Fearful or Anxious Dog? - Building Confidence

 

Fearful or Anxious Dog? - Building Confidence

Many dogs show anxious or fearful behavior. But what can we do about it? What are the limitations? There are many reasons your dog may be anxious or fearful. Some factors may be known, while others may not.

We’ll cover some common factors that play into anxious or fearful behavior.

The process of socialization and imprinting have “critical learning periods” within the first few months of life. Dogs develop associations during this time and learn about their likes and dislikes. If a dog was not exposed to enough stimuli during this time or it was done in an incorrect manner, this could lead to the development of fears or anxieties around certain things like people, other dogs, cars, etc. Genetics also plays a factor. If these negative feelings are coming from a genetic standpoint, your training (even if done perfectly) will have limited results. In these cases, a veterinary assessment may be beneficial.

If the root cause of these behaviors is genetic (which we cannot “fix”), or it was due to a poor “critical” period, we should be focusing on management. So what does management look like?

Let’s look at a few examples.

Sound - If your dog has a phobia of sounds, you could use a white noise machine or radio in your home to help drown out sounds from the outside environment.

Visual - If your dog has “triggers” while looking out the window, we could incorporate visual blockers, such as placing privacy screens/decals on the lower half of the window or blocking access to the area where these reactions usually occur. If they happen while you’re in public, you can use parked vehicles, corners of buildings, or other objects to break the line of sight from the stimuli that cause your dog stress.

Always remember that distance is your best friend. If your dog is showing distress, your first thought should be to increase your distance from the “scary” thing.

What are things we CAN do to help?

Set your dog up for success:

If your dog is scared of other dogs, you do not want to throw them into the middle of a dog park expecting them to “figure it out”. You may go to a quiet park with only a few people and start reinforcing preferred behaviors at great distances, working your way in closer over time.

Improve your bond with your dog:

Working on skills like sit, down, recall, etc. is not only helpful (and potentially life-saving) but also improves your verbal and nonverbal communication.

Understand how your dog is feeling:

Do you know what your dog looks like when they are happy or scared? Dogs communicate primarily using body language. Tucking the tail, cowering the body, flattening the ears, lip licking, and out-of-context panting/yawning are all signs of stress. What are your dog's first signals they are not feeling good about a situation? Once you learn to see it you can act immediately, changing the environment and allowing them to feel more comfortable. This will improve their reliability on you to help them out instead of going into a “reactive” state.

Autonomy:

Give your dog more choices. Let them pick the direction and pace they want to explore. If they want to investigate a smell or new thing, let them. Working at your dog’s pace maximizes their sense of control over the environment, and this will aid them to feel more confident and safe.

Reinforce preferred behaviors, and never punish them:

If you see your dog acting calmly in a situation that would have previously caused them stress, let them know they are doing a good job. You can reinforce them in ways they appreciate most. This may be verbal praise, affection, play, food, or environmental access. Don’t punish your dog for reacting negatively towards something that makes them anxious. You can imagine how this would be counterproductive, be compassionate. Work with your dog, not against them.

Provide your dog with proper stimulation:

There are three main areas of stimulation I focus on.

1. Skills, as mentioned before, help develop a better bond between you and your dog. Dogs are very social animals, so having strong social connections is important to them.

2. Nosework. Allowing your dog to utilize their greatest sense does wonders for mental stimulation. Allowing them to sniff while walking and incorporating the “scatter” exercise are great ways to promote this stimulation.

3. Problem-solving. Learning how to handle a problem and come out successful is a great way to improve confidence. Think about how good you feel when you find the solution to a problem you’ve been having… It feels good! A simple exercise could be a pop bottle with holes in it that is filled with kibble.

Keep things light and fun. Create positive memories with your best friend. Life can be challenging (as we all know). Don’t expect perfection from your dog. We’re not perfect either.

“Be a friend. Not an owner.”