting one of my fearful dog’s access to large spaces, isolating him in a bathroom (there are various reasons for this, all of which are unsubstantiated via research), even covering him with a blanket. Restricting his freedom I’ve found most helpful. Adding lots of outdoor physical and social exercise beforehand is key, though of course you can’t know when rains are coming. And firecrackers are so sudden and sharp, it’s tough to combat those. I also put on background noise like radio or tv — not “calming” classical music but loud live action e.g. animal planet or the like, to drown out sudden noises. It’s an ongoing process, but it does get better over time if you keep trying and experimenting!
I have a 1 year old mastiff. She is spayed. She is now showing signs of aggression. The first time was a few weeks back when I took her to the vet and he was listening to her heart she was in front of me and she mouthed his hand he thinks she was protecting us. Today I took her to doggie daycare she was fine with the female employee s but the one male she was growling and her fur was up. On both accations she seemed very excitable or anxiety. I thought she was protecting me again. She always mouths me but never hurts or bites me. I am affraid to leave her at the kennel when I go on vacation. I had her in training. She is loving and sweet. Sometimes she scares me when she plays she growls and runs stops and comes back and does the same thing I then grab her lease and tell her to stop and lower her to lay down and she calms down. I am concerned now with this new aggression. Any ascice would be appreciated
This can be serious, and untreated will develop further as she completes maturing into her full dominant adult protective and assertive adult — which for big dogs like mastiffs take upwards of 3 years! You definitely want to work calm submissive obedience commands like “Down” which means showing belly. She can’t lung/bark/bite in that position, it’s a doggie rule. :) We also need to set boundaries and tell her when her mindset and behavior are unacceptable, and expose/socialize her as much as possible. But in general, human-directed aggression is a serious issue especially for big strong guarder breeds, and isn’t something that can be treated over the internet: find a qualified professional near you and do the work! Best of luck, keep me posted!
I have a 2 yr old rescue female lab. Very loving and affectionate (and grateful) personality. Indoor/outdoor equal time. She is perfectly comfortable when outside in the yard or on the porch, but absolutely refuses to exit the property gate to get into the car or go on walks. Sheer panic ensues with wild thrashing on the Martingale collar, or any other lead. As a result, she cannot go to the vet, on walks, groomer, or any other trips that require her to leave the property. Prior to breaking my arm, I was able to pick her up and carry her out of the gate, and into the car, however I can no longer do this and the poor dog is now land locked at my house. I cannot find any research on this unusual problem…PLEASE HELP~
I recommend a martingale collar so you can lead her and control her on walks. Practice walking in and around the house, yard, anywhere you can. Then start to leave the property in short tiny bursts, gradually getting further. For the walk you should be in front, and the leash be loose — it’s tricky to do but check my videos for some techniques. The car similarly should be counter conditioned and desensitized gradually: first when off, all the doors and windows open, for just a sec; then gradually shutting and opening doors; eventually turning car on then off; etc. It takes time! Keep me posted!
After loosing our little sheltie to cancer three years ago we purchased another sheltie from a pet shop shortly after. She was 4 months old. We thought she would be small like our other one but soon grew to be over 50 lbs. We were told she would be 40 lbs. The reason for her being overweight is because we can’t get her to go out. We carry her to the vet. and the groomer. When we try to put a harness on her she piddles. We can’t get her to go on a dog leash to go outside. She won’t even walk around the house with it on. She’s trained to go on a piddle pad. We did that from the time we brought her home. She was more agile when we first got her she would even go out in our yard. One thing we noticed after we had her a while when we would go over to pet her, she would put he head back in sort of some kind of defense. Maybe she was abused. We are dog lovers and give her a lot of love and attention, but the trust is not there and we want her to be more active. She only knows the confines of our home. Now she won’t even go to where we have the piddle pad unless my husband calls her to come. She’s more attached to him but still won’t go on leash. What can we do.
My dog is a 2 year old rescue who is absolutely terrified of going outside, seemingly as a result from noise phobia. We’ve had a trainer work with her and teach us counter-conditioning/desensitization techniques when living in Manhattan but they didn’t seem to make any difference in her fear and anxiety after months of utilizing them. After consulting with our vet, he put her on trazodone and buspirone, which helped very slightly but not enough to make any substantial difference. We even moved from the East Village to a quiet neighborhood in Brooklyn because we thought less traffic and noise outside would calm her, but she is just as scared to go outside and to be outside. When we bring out her leash to prepare her for a walk, she curls up and hides and starts to shake. We are forced to carry her down the stairs and outside for all of her walks, and the entire time she pulls in crazy directions to come home, plants her feet, cowers, and sometimes even tries to hide underneath parked cars with her tail deep between her legs. I hate to have to drag her outside for a certain distance in order for her to even remotely relieve herself. She’s the sweetest girl and it breaks my heart to see her in such fear…we are at a loss of where to go from here and are quite desperate for help. What else can we do? We are disenchanted by the standard counter-conditioning/desensitization techniques as we’ve already spent SO much money on training that winds up being unsuccessful even though we diligently follow every technique. This is no life for her and we just want her to be happy to go outside.
