Fearful dogs hold a special place in my heart - whether their fear comes from weak genetics, lack of early socialization, neglect, or abuse they all live a similar life. The vast majority of shy and/or fearful dogs are not this way because of a bad experience, or an abusive past - dogs as a species are predisposed to be suspicious of new and unfamiliar things - more often than not it's their genetics combined with their early socializtion (or lack there of). While the world, to a dog, can be full of new and sometimes scary things, some things can be a lot scarier than others. Some of the most common things that dogs are afraid of include:
Understanding Dog Body Language
I am a firm believer that training is a two way street. THE BEST thing you can do for your fearful dog is to understand what he is trying to tell you, be his advocate, and his support system. This illustration by Lili Chin, of Doggie Drawings, shows some great examples of dog body language:
- Unfamiliar people (men more often than women - especially larger men with deeper voices)
- People with odd silhouettes (carrying bags, wearing hats, etc.)
- People who charge, or approach quickly head on
- Hands reaching over the tops of their heads
- Young children who move quickly or erratically
- People who themselves are afraid of dogs
Understanding Dog Body Language
I am a firm believer that training is a two way street. THE BEST thing you can do for your fearful dog is to understand what he is trying to tell you, be his advocate, and his support system. This illustration by Lili Chin, of Doggie Drawings, shows some great examples of dog body language:
Prevention
While some dogs are more predisposed to being fearful than others, a bit of prevention can go a long way. Enroll your puppy in a group puppy class for early handling and socialization. Dr. Sophia Yin has some wonderful suggestions and a great Puppy Socialization Checklist to help with this.
What Not to Do
Whatever you do, don't force your fearful dog into social situations. You want them to feel safe, not threatened - and forcing them to be somewhere scary will only increase their amount of fear and anxiety.
When training your shy and/or fearful dog, it's important to be sure that all training methods are positive and force free. Avoid using fear or aversives, or devices such as pinch or shock collars.
What to Do
Fist and foremost - make it safe. Not just for your dog, but for yourself, and those around you. By making things safe you are setting your dog up for success, but you are helping to change his emotional state and how he feels about a particular scary situation. Making your home environment safe can include using tools such as a crate, baby gates, head halters, and even a muzzle - your goal is to make things safe by physically preventing your dog from coming into contact with unfamiliar people or situations unless you are prepared to work through the issue. Outside of the home environment you can make sure you avoid scary situations - when out for a walk avoid crowded areas, like parks and city streets. If walking near your home, you can always cross the street to build distance between your dog and an approaching person.
Once you have made things safe, the next step is to figure out exactly what it is that scares your dog, and elicits his fear behavior. Sometimes these things can be very general, other times they can be pretty specific. It's important to know exactly what it is that your dog is afraid of - we like to call these "triggers" - once you know your fearful dog's triggers, you can structure a training program and begin to work on them specifically. You can even separate these triggers and work on them one at a time.
In addition to making a list of triggers, it's important to also figure out what your dog really LOVES. Food works well for most dogs - but not just any food will do; training treats should be something tasty and special that the dog will do anything for! Don't dismay if your dog isn't a chow hound, some dogs prefer toys or opportunities to play rather than food - anything that your dog loves (food or a toy) can be used as a reward.
Once we've identified the things our fearful dogs are scared of (triggers) as well as what our dogs love (reinforcers) we can begin counter conditioning and changing their idea about what scares them. The basis of this counter conditioning is to introduce the dog to a very low intensity trigger (something low enough that it doesn't quite elicit a fear response) and reinforce him with something very high value that he enjoys. When working on on over coming a fear response, it's important to remember that you must control the environment in a way that the dog never encounters what he is afraid of unless you are in a position to reward him and work through his fear.
The next step in training is to gradually increase the intensity of the trigger you are working on.
To sort of sum up Counter Conditioning - here's another Doggie Drawing:
While some dogs are more predisposed to being fearful than others, a bit of prevention can go a long way. Enroll your puppy in a group puppy class for early handling and socialization. Dr. Sophia Yin has some wonderful suggestions and a great Puppy Socialization Checklist to help with this.
What Not to Do
Whatever you do, don't force your fearful dog into social situations. You want them to feel safe, not threatened - and forcing them to be somewhere scary will only increase their amount of fear and anxiety.
When training your shy and/or fearful dog, it's important to be sure that all training methods are positive and force free. Avoid using fear or aversives, or devices such as pinch or shock collars.
What to Do
Fist and foremost - make it safe. Not just for your dog, but for yourself, and those around you. By making things safe you are setting your dog up for success, but you are helping to change his emotional state and how he feels about a particular scary situation. Making your home environment safe can include using tools such as a crate, baby gates, head halters, and even a muzzle - your goal is to make things safe by physically preventing your dog from coming into contact with unfamiliar people or situations unless you are prepared to work through the issue. Outside of the home environment you can make sure you avoid scary situations - when out for a walk avoid crowded areas, like parks and city streets. If walking near your home, you can always cross the street to build distance between your dog and an approaching person.
Once you have made things safe, the next step is to figure out exactly what it is that scares your dog, and elicits his fear behavior. Sometimes these things can be very general, other times they can be pretty specific. It's important to know exactly what it is that your dog is afraid of - we like to call these "triggers" - once you know your fearful dog's triggers, you can structure a training program and begin to work on them specifically. You can even separate these triggers and work on them one at a time.
In addition to making a list of triggers, it's important to also figure out what your dog really LOVES. Food works well for most dogs - but not just any food will do; training treats should be something tasty and special that the dog will do anything for! Don't dismay if your dog isn't a chow hound, some dogs prefer toys or opportunities to play rather than food - anything that your dog loves (food or a toy) can be used as a reward.
Once we've identified the things our fearful dogs are scared of (triggers) as well as what our dogs love (reinforcers) we can begin counter conditioning and changing their idea about what scares them. The basis of this counter conditioning is to introduce the dog to a very low intensity trigger (something low enough that it doesn't quite elicit a fear response) and reinforce him with something very high value that he enjoys. When working on on over coming a fear response, it's important to remember that you must control the environment in a way that the dog never encounters what he is afraid of unless you are in a position to reward him and work through his fear.
- For example: If my dog is afraid of strangers, and when they are near he is barking, and possibly snapping at them. I will find a distance, say 50 feet, where he can comfortably watch new people without reacting. I will reward him over and over from 50 feet away, until he is comfortable in the presence of strangers from this distance.
The next step in training is to gradually increase the intensity of the trigger you are working on.
- So, for example, if you are still working on the fear of strangers mentioned above, once your dog is comfortable at a particular distance, you can gradually decrease the distance between the dog and strange people, rewarding at each distance, until he is comfortable even when he is nearby strangers. You may progress from 50 feet, to 45 feet, to 40 feet, and so on until the strangers are relatively close and the dog is comfortable and no longer showing signs of fear, but instead is looking forward to the reinforcer he has begun to anticipate in the presence of the tripper.
To sort of sum up Counter Conditioning - here's another Doggie Drawing:
While helpful, this advice should never take the place of professional help! If you ever feel lost, or in over your head, don't hesitate to contact me, or another force free, positive trainer to help work through your dog's fear!
Some great resources include:
BAT (Behavior Adjustment Training
The Yellow Dog Project
Fearful Dogs.com
Some great resources include:
BAT (Behavior Adjustment Training
The Yellow Dog Project
Fearful Dogs.com
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