You Cannot "Correct" The Fear Out of Your Dog

You Cannot "Correct" The Fear Out of Your Dog

Seriously.

First of all, fear isn't logical, it's a primal emotion meant to keep us safe.  If you feel afraid this will hopefully help you to avoid a dangerous situation.  Unfortunately sometimes our warning systems go a little awry and we become scared of things that can't actually harm us in any way.  Or sometimes we just feel a little wary or nervous about something because we don't know enough about a situation - also important evolutionarily, so that we gather enough data before we proceed with something that may or may not be risky.  Sometimes our brains make connections between things that aren't actually connected, as I described in a previous blog post, "pawsitive = fear free".  

Some scientifically inaccurate information has been floating around for quite some time advising us to not comfort or show affection to our pets when they are afraid because we will "reward" the fear.  This similarly misinformed advice also encourages us to "correct" our dog when they are afraid to somehow put them in a different frame of mind.  Now, it's one thing to pleasantly distract a dog when they have to endure something they don't like (i.e. feeding a dog treats while the vet staff have to take his temperature), but it's something different if you're trying to correct the fear out of your dog.  This won't work and will likely make the fear worse.  Think of a time when you've been afraid or nervous.  If someone gave you a smack on the shoulder and said "snap out of it", or stepped on your toe and said "stop that!", would that help you feel any better?  You might just feel annoyed at the person, not to mention have a sore shoulder or toe.  You may even try to hide your outward signs of anxiety to avoid another smack from your friend, but here's the problem: suppressing emotions or their resulting behaviours is certainly not the same thing as changing them.  

If your dog is feeling afraid and you yank his leash or poke his side, you're likely to put him more on edge and create further negative associations rather than "correcting" his emotions.  Even if he stops doing whatever behaviour you disapproved of, this only suppresses his ability to communicate his discomfort to you and does not improve his internal experience.  You can, however, do something called counterconditioning.  This is a wonderful process by which you take something the dog doesn't like and help him make positive associations with it.  

One example happened recently without me even having to do anything (it's kind of nice when things work out that way!)

Recently our son started taking the bus home from school.  We meet the bus at the end of our laneway, which is a few minutes' walk from our front door, so I decided to take my dog with me for a little sniff and potty break on the way.  The first time the bus pulled up, our dog that tends to be nervous of new things, was of course unsure.  The bus is large, makes noise, and she's probably never seen one up close before in her life.  She tucked her tail and hid behind my leg a little bit.  Then our son came off the bus.  Our girl (Phoenix) just loves our son.  They have a great relationship and she is always happy to see him.  When she saw him come of the bus her tail began to wag, her body relaxed, and she moved towards him (and the bus), excited to greet her buddy.  

The next day I took her with me again to meet the bus.  When she saw the bus, instead of cowering or tucking her tail, she immediately looked relaxed and happy: her tail wagging, moving towards the bus.  

What happened?

Yes, she learned that our son comes off the bus and she likes him, so she was happy to see the bus because it brings him.  More importantly though, a connection in her brain between a school bus and a good thing formed.  If we repeated this many times, then one day the bus came with out our son, she would still get the good feeling because of the positive association that has developed.  This is because of classical conditioning (something I also discuss in my blog post, called "Remember Pavlov?").  

If I had "corrected" her fearful reaction, forcing her to come out from behind my legs, or jerking the collar and telling her "no", I probably would have made her fear worse.  Her brain could make a connection between bus arriving and experiencing an aversive (an unpleasant consequence), and the next time the bus arrived she may act even more fearfully or defensively.  This is why aversive training of a fearful dog can lead to an aggressive dog.  

So, if your dog is fearful of something, please be patient with him or her.  He is only responding to his brain warning him of danger and is acting the only way he knows to try to keep himself safe or avoid something unpleasant.  If you want to help him through his fear, think of ways you can make it easier for him and ways you can create positive associations.  This can include yummy food treats, favourite toys, comfort from his family members, or the ability to move away and have control over the situation.  If the fear is significant, you  may need to break this down into very small elements, or find a competent, compassionate, qualified trainer (yes, I wrote a blog post on that too!).  

