Has your dog ever jumped or cowered after hearing fireworks go off? Dogs feel fear and anxiety just like humans. Dogs can be fearful of many things, from strangers and new dogs to loud noises like fireworks or vacuum cleaners.
Every dog has its own history and potential reasons to be scared of something. Their fear might be a result of an underlying health condition or it could be genetics. Other reasons for being fearful could come from a lack of socialization in the dog’s life or past trauma.
If your dog is afraid of something, they may show signs of fear with their body language and behavior. These signs may be subtle like stiff body posture, looking away, tucking their tail, or yawning. More obvious signs include cowering or trying to hide or escape. Your dog may also give extreme signs of fear by lunging, growling, snapping, barking, or biting.
As a dog owner, there are steps you can take to help your dog if they show signs of fear. The first step should be a medical check-up with the vet to see if there is an underlying health issue causing the fear. If there isn’t a health issue, there are techniques you can use to help your dog with their fear by building their confidence.
There are several ways to build your dog’s confidence. Providing them with a reliable routine, good nutrition, and regular exercise is a great way to build confidence. Other confidence- building activities can include basic obedience training and training for dog sports (even if they won’t actually compete.) You can also use food-reward puzzles or food-stuffed toys to both build confidence and provide a tasty treat.
Another option for helping with your dog’s fear is a combination of desensitization and counter- conditioning. Desensitization is the process of using gradual exposure to help your dog overcome its fear. Every dog has their own threshold for exposure to what scares them. This is he line before they become overstimulated by their fear. Desensitization exposes your dog to the source of their fear while remaining under the threshold. To desensitize your dog to their fear, provide positive stimuli like a treat while they are exposed to the frightening trigger.
While desensitization can help your dog learn to remain calm in exposure to their fear, counter- conditioning works to create a positive association with their fearful trigger. Counter-conditioning works by pairing a scary trigger with a high-value treat. As soon as the trigger appears, your dog should get something delicious to help form a positive association.
No matter what technique you try to help your dog overcome their fear, you should use positive methods and rewards and not punishment. Be patient and go at your dog’s pace when working on their fears. Most importantly, protect your dog from what scares them.
