Helping an anxious dog to overcome their fears

Every person has felt the unpleasant, sickly edge of fear at some point in their lives - and no one wants their dog to feel that way.  Unfortunately, a dog who is feeling mildly scared or anxious can look pretty innocuous.  He might pant even though it is not overly warm, flick his tongue or lick his nose, hunch over, or glance (or even move) away.  Have you seen your dog do this?  If so, read on.  You can help. 

Note: If your dog is really scared of something - hides, stops moving altogether, or acts aggressively - please contact a good, positive trainer, as the procedure described below is quite technical. In the case of moderate or serious fears, mistakes can make your dog's fear even worse. 

Mischa (back, heading away) shows me how he feels about the camera by leaving during a recall.  Normally, he has the fastest recall of the crew.  Once I had figured out that it was the camera, I put it away until I could train him.

Mischa is a sled dog who recently became scared of having his picture taken.  This could be a really easy fix, you might be saying.  Just put the camera away when he's around. Presto chango.  And you'd be right - locking away my camera forevermore would have kept him feeling safe.  But he is (like everyone's dog, I would argue) a perfect-looking creature who deserves to be the subject of numerous poorly-executed photographical attempts.  In sum: I really wanted to take his picture.  So I trained him to love the camera using the power of Pavlovian conditioning. 

How did you change a scared dog's mind?

You might remember Pavlov from any introduction to psychology in school. He was the scientist who found out that you could train a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell by consistently following the bell with food.  We're co-opting Pavlov's approach, but instead of the bell we'll aim to make Mischa salivate - in other words, anticipate hopefully - when he sees the camera.

First, I separated the camera into its constituent parts: lens cap, lens, and body. (Later, I would even separate out the sound of the shutter release).  I put the lens cap into my pocket along with a baggie of really good dog treats.  Then, I went into stealth mode. When Mischa was least expecting it, I showed him the lens cap, let him sniff for two or three seconds, and then rained down ten or twenty treats, one at a time. 

• Important Part One: Mischa did not know it was coming.
• Important Part Two: Mischa saw the camera lens first, for 2-3 seconds. I stood as still as a statue during this part.
• Important Part Three: After he'd seen the camera lens, I then gave him food. Lots of food. Lots.
• Important Part Four: He never saw the camera without then getting food.  No pictures, period.

To make sure I got Important Part One right (Mischa did not know it was coming), I also showed him random non-camera items in the same way - approaching, putting my hand in my pocket, and pulling it out.  I showed him a small metal owl statue.  I showed him a tape measure.  I showed him a spoon.  None of those resulted in treats.  I wanted it to be really clear in his mind:  the lens cap?  THAT meant treats.  Everything else, like me walking up to him with my hand in my pocket?  That was meaningless.

I think I can do this.  When do I move to the next step?

Once it was perfectly, patently obvious that Mischa loved the lens cap (he saw it and jumped up, wagging, drooling, searching for his food, eyes jumping from my face to my pocket), I moved on to the lens.  He caught on, and came to love the lens.  Then I tried the fully assembled camera itself.  This took much longer than I had expected - weeks of few-times-per-week training.  You can almost certainly guess why. Mischa had seen a camera before, and it worried him.  So we carried on slowly, and I was careful to never raise the camera to my eye or take a picture, not yet.  I just showed him the camera, let him sniff and investigate, then fed him.

How much do I feed him when I show him the item?

Lots.  Or as they say in Manitoba: Really Lots.

Note: Trying to move quickly when dealing with a fearful dog is never productive - two brash steps forward, five fearful steps back.  Going at the dog's pace, however tortoiselike, is paradoxically faster. A couple of times I tried to rabbit ahead, and Mischa told me so by turning tail and leaving.  I knew to drop back immediately to an easier step.

OK.  He loves the camera. What next?

Early pictures were not about focus,  framing or composition (to be frank, later shots weren't either.  I'm just better at Pavlovian conditioning).  They were about putting everything together - camera, pose, sound - for just a brief moment, and then giving Mischa food right afterwards.  His smiling, soft face indicates clearly that he's enjoying this process immensely. I'm not moving too fast here.