Remember, your dog does not have the benefit of the education you have received and certain situations may be very scary for him.  You can build his confidence by giving him a sense of control and security, by being his source of comfort, and by building trust. 

If you need help, please find a trainer that uses positive reinforcement and understands the counter-conditioning process.  

You can visit our website to learn more about our training services, and if you are outside of our service area, we can certainly try to connect you with a qualified and compassionate trainer in your area.

Some good places to look for a trainer are:

Fear Free Pets 

Pet Professional Guild

Certified Professional Dog Trainers

The International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants

About the Author 

Jillian is a fear-free certified and CPDT-KA certified animal behaviour specialist and has been working in the animal care and behaviour field since 2009.  

Visit us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PawsPetMB


More Resources

For more information on helping fearful dogs, visit Debbie Jacob's website, FearfulDogs.com

And check out Dr. Marty Becker's latest book, "From Fearful to Fear Free"

Another anecdote for those who like examples :) 

Another personal example of classical conditioning and counterconditioning (helping to change the dogs' emotional response to something).  

My dog Phoenix recently had knee surgery and as part of her recovery she has to take some medications.  Dogs tend not to like pills, and who can blame them, really?  They don't understand that this yucky-tasting strange object we're giving them is to help them.  So, to make it a little easier for her, I would always follow each pill with a delicious piece of meat leftover from dinner.  

Initially when I would start preparing her medications she would show signs of discomfort: lowered head, moving away, looking nervous, general avoidance.  After a few times of getting a very special reinforcer (meat!), she started getting excited while I was preparing the medications.  She actually started doing a little happy tap-dance and woo-wooing in excitement, wagging her tail, sitting nice waiting for her food.  Initially she was trying to avoid swallowing the pills and would spit them out.  Once she realized something really good was coming, she voluntarily swallowed the pills and waited nicely for the pay-out.

This process of counterconditioning doesn't just apply to pills and school busses, it can apply to more complex situations as well.  However, if a dog's fear and/or resulting behaviour are severe, please consult a professional for help.  Above I listed a few organizations that are good starting places for finding a qualified, compassionate trainer.  

For more training tips, information, and great pet pictures, like and follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/PawsPetMB

Remember Pavlov?

Practical Uses for Classical Conditioning

For a good basic explanation of the
Pavlovian experiments, please visit
http://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html

A couple of upsetting scenes got me thinking about classical conditioning and canine behaviour (again.  It's a never-ending train of thought in the back of my nerdy mind).

The first one happened in the summer: I was walking two dogs through Assiniboine Park on a busy day and a man and woman were standing on a hill overlooking the pathway.  Every time someone would walk by with a dog, their dog would react with barking, pulling on the leash, and whining.  The man was attempting to punish the behaviour out of the dog: He was setting him up to fail by having him so close to the path that he couldn't control his reaction, ensuring he would react, and then hitting him every time he did react.

The other two incidents happened in the last month: One was a lady walking her two large dogs on prong collars.  Similarly, they got excited when they saw another dog and started to react with barking, whining, and pulling on leash.  The lady very harshly corrected them, yanking on the leash to tighten the collar around their necks, and scolding them loudly to "STOP".  The third one happened just last week: A lady was again walking two dogs and I was across the street walking a dog as well.  Her dog got excited and was barking and whining, looking at the dog I was walking.  The lady turned and yelled at her dog, kicking it, and kneeing it until it backed up and paid attention to her.

Now, even if these owners weren't hurting their dogs (I'm sure they were, but let's pretend the punishment wasn't physically painful), the whole point was to stop the dogs from reacting this way and what they were doing was the complete opposite.  I am sure these people love their dogs very much, and that their intent was to improve their behaviour, unfortunately dogs don't know our intent, only what they experience.

