Fearful Reactions
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"What do I do if my puppy shows signs of fear while I'm socializing him?"

Many puppies will go through fear periods while they grow up.  Your dog may startle and avoid something or someone that he has known his entire life.  It's important not to feed the dog's fears, but not to ignore them and force the dog into a situation that is upsetting him.

Different breeds (and even different dogs of the same breed) may show a variety of reactions when they're afraid of something.  It could be that the dog tucks his tail, lays his ears back and bolts past the offending object.  Another dog may refuse to walk past it, while another might hackle up and growl, bark or jump forward and try to bite it then dart backwards to 'safety'. 

Your reaction to his fears will go a long way toward either helping your dog to get over his fear, or could reinforce his fear and make him even worse.  There are a few things that YOU must do in order to help your dog:

bulletStay calm and relaxed.  Take a few deep breaths, shake out your arms and legs, talk to your dog in a calm, confident, happy voice and relax!  If you tense up or get nervous because your dog is upset, he'll feel your emotions and think that if you're worried, then there has got to be something for him to be worried about too, and that will only make him act even worse!
 
bulletDo not hold the dog on a tight leash.  The first reaction when your dog shows signs of fearfulness or fear aggression is to gather up all the loose leash and hold on tight.  That is the exact OPPOSITE of what you should be doing.  Yes, make sure you've got the leash in a firm grip, but allow the leash to drape loosely from your hand to the dog's collar.  Gathering all the slack and holding the dog up tight only encourages him to act up more, and transmits your anxiety right down the leash to your dog.
 
bulletDo not drag the dog up to, or force the dog into an encounter with the 'offending' object, work slowly and allow the dog time to investigate.

Fear of people...  A lot of it depends on the puppy and the situation. If a very young puppy is afraid of a person bending over him to say hello, the easiest thing to do is to calmly pick the puppy up in your arms and hold him at chest height and allow the person to pet him there. Then gently hand the puppy over to the other person and allow them to hold the puppy. This shows the puppy that the person is friendly and there is nothing to fear.

If you think about it from a puppy's point of view, his head is probably only about knee height to a person, so to have this giant bending over him may indeed be intimidating. By bringing the puppy up to your face height will usually alleviate the fear.

In an older puppy or adult dog, the worst thing to do is to try and drag the puppy out from behind you and force him to submit to being petted. Yes, doing this may show the puppy that the person is harmless, but if done improperly, the person could get bitten by an extremely fearful dog.

A better way to do it is to keep the puppy on a loose leash and ask the person to sit down with you and not to look at the dog. We'll talk happily together, maybe share a snack (something the puppy LOVES of course!) and allow the dog to walk around us both while we completely ignore him.  I'll allow the dog to approach the person at his own speed and I'll often ask the person to keep some treats that the dog loves in their pockets and not to look at or even acknowledge the dog if he walks up to sniff them.  Then when the dog has grown accustomed to the person's presence, I'll ask the person to reach into their pocket and hand the puppy a treat, while still calmly talking to me and not trying to make eye contact with the dog. After taking a number of treats from the person, the dog often warms up enough to allow them to pet him.

Start out by not having the person look at the dog at all, but just reaching out slowly and giving him a gentle stroke. Then if they are able to pet the dog a bit, ask the person to talk very quietly to the dog and eventually look at the dog. This may take anywhere from a few minutes to accomplish, or multiple sessions to get the dog used to the person. It is important to do this exercise in an open area where the dog does not feel cornered, somewhere that the dog has room to retreat if he feels threatened.

Suspicion or fear of objects...  Many puppies will startle and avoid objects, sometimes it's a garbage can in the street that the puppy has never seen before, sometimes it's a person wearing a big hat that shades their face, sometimes it's an object that they pass every day, but just took note of today, or saw in a different light than they're used to, so the shadows are different this time.

If your dog is on lead when it happens, make sure that you give the dog a loose leash and talk happily to the dog while you walk past the object at a distance.  Then turn and walk past again, then move in a bit closer and repeat, all the while talking to the dog happily as if you haven't a care in the world.  Once you get close enough to touch the object, walk right up and slap your hand on it and in a very confident voice, talk to the dog.  "See it's just a park bench.  Are you kidding?  You're afraid of a bench?  See, I'm sitting on it, there's nothing wrong here."  As the dog reaches to sniff the object, praise the dog and encourage him to investigate it.  Then calmly and happily continue on your walk.

- Debbie Knatz
Shepherd's Ridge

PLEASE NOTE:
While we are dog training professionals, it is not possible for us to be able to diagnose your dog's specific problems or
to formulate a training plan to work on these issues without seeing you and your dog for a personal evaluation.
 
The information provided in this website has proven helpful to many of our previous customers, but it is only being
provided here as general information, not as advice to correct any problems you may be having with your specific dog.

Please seek the advice of your veterinarian and/or a professional dog trainer before attempting any behavior modification
or training programs.

All contents of this website are the property of Shepherd's Ridge.   Copyright © 2004 [Shepherd's Ridge].
All rights reserved.  Revised: 01/09/07.   For more information or inquiries, please contact dpknatz@optonline.net