Next came the sound of the shutter release.  When he was least expecting it, I pressed the shutter release on the camera, hidden artfully away from his sight.  I waited the requisite two seconds, and then poured out the food. I did this when I was working away at my desk, or chopping onions, or reading a book. The element of surprise is vital here.  Mischa needed to know the sound of the camera, and nothing else, predicted that food was coming. 

The sound of the shutter release? Why?

When we are helping dogs to overcome fears, it's wise to separate the scary thing into chunks the dog can handle - think lens cap, lens, camera body.  It's even better if the chunks can tickle only one sense at a time: the smell of a stranger.  The sight of a hot-air balloon.  The sound of a shutter release. Since I had found Mischa to be more fearful than I had originally guessed, I also separated out, and trained him to love, me crouching into the photographer's pose by following it with a snack.  I also pretended to take a picture, with no camera present. This predicted snacks, too.

Final step: Do the math

Once I had him loving everything separately, I started doing some math.  Add the camera pose to the camera.  Add the camera to the sound of the shutter release.  We stayed on each step until Mischa was obviously in love: looking from my face to my pockets, drooling with anticipation. Each step took days or weeks. 

Finally, I was able to start taking photographs - at first, just one every couple of days, then more often.  I continued, and continue to this day, to give him a treat every time. Cost: a small treat. Benefit: inoculation against the fear cropping up again.

I'm now free to snap as many pictures as I want. And with a face like that, well, that's Really Lots.

Hopeful smile and perky ears tell you everything you need to know: Camera Guy.

Note: this blog is being published as part of the Harness The Love campaign.

I recommend front-clip harnesses all the time.  "These special harnesses cut pulling immediately, and most dogs find them extremely comfortable" I say sincerely.  Many dogs in my class do eventually show up in one of these harnesses.  Their owners look thankful and appear to be healing, at long last, from the repetitive stress injuries to their shoulders.  The dogs also seem well-socialized and exercised - all sniffled out.

Often, though, I see a raised eyebrow.  "You think that bit o' cloth will stop our dog from pulling?"  Why yes, yes I do.  But you don't have to believe me: let's ask a sled dog or two.

Really? Sled dogs?

Sled dogs have been bred to pull.  They love pulling.  They scream joyously from the rooftops when it's time to pull.  I run a micro-rescue which places competitive racing dogs in pet homes, so I'm lucky enough to meet quite a few of these special dogs.  And even though I am a professional dog trainer, I do not spend the sometimes-considerable time needed to train these dogs to walk on a loose leash or heel.  They're learning a suite of other skills which are much more important.  Our rescue simply asks our adopters to purchase a front-clip no-pull harness, and let the dogs have all the time they need on walks to just be a dog.  In almost every case, these harnesses work perfectly well to turn a slavering sleddie into a handle-able hound.  The proof really is in the pudding. 

How does it work?

Front-clip harnesses change the point of leverage.  When the dog pulls, the harness simply turns the dog to the side.  Mushing harnesses, which are designed to get the most horsepower from a dog as is safely possible, have a close-fitting comfortable collar and an attachment on the back.  It follows that a leash attached to a collar or a harness with a back attachment actually invite pulling in many dogs.  Yes, that's right: back-clip harnesses can awaken the inner sled dog in even the most fine-boned Chihuahua.  Is that what you want?

The question do front-clip anti-pull harnesses actually work? can be answered by the brave dog owners who bring a sled dog into their homes.  According to new sled dog mom Emmy Neufeld (responsible for the wonderful picture of bandana-wearing Mr. Handsome Oyster, above right).

If it wasn't for the no-pull harness I would have had a really hard time, especially with my back.  There were days I could hardly walk ...but I have always been in control. Now we walk ...most days with a lot of slack in the leash.

Learn more about front-clip harnesses here, and please spread the word about these fantastic, safe, and sometimes even life-saving pieces of equipment!  Then pop a front-clip harness on your dog, grab a treat bag, and head out into your neighbourhood to enjoy a nice stroll.  An amble.  A saunter.  A breath of fresh air.

"Doesn't he need to know that it's wrong?"

A student in my dog classes recently asked me this, about a dog making a house-training error.  I commiserated and repeated the usual how-to, but it got me pondering the idea of corrections.  Generally, "corrections" in pet dog training involve telling the dog he got it wrong by using something like a collar jerk, a yell or stern word, or a button pressed on a shock collar remote. 