If you are afraid of spiders and see one in your kitchen, what do you do?  Scream, squeal, yell for someone to come squish it, run away?  What if you were trapped in the room (like a dog on a leash unable to move away)?

What if someone scolded you or kicked you in the shin because you were afraid?  How would you feel about the spider then?  How about the person who scolded you or kicked your leg?  What would you do the next time you saw a spider in your kitchen, would you feel more or less upset?

A conditioned emotional response is one that is brought about by associations.  When you bring your dog's leash out, does he do a happy dance, wagging his tail and excitedly moving towards the door in anticipation of his walk?  When he hears that familiar rattle of the treat bag, does he come running, offering you his best sit in anticipation of a cookie?  Your dog doesn't have a thing for nylon or plastic, those associations were learned by pairings, making them conditioned emotional responses.  The difference is these are positive emotional responses: leash=enjoying a walk, plastic bag=eating a yummy treat.

Negative emotional responses come about when seeing another dog=getting smacked, kicked, or choked.  How do you expect those dogs to react next time they see another dog?  If the punishment is severe enough, they may learn to suppress their response and keep quiet, but that sure won't change how they feel.  In fact, I would wager that they feel more anxious because they're not allowed to respond for fear of punishment.

A more effective, kinder way is possible.  Create positive associations with the feared object and this will get you on the right path to helping your dog feel more comfortable.

Don’t worry about rewarding your dog's unwanted behaviour (barking, pulling, lunging, whatever he may be doing).  Counter-conditioning means that you are trying to change how your dog FEELS first, which in turn will change how he behaves. A fearful dog will act defensively. A comfortable dog will not. You cannot change your dog's behaviour until you have helped him feel safe.

If you need help with this, contacted a certified trainer in your area.



Donna Hill has a great video on teaching the "look at that" game, based on Leslie McDevitt's "Control Unleashed" program.

If you want to learn more, I have two blogs on Dog Reactivity: Understanding Dog Reactivity and Reactive Dog Myths, and Karen Pryor has a brief article further explaining the benefit of the "look at that" exercise.

Classical Conditioning is not just for reactivity, it's part of everyday learning.  You can use it to help your dog feel more comfortable with being in a kennel, with meeting new people, going to the vet, or just about anything that could potentially make them anxious.  But don't wait until your pup is anxious to start classical conditioning!  Socialize your pup as early as possible in controlled, relaxed, positive situations and you can go a long way in preventing your pup from developing fears or reactive behaviours.

Jillian Enright, CPDT-KA
Pawsitive Pooch Dog Training

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Thunder Phobia & Fireworks

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Originally posted on July 1, 2014

Happy Canada Day!

As much as many Canadian humans enjoy the festivities that come along with celebrating our nation's birthday, many dogs are afraid of the fireworks that are often part of the celebrations.

While we cannot prevent the fireworks, we can certainly make this potentially stressful night much easier on our canine companions.  Here are a few suggestions, and please feel free to add your own in the comments :)

1. Close your windows and play the radio, TV, or some form of white noise to help drown out the noise of the fireworks.  Some studies have shown that talk radio, classical music, and other calm & soothing music works best to reduce stress.  
2. Keep your dog indoors to prevent him from panicking and escaping from your yard, if he absolutely needs to go out, please go out with him and ensure your gate is secured.  If possible, take your dog for a nice, long walk earlier in the day to tire him out and let him get all his business done before dark.  
3. Kennel train your dog so they have a safe place to go & hide.  If they are not kennel trained, allow them access to a comforting area.  Maddy likes to go in her kennel, but she also will curl up under the couch if we are sitting on it.  She has even curled up in the closet!  Some dogs hang out under the kitchen table or in their owner's lap.  Allow the dog to choose a preferred location and make it as quiet and comfy as possible.  Do not lock your dog anywhere, allow them freedom of choice.  
4. A Thunder Shirt can be helpful for some dogs.  I won't go into this at length in this blog post, but I encourage you to do your own research on this and/or ask your veterinarian or professional dog trainer if you think this may be a good option for your dog.  
5. Please do not be afraid to comfort your dog!  It is a myth that comforting a scared dog will reward his fear.  It is not possible to operantly condition fear, meaning we cannot punish the fear out of the dog, nor can we reward the fear and make it worse.  If your dog finds petting and cuddling comforting, please go right ahead.  If your dog prefers to be left alone and curl up somewhere quiet, please allow him to do so.  
   