I’d love to work with your dog! We’d use the a good collar and leash techniques to provide confident leadership, and get her out having a blast walking and socializing in the park with her friends! Add a few calming trust rituals like showing belly . . . she’ll be a different dog, happy everywhere! Give me a direct email :)
We just adopted a rescue, mixed breed, about 9-11 months old. He was picked up off the streets, he had been shot in the leg, had surgery a month ago so he still has some discomfort. He won’t do anything other than lay on the couch. He wont come to any of us. He doesn’t want to go out, we literally have to carry him to the door and heard him outside. I know exercise would help but its hard enough just getting him outside. He doesn’t even come to eat, I have to pick him up and bring him to his bowl and then he gobbles it all up. He will take treats by hand and enjoys pets. I’m not sure how to get him to come off the couch without physically moving him.
Hi,
So I’ve been with my boyfriend for 5 months now and he is frequently staying at my apartment. My 2-year old dog Oliver is terrified of him. He won’t go near him, hides behind me at all times, and if my boyfriend comes anywhere close to him, Oliver gets aggressive and starting growling and trying to bite him. He also has started peeing himself and crying like he’s being hurt whenever my boyfriend tries to pet him. Oliver has always been anxious around strangers and usually takes to women faster than men. But this excessive fear is only happening with my boyfriend and I’m not sure why or how to help. Any suggestions?
That is a tricky situation. Walks can be extremely bonding, particularly if they go fun places like a dog park to run and play. Feeding and treating and giving bones etc. is also great — as is working obedience commands with fun rewards, but that probably comes later, after those first two activities start to gel. In general if a dog is scared of someone, that person should let the dog come to them over time and not force close contact, not even try to lure (the dog will know it’s a trick). Walking, however, leading on leash to fun rewards, isn’t forced contact.
Hey,
My pup can’t seem to stop licking my friend’s pup — specifically his privates. He is not like this with other dogs — only with this specific pup.
I’ve done a lot of research and most say it’s quite normal for dogs to lick each other briefly when meeting but this is definitely excessive.
He’d get into a mode where that’s all he wants to do. He’s usually pretty good with the leave it command but he’d completely ignore it when he’s in this mode.
I’ve also tried to put him on short “time-outs” after 3 strikes of not leaving it. Time-outs usually work well when I’m trying to curb any unwanted behaviors but this seems to not phase him as well. When we let him off “time out” he’d immediately run to the pup and sniff/lick him again.
I’m stumped as to what’s triggering this fixation and what I can do to train him out of this. Was hoping to get some of your thoughts :)
That’s a tough one without seeing and feeling more . . . Does he socialize every day with lots of other dogs? Somehow he seems obsessed with your friend’s pup, like he has pent-up needs that need to get channeled elsewhere. If he tries that same behavior with lots of other more dominant/protective dogs he’ll get a talking to! They can really learn good manners by interacting daily with lots of other mature adult well-behaved emotionally balanced dogs. Puppies tend not to be able to communicate boundaries so well (or even mind them being shattered).
Just adopted a 7 year old Breton. He is extremely anxious on walks and just want to go home. We have him on a harness with a clip on harness and lead, but he is becoming more anxious over the past few days. We have had him for 2 weeks .
We worked out he is afraid of children’s voices and the noise of their scooter/bike wheels, so we have tried going walks earlier in morning to avoid interaction, but he is so fearful leaving house. He has no focus whatsoever on us when we are outside. He just keeps turning round and wanting to go home.
He seems very happy and secure in the house. Should we change to a slip collar? Should we put him in car to go forest walk? Should I just let him into garden and rest again in a few days.
Any advice appreciated.