I used to think the same thing, by the way.  How can you train a dog what not to do, without correcting their obvious errors?  Showing them the right way would only go so far.  It made the idea of training solely with treats seem like a folly. 

Let's imagine...

Imagine you are going to visit a newly-found cousin back in the mother country - quaint farms on green hillsides, cobbled lanes, and delicious food.  You elect to stay in a small hotel near the town named for your great-great-grandma, but are alarmed - truly, alarmed - to discover there is a rather substantial difference in bathroom etiquette.  The porcelain bowl you have used your whole life is, in this country, habitat for expensive goldfish pets.  You learn from the wild gesticulations of your grey-haired host that you must use what rather strongly resemble lawnchairs.  Outside.  On the lawn.  

After holding on for far too long, you decide you simply must comply with local customs.  You head out the front door single-mindedly.  The host, recognizing you as a foreigner and having dealt with many others with similar reservations, appears after a delicately appropriate interval to thank you profusely.  He offers you a complimentary glass of wine from their cellar, and you start to feel that maybe, just maybe, you can handle this situation after all. 

A few days of this routine and you even start to question (as did many people when bathrooms moved inside) how hygienic it is to do those functions next door to both the kitchen and bedroom.   In addition, your host continues to have a small gift handy at just the right time - a coupon for the local spa, a discounted room upgrade.  You log on to your travel site and gratefully give the hotel a five-star rating. 

But alas, you flub.  Your cousin keeps you up late one night with photo albums and a bottle of a rather potent berry-flavoured liquor.  Without thinking, you make use of the goldfish bowl.  In the morning, your misstep is noted by the maid and the hotel owner hustles you to his office.  He's very sorry, but you will need to pay to replace the goldfish's preferred aquatic plants.  In fact, the relatively hefty fine has already been applied to your credit card.  (And let's be honest.  Despite the sternest of warnings you give yourself, there are three more charges over the time you are there.  You are only human.)

On the last day of your visit you realize, a bit to your surprise, that you now happily participate in a totally new normal.  You are completely trained.  Your behaviour has profoundly changed.  At no point did the hotel owner bully you, use harsh language, scare you, or strike you - in fact, some of those actions would give you cause to head to the local police station.  At the very least, they would have drastically changed what you said about the hotel in your review. 

This is how a dog's behaviour changes, too.  The rules change, and they adapt.  They are rewarded for new behaviours, and those behaviours happen more often.  Sometimes, they get dinged with a time-out (think credit card fine) if they flub.  With consistency, they easily learn how to be correct, without any of the standard corrections. 

And guess what?  You get to keep your five-star rating then, too.

Yesterday evening, a brilliant orange-pink sunset shone through the trembling aspen stands that frame our pastures and gardens.  I managed to steal a glimpse between swatting the fierce evening mosquitoes and digging a bit frantically into one of our long rows of potato plants.  I was pulling up some All Reds - red skinned and red fleshed, delicate in flavour, and certainly worth growing ten billion pounds. 

You know, for our family of two.

You might laugh outright, or you might laugh in commiseration - depending on whether or not you have a garden.  Everyone I know, no matter how small their garden, grows too many potatoes... every year.  (And do not get me started on the dreaded zucchini).  Thinking about our annual overindulgence in the starchy-tuber-of-all-things-delicious, I asked myself, "why do we do this every year?  We're relatively smart humans with giant brains and the capacity to plan.  Weeding a billion potato plants is ghastly, takes time from stuff I actually like to do, and harvesting and storing them is a huge waste of energy.  Why, brain? Why?"  But of course, I get a kick out of looking at the neat rows of potatoes, and an almost embarrassing sense of pride when I catalogue the crates tucked into our root cellar in the fall. 

My thinking, of course, turned to dogs.  Many a client has asked me blandly why does my dog do that?  Usually the behaviour is something which, long ago, helped the dog's canid ancestors make it through another day in the rather brutal wilderness.  Sometimes the behaviour has become a bit odd, perhaps as a result of the genetic tinkering - domestication - humans have carried out for the last few thousand years.  The dog might bury, or "cache," food or strange and wonderfully inedible items.  The dog might ferociously guard food or strange and wonderfully inedible items (Kleenex, anyone?).