   For more about classical conditioning and how positive associations can help reduce your dog's fear, check out our blog post on Pavlovian Conditioning (Classical Conditioning), called "Remember Pavlov?".  
6. Desensitization & Counter-Conditioning.  This refers to helping to change how your dog feels about the loud noises.  Providing your dog treats and other things that he enjoys (play, attention, food, etc.) during fireworks can help your dog realize "this isn't so bad after all".  You can also do desensitization exercises by playing recordings of fireworks at a very low level (so low that your dog can barely hear it and does not react negatively), and pair this with reinforcing things (treats, toys, games, pets, whatever your dog enjoys).   
7. Distract your dog and provide pleasant distractions to redirect his attention.  Stuffed Kongs or other "stuffable" interactive toys are a great tool.  Visit our Boredom Busters blog for more information on interactive toys.  

Kongs!  

Measure out one meal for your dog.

Mix in about a 1 /2 can of canned wet food.

No canned food on hand?  No problem, simply pour a small amount of water over your kibble - just enough to soften it - then let it sit for a few minutes while the water is absorbed.  

Spoon the mixture into Kongs and place in the freezer.  You can add a spoonful of peanut butter over the top to seal it off if you like.  I prefer to use all-natural peanut-butter with no sugar added.

Why the freezer?  This way the mixture freezes and takes longer for your dog to work through.  The bonus is that you can make up as many Kongs as you have as far in advance as you want and they will stay fresh in your freezer and are ready to go any time you need them.  This is fantastic for unexpected thunderstorms or any situation in which you need your dog to keep busy or distracted. 

If your dog gets frustrated with the frozen Kong and gives up, or if your pet finds the cold unpleasant, you can keep them in the fridge.  You can also freeze it while it's half-full and then add fresh when you take it out of the freezer.  By the time your pet works their way through to the frozen part, it will have begun to thaw and will be easier to eat.  

(For Reference, our Maddy gets 1 1/2 cups of kibble per meal.  This mixed with a 1/2 can of wet food filled two large Kongs and two small Kongs, plenty to keep her busy for quite some time!)

Other options for filling Kongs or other stuffable toys: 

• canned pumpkin - high in fibre (make sure you get 100% pure pumpkin and not pie filling!)
• all-natural peanut butter (keep in mind this is high in fat and be sure it does not contain xylitol) 
• all canned wet food (without the kibble) can be done up more quickly if needed
• anything safe that your dog enjoys - treats, left-over turkey, etc. 

Final step: serve and watch your dog enjoy :) 

 What NOT to do:

• Please never punish your dog for being afraid, even if he has an accident in the house.  An angry owner is scary and will only increase your dog's fear.  You want to be the source of comfort and reassurance for your dog.  
• Please never force your dog to "face his fear" by forcing him to be flooded by the fearful stimulus all at once.  Gradual counter-conditioning and desensitization can be done with the help of a compassionate and competent trainer and this process involves keeping your dog under threshold (comfortable enough that they are not showing signs of fear) and should be done with the guidance of a trained professional.   
• Please never make your dog drowsy with sedatives.  Imagine you are afraid of spiders and one is crawling towards you, but you have been given a very strong medication and are so sleepy you are unable to get up and move.  Your dog may appear outwardly calm but could be panicking internally.  
• There are some more appropriate medications that can certainly help with noise phobias, please talk to your veterinarian about these, but please never use sedatives.  A good, more in-depth article on this topic is available at http://fearfuldogs.com/acepromazine/

Jillian Enright, CPDT-KA

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For more information on dog behaviour, visit

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