Harness is a disaster for scared dogs who plant their feet, you get dragging and they can put their whole body into resisting. Then their fear gets reinforced. I like a Martingale collar, it is also a safety collar because it won’t slip off and they can’t wriggle out of it. Try to get loose leash walking by tugging and immediately relaxing the leash to a loose “J” shape, keep walking don’t stop when he plants, and walk to fun exciting rewarding outdoor social fun like other dogs playing offleash in parks with grass/dirt/trees. Don’t shut down and shrink his life into the backyard, he will never learn that the world is fun and friendly! It’s really all about being a confident and rewarding leader, a tour guide, a life coach, a personal trainer . . . showing him through experience and conditioning, counterconditioning and desensitize, that the world is awesome!
I have a small toy poodle that has horrible separation anxiety. As soon as I walk out of my apartment, before I even make it to my elevator he starts howling. Almost sounds like he’s screaming, it’s so loud and he sounds like he’s in such distress. We go on walks before I leave, and I’ve tried leaving music on for him. Nothing seems to help.
Separation anxiety is always fixable! But it requires a holistic approach fulfilling mind, body, and social needs. First of all he needs friends offleash in dog parks every day so mom and dad aren’t his entire life. Then practice the “lie down” in his bed and small “therapeutic separations”. Check out cedt.ticketleap.com for my separation anxiety Zoom class!
I adopted a pit/lab mix 2 months ago. She is now 9 months old – the first month we went for short walks (alone) 5x per day. Now she will only go for a walk if someone else comes with us. She will not walk with me alone, when we get to the edge of the lawn she puts on the breaks and is terrified. If someone else is with us she walks away from the house with no problem and will walk for miles. I can put her in the car alone and take her to the park or someone else’s house and then walk her. I have been driving her to the other side of my neighborhood and walking her home and going back for my car later. She has a history of abandonment by 2 previous owners. We have a martingale collar so i can get her on her feet but don’t want to force her. Any suggestions?
It’s great you have a martingale instead of a harness! First of all we want to make walks fun and fulfilling; often this involves heading to parks ideally for offleash social play with other dogs, but any kind of nature can also help. To get her over her fear you need to see yourself as her tour guide and life coach — don’t stop and don’t turn around, don’t try to lure with treats she’s too smart for that! Walk confidently and tug AND IMMEDIATELY LOOSEN the leash, she’ll follow if done correctly and start to trust. Email me to join a Zoom session on these topics! cedt.ticketleap.com
Do dogs get out of their second fear period naturally if nothing terrifying happens or does it always require intervention? I’m confused about letting them avoid the stimulus entirely because with human anxiety that’s the goal and it heightens it. Should I cross away from people? Invariably I do encounter the ultra friendly stranger with big hands. My dog used to love it and feed on it. Now moves back or behind me. Sometimes pursues strangers to sniff. The ones who are ignoring him. But I reward that. I think anyone coming to my home he’d warm up to but on the street he’s very wary if anyone approaches. It’s a huge change. Anyone he met before this fear period doesn’t elicit any reaction He doesn’t bark or Growl. He moves away. I do give him treats around strangers but not sure what to do about the overzealous approacher. Is this something you’ve dealt with? He’s such a sweet great dog and I want to help best I can. My dog used to be super duper friendly to everyone to the point where we thought maybe he’d make a good therapy dog, so I really do think it’s what’s described as the second fear period. But I want to be proactive in helping him overcome best he can. Any advice much appreciated!
Fears phobias and anxieties are self-reinforcing! If you allow your scared do to follow their “flight response” i.e. run away, they think that’s why they survived and it worsens! We don’t want to “flood”, but we DO need to expose to triggers and prevent the the flight response, e.g. loose leash or belly-showing, which creates desensitizing over consistent time and effort . . . then we COUNTERcondition by making happy rewards like playing with other dogs in the park!
I have a 2 year old golden retriever/Great Pyrenees mix that I’ve had for a little over a year now. I’ve had to a lot of moving recently which I know takes a toll on her and stresses her out. We live in Brooklyn and she absolutely hates it. I feel terrible making her live here. When I take her outside I have to carry her away from the house because she’ll just press up against the house and pee herself there absolutely refusing to move. She will pull me like crazy trying to go back home if I carry her away from the house. She will walk if I walk her with another person. This is only in new areas or very loud cities. Anywhere else she is fine, still anxious, but not nearly as bad. I’m wondering how do I help her overcome these fears?
First of all if she’s social with other dogs, getting to big natural spaces like Hillside dog park in Brooklyn Heights or Dyker dog run in south Brooklyn, or offleash hrs in Prospect Park, Ft. Greene, and elsewhere, is the ideal exhausting fulfilling and emotionally happy-making reward for the difficult homework of walking through busy city streets! Then certain leash leadership techniques on a martingale collar — not a harness, those let her plant and pull! — seal the deal.