How
to “Rescue” a Fearful Dog
Dominance, dominance aggression, under socialization, fear
aggression, learned aggression, and even idiopathic aggression, are all terms
that seem to be thrown around very loosely by rescues and dog trainers alike
when it comes down to explaining unwanted behaviors in dogs, rescues in
particular. There always seems to be a new method to try to “fix” the dogs
training issues, or a new better improved training tool. However it seems that
if we as humans, the more “intelligent” of the species, would take a moment to
look at the big picture of what it is that makes a certain dog reactive or
completely locked in the fetal position, as opposed to trying to “train” the
problems out of them, both owner and dog would have much better understanding
with a each other and much longer lasting relationship.
We all want to do the right thing and “save” a dog from the
pound, it never fails that as compassionate people we tend to pick the quiet
dog of the bunch, the one all sad and scared looking with those big puppy dog
eyes that say please take me home. Little do we know we picked out ourselves a
50 pound puddle of terrified dog.
Lets face it no one gets a pet with the hopes that their dog
will never want to leave the house or the comfort of their back yard, much less
one who never wants to be petted or interact with visiting friends and
relatives.
What often happens after a few days of letting the dog settle,
owners get impatient or are not properly educated as to what the dogs fearful
behaviors means or even how to recognize them as such. This impatience leads
owners into pushing their dog to socialize with other people or dogs or things
the dog perceives as scary. This is often referred to as “flooding”. Some
trainers actually recommend this “sink or swim” approach to some clients in hopes
the dog will become habituated to whatever the stimulus is in a short amount of
time. However what often happens is we create an even bigger problem than when
the training session began.
Often times with a fearful dog, if flooding were the method
of choice, other negative behaviors may surface such as, fear biting and/or
learned helplessness. Learned helplessness simply means the dog almost shuts
down or freezes. These new behaviors also go untreated because of lack of information
by many owners. Even some pet dog obedience trainers do not have the proper
understanding of behaviors to patch up the holes needed for modification of the
dog.
Most fearful dogs tend to loosen up a little when they
become comfortable in a home and learn the everyday agenda of the people they
are most comfortable with. This all sounds like problem solved to most owners
until the day their neighbor stops by or a delivery truck is in the driveway,
to a fearful dog all these things were not there before and must therefore be
bad. Again without arming ourselves with the knowledge and understanding of
this kind of behavior, owners often reinforce the very behavior they don’t
like. Pretty soon a fun trip to the park turns into a tug of war battle at
opposite ends of the leash.
Without the help of a qualified behavior modification
trainer a fearful dog will quickly turn into a fear aggressive dog, or one who
responds to no one or nothing. Either one of these options, in the best of
cases, would lead to a dog who is on house arrest and in a state of certain
panic because of the unexplained world of sights, sounds and smells just beyond
their safety net of home. Without controlled socialization at the first signs
of a dog being fearful of whatever the stimulus may be, the dogs fear will do
nothing but grow exponentially each time owners unknowingly reinforce the dogs
acts of fear.
Before assuming your dog is simply “acting out” through
aggression or is ignoring you, be sure to contact a behavior modification
expert to ensure that your pet is not displaying signs of fear. Without
socialization to the stimulus of whatever the dog deems is scary, and without
knowing how to help your dog work through his fears, you and your pet will be
prisoners of your home on lock down from the outside world.