Some behaviours that dogs have inherited – either in the normal form or in a modified form – from their ancestors

Fearfulness Food guarding Dislike of being handled Sound sensitivity Chasing small animals Predation Tugging Herding Retrieving “Romance”

My own ancestors were, by all accounts, peasant stock.  We faced periods with no food, as starvation has plagued humanity for all but the most recent decades.  Even now, plentiful food is only found in some parts of the world.  I quite naturally enjoy growing too much food and storing it just in case, an instinct which would have served my great-great-great¹² grandmother very well.

So I'll say potayto, and my dog, digging nearby and burying one of many dead frogs she'll never ever eat, says potahto. 

...so help me, dog.

Giving a dog medication can be unpleasant, for both the owner and the dog.  If taking his daily dose makes your dog upset, please give him a head's up that it is coming.  Here's how, and why. 

One of my dogs needs medication, twice a day.  He isn't as hungry as he used to be, which the medication helps to address.  Unfortunately, his lack of appetite means I can't just hide the pill in a bit of tasty food.  So I have to "pill" him - that is, I have to open his mouth and pop the pill in.  Luckily for me, we've worked on this in the past and although he finds the procedure to be a bit unpleasant, he doesn't find it horrible. (If your dog needs to be pilled this way and finds the procedure to be scary or awful, please contact a good, positive trainer.  They can help make this chore much easier, more pleasant for your pup, and safer for you.)

I always make sure to give him something he does like and want right after I pill him - I scratch his head, neck and back for a few minutes.  He has learned to anticipate the scratches, and over time, this could even make him enjoy being pilled.  If he were hungry, I would give him food afterwards, since food is almost always better than patting from a dog's perspective.  But then again if he were hungry, I would not have to pill him in this way in the first place.

When it is time to give him his pills, and before I start to head towards him, I always say "Sorry, pill time."  Why would I do this?  It feels counter-intuitive.  Wouldn't it be best to wait until the last possible moment, keeping the pills hidden in my hand... and then when he is not expecting it, get the job done?  Isn't the warning just prolonging his discomfort?

But here is where our intuition may be failing us.  I say "sorry" so that he does know what to expect.  I am telling him that this time,  but only this time, I'm coming over for doctoring.  My hope is that every other time I approach him, he will be able to say "ah, mom is coming but I know it's OK, no pills, because I didn't hear that phrase."  

I love it that when I approach my dogs, it sets their tails a-thumping.  I'll do whatever I can to protect the thump-thump-thump.  I want to make sure that if there is anything that simply can't be avoided and is a bit unpleasant for my dog, I tell them the truth. 

Does your dog thieve from the dustbin when you're at work?  Mine does, and I wanted to share the complete and whole honest truth about how I trained him to do so. 

I'm talking about you, Mischa. 

If your dog simply refuses to use his innate safe-cracking skills to plunder your garbage bin, take heart.  With a few simple steps, you can change your Polly-Anna into a perfect pirate. 

Step one.  Increase the level of difficulty slowly.

Your dog needs to succeed relatively often, especially in early training.  For example, once your budding convict has learned how to open your cabinets with ease, make the cupboard door harder - but not impossible - to open.  Install a new latch which requires a firmer tug, but not a handle that needs to be turned... not yet, anyways.  You'll get there, I promise. 

If success eludes your apprentice thief he may simply give up and live a law-abiding life.  Going slow now ensures that your dog will be willing and ready to knuckle down later when you install multi-component locking hasps.

Step two.  Ensure there are generally goods to be plundered.

You must ensure there is something delicious for your dog to "find."  Confirm that a good supply of mature rubbish awaits behind every locked door.  Now is not the time to be finicky about taking the garbage out to the garage ...unless, of course, you'd like your dog to ransack that location too.  Think big! 

One catch:  if garbage availability is slightly random (Tuesdays and Fridays he gets garbage, Wednesdays he gets nothing, for example) this will actually be beneficial to your cause.  It will teach him to be persistent in checking the cabinet, even if there are many days in a row without success.  Many, many, many days.  In fact, you can train him to keep checking the cabinet for the rest of his crooked life by using this handy technique. 

Step three.  Put the behaviour on cue.

