PattyM
Registered: 07/21/08
Posts: 1
|
|
|
Reply with quote | #1 |
Hi there! I have a large breed dog who seems to be afraid of EVERYTHING. He's very nervous and jumpy at strange noises around the house, and if we go out on walks he nearly pulls me to the ground trying to get away from things like people on bicycles and children. Any suggestions on how I can help him get over all these fears?
Patty
|
| |
TrainerMeagan
Moderator
Registered: 07/17/08
Posts: 15
|
|
|
Reply with quote | #2 |
Hi Patty -
I wish I could give you a simple solution but fear is something that is difficult to overcome. I would suggest contacting a trainer who specializes in these issues.
When working with a dog with fear issues, you want to take things slowly and work with primarily positive methods as over correcting can do more harm than good. Start off slowly. Find something that makes him nervous and walk him by (not too close at first), praising very heavily in a big excited tone. Keep him moving. Walking helps him alleviate stress. Don't stop in front of the object that scares him as he will fixate and his anxiety level will compound. Just keep him moving and offer lots of praise. Once he can comfortably walk by the object, you can approach and show him the object is ok by touching the object and then petting him - again focus on your praise. For example, a dog we recently trained was terrified of the vaccuum. We would leash him, guide him up to the vaccuum, and pet the vaccuum and then pet him. We encouraged him until he calmed down, then we took him away from the object. All of our praise came when he was close to the object. We took the praise away when he moved away from the object teaching him to associate heavy praise with the object that he once feared.
Be careful to take things very slowly. Fearful dogs are easy to traumatize! I would highly recommend working with a behaviorist to tackle these issues. Best of luck to you!
__________________
Meagan Karnes
Senior Behaviorist
Metropawlitan Dog
http://www.metropawlitandog.com
<b>Check out videos of our star students at http://www.youtube.com/user/newmalmom<b> |
| |