For accuracy, your dog should only thieve when you are not around.  Broad daylight robbery must not be tolerated.  In essence, the "cue" for him to plunder is the human is absent. 

You have several training options here.  First, you may simply ensure the dog is never rewarded for thievery when you are there: the garbage is empty or placed up and away.  The dog eventually learns that IF human is home THEN garbage is empty.  However, this type of learning can be frankly frustrating (imagine you have a complex shift-work schedule that no one will explain.  To map it out, you have to head to work as often as possible and see if you get paid for that time.  Not fun.)

Second, and perhaps a more gracious option for your fledgling filcher, you can watch for any thieving behaviour when you are in the kitchen and actively let him know that the time is not right.  Wait for him to head towards the garbage cupboard, and only then move the garbage away or gently lead him out of the kitchen.  These actions are very informative for your dog - they let him know "not now."  He will then reasonably ask himself, "OK, when?"  You have nicely set the stage for him to learn that when you are gone, the time is right.

Step four.  Act like you had no part in it.

When you pop home en route to a business lunch with your new boss in tow only to find your collection of recently-tossed Justin Bieber posters decorated with glitter-painted macaroni spread around the living room floor, it's imperative to act innocent.  "I have no idea how he managed to get into the dead-bolted and barricaded cabinet!" you can gasp in mock horror.  Rest assured, however, in your knowledge that you have indeed played a part in creating this lovable monster.  You simply followed the plan. 

Photo: By Tedmen123 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Of course our dogs love us - they are social creatures who readily form bonds with humans.  But your dog wants you to know that you can actively enhance his or her life with these four easy tips. 

Dogs and puppies love well-run positive classes, and the skills obtained there create a much more peaceable environment at home, too.

Take me to a fun, positive dog class

Anyone who has taken an obedience class from a dog trainer who uses treats and toys (and avoids corrections and other intimidating techniques) can tell you how much their dog loves class.  They seem to know it's Dog Class Day hours in advance, and are slavering to get into the building.  We have had dogs who refuse to leave the room when class is done - they want to be trained more!

Make me work for my supper

It seems counter-intuitive to consider that dogs love working for their meals - isn't it nicer to give them free food in a bowl?  Dogs are generally under-stimulated (read: booooored by life) though, so putting their canine brains to the task of eviscerating a stuffed and frozen dog bone, or pawing their way through a puzzle toy, is as satisfying to them as a good book, a great movie, or a trek through Skyrim is to us.

Walks on leash are perfect for letting your dog sniff - that is, take in - his world.

Exercise my nose with walks

Although leash walks do not fulfill most dogs' need for physical exercise, they present a wonderful smorgasbord of good smells (to say nothing of the interesting people, other dogs, cawing birds, and scampering critters).  Sniffing new scents tires out a dog's brain, which means more sleepy-time at home.  As a lovely side-effect, using their wondrous noses helps dogs' brains to stay healthy as they age. 

Keep me safe from toothy temptation while delivering the chew toys

Dogs like to chew.  Their tastes differ - some love teak table legs, others enjoy sinking their teeth, quite literally, into a good book, still others prefer laundry (clean ...or otherwise).  Dogs need to be given legal chewing outlets, and your local pet store will have a bounty of chewies for your dog to audition.  Before they have developed a solid history of chewing solely legal items, they need to be kept safe from their illegal chew temptations: a dog-proof room or crate.

Finally, your dog wants you to make it easy on yourself.  You have enough on your plate.  Slip in a longer walk on days you don't work late.  Make a few stuffed dog bones at once and freeze them, to dole them out effortlessly during your busy work week.  Pick a dog class where kids are welcome, so they learn the ins and outs of changing behaviour too, without you needing a sitter. 

These tricks of the trade should make your shared life easier and more peaceful by tiring out your dog's brain.   Enjoy!

This post was written as part of the #Train4Rewards Blog Party, hosted by Companion Animal Psychology, a wonderful blog written by the inimitable Zazie Todd.

Bottom photo: Moska - Hasanov | © Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Some dogs do not appreciate being rudely awoken.  In fact, some dislike even the most gentle touch when they're lumbering through a doggy dreamscape.  They might startle awake and growl, snap, or even bite. 

The Urge To Fix

Consider relocating your dog’s bed to a low-traffic area or out-of-the-way nook, as long as he’s comfortable and happy with the switch.

When our dogs behave aggressively towards us, it is frightening and upsetting.  We very legitimately feel the need to change things, and as soon as humanly possible.   But this wasn't always the case.

In our grandparents’ time, leaving sleeping dogs alone was a common-sense safety practice.  Kids were taught to avoid close encounters with flames, spinning machinery, and sleeping dogs.  In other words, it was not seen as pathological or the tip of any iceberg.  In fact, it was normal enough to spawn a proverb: "let sleeping dogs lie" (meaning do not bother to rekindle an argument or bring up a bad situation, despite it being unresolved).

Today, dogs who react this way may be at risk for rehoming or worse ... no matter how normal the behaviour.  We humans have always collectively decided which species-typical dog behaviours are tolerated, and our tolerance in the 21st Century is lower than it used to be.  However, when it comes to dogs who are growly bears before coffee but are otherwise angelic, we can stop to consider whether we might – safely and responsibly – take a page from our grandparents’ book. 

If you have a "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" dog, do a risk assessment for your particular situation.  If this risk assessment suggests you need to change your dog's behaviour, please contact an accredited, positive trainer.  They'll use techniques like desensitization and Pavlovian conditioning to change how your dog feels when bumped awake. 

A risk assessment for your dog should include:

1. Are there kids in your home?  How old? 
2. What does your dog do when awoken - growl? Or something more active?
3. Is your dog's preferred bed in a high-traffic area?
4. Do you have many house guests, and are they dog-savvy?

Finally, if your dog has previously been fine when the alarm clock goes off but is growling or barking now, get on the phone and book a veterinary check-up. 

    *Actual mind-reading results may vary.

Often dog owners will ask me, in a legitimately frustrated tone, "how can I get him to stop doing that?  Why won't he just listen?"  In some ways, this is the equivalent of asking "why isn't he reading my mind, and doing what I want?"  The behaviour in question is usually some variant of barking, pestering, jumping up, begging, pulling, whining, pottying inside, playing keep-away... you see the pattern.  Behaviours that are not dangerous, but are really, really annoying. 

Fear not, frustrated owners.  There is some good news.  It's generally very efficient, not to mention relieving, to just put on a smile, pull out a how-to manual, and train the dog to do something else.

But ... doesn't he need to learn that what he's doing is wrong?

A gorgeous Golden Retriever in dog class learns that sitting, instead of mobbing, gets her what she most wants at this moment:  that morsel of food in her owner's hand.

Dogs do what they do to get the things they want.  If your dog is jumping up on you, he likely wants to greet you in a friendly way and lick your face.  If your dog begs at the table, he wants some of your delicious forbidden supper.  If your dog does not come when you call, he wants some more loose play time. We have complete control over almost everything a dog wants, so we can simply use this smorgasbord of good things to change the way our dog behaves.  In fact, by giving dogs what they want, we might have accidentally and lovingly created the monster in our midst! How?

• Our dog approaches the table and a naughty guest gives them a bit of food, or they find a dropped crumb.  Outcome: Begging!
• Our dog jumps up on us and we pat them or "play" (by pushing them off).  Outcome: Jumping up!
• Our dog comes up to us when we call them and we punish them by clipping on the leash and ending fun for the day.  Outcome: Keep-away!

"That's all well and good, but what do I do?"

Changing these behaviours can be a one-two punch.  One: Take the thing your dog wants (food, greeting, loose time) and use it to reward behaviours you want, when you want them.  Two: Set things up in advance, to prevent your dog from earning that reward by misbehaving. 

Current behaviour	Current reward	New behaviour	New reward
Jumping up	Face time!	Sitting politely	Face time! (or cookie)
Begging	Food	Laying in his bed	Stuffed food toy (better food)
Pottying inside	Relief	Pottying outside	Relief and cookies
Dancing away when called	Fun loose time	Coming when called	Cookies!  (and only rarely does fun end)

If possible, take a good, positive dog class to get the skills needed to train specific behaviours.  Then ask your dog to do a new, acceptable behaviour when he would normally misbehave, and reward. 

When you see the new behaviour take over from the old, it will feel like he's reading your mind.  In fact, go ahead and tell your friends and family that he is.  You earned it.