A
member of my Facebook Group asked for advice about her 4 months old German
Shepherd puppy. Her dog suffers from anxiety when she wants to take him
outside. The anxiety level is so high, that the dog won't do his thing outside,
no matter what. The puppy is adopted by her from a kill shelter.
In
general there are 3 reasons why a dogs are fearful:
1: Bad socialization.
2: Traumatic experiences
3: Genetic
The
way to deal with dog anxiety issues is in all cases the same. No matter what
their background is. Dogs live in the present moment, which is your starting
point! The age of the dog is not important. You can support and heal dogs of
all ages if you know how to do it! All you need is time, dedication, patience
and of course being passionate about fixing your dog's problem!
Healing
Anxiety Issues with Dogs Starts with the Owner!
As
an owner of a (fearful) dog it is important that your dog knows you are his
calm and stable pack leader. He needs to learn he can trust you and that you
support him. Your dog needs to feel safe and secure with you. No matter what
caused his behavior in the past, you are his owner now and it's all about you
to help him overcome his anxiety about going outside.
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IMPORTANT!
In
the beginning it takes a lot of your time to help your dog finding back his
balance. If you don't have the time to do this, it might be a good idea to find
your dog a new owner who does have the time and dedication to fix his anxiety
problems!
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Don't
ignore fearful behavior!
It
is important NOT to ignore your dog when he's afraid, for example when he is
being anxious to go outside. The rules are the same for anything else your dog
is fearful about! It is your duty as a stable pack leader to offer your dog
support and protection. Ignoring his fears won't work. It will only result in
running away, and that is something you really don't want when dealing with his
problem. If you give your dog the chance to run away you maintain his anxiety. He
learns how to avoid his fear trigger, instead of how to deal with the
situation.
Don't
comfort your dog
A
lot of dog owners offering "comfort" to their dog when he's anxious
of something. If you comfort your dog in a stressful situation you actually
reward his fearful behavior which only worsens the situation. You really don't
want that! Dogs are not humans! They don't understand the meaning of human
comforting. Don't show you feel sorry for your dog. Dogs will experience this
as unstable, it is a sign of weaknes. Dogs don't feel safe if you feel sorry
for them!
No
toy, food or other forms of distraction when your dog is stressful!
Another
thing you should never do is trying to distract a fearful dog with food, a toy
or something else. This is because this way you reward his anxious behavior! And
most dogs that are stressful and/or anxious don't want food or something to
play with, so it makes no sense to come up with them.
Never
ever correct your dog when he's fearful!
Especially
fearful dogs will become even more afraid if you "punish" them, no
matter if this is with your voice (like saying "no") or with other
things like a leash correction. Your dog won't understand corrections when he's
under a lot of stress. So never do this!
Be
assertive, cheerful and calm!
If
your dog is afraid you need to behave in an assertive and cheerful way. Don't
overdo it, you shouldn't sing songs for him. But what works is you show your
dog leadership. As his calm leader you show him there is nothing to be anxious
about. Make sure you feel relaxed. If you are tensed or stressed you dog will
immediately know you are, for dogs you can't fake. They read your energy and
body language. So make sure that you feel good for real when you work with your
dog or communicate with him! A dog only listens to leaders that are strong and
stable. If you show signs of weak energy, your dog won't trust you!
It
helps to visualize yourself as a strong pack leader as well as visualize the
way you would want your dog to behave. Visualisation works really strong and
changes your energy immediately. Pay attention to your breathing! Take slow and
deep breathes, this relaxes you and in the end your dog. Practice this as often
as you can so your new attitude becomes a way of life! Your dog will definitely
appreciate you for doing so!
Timing
is very important!
If
your dog is afraid to go outside, it is important to know when he shows the
first signs of anxiety. Is it when you stand up to grab your coat? When you put
on your shoes? Or when you pick up his leash/collar? Or does it start when you
put on his leash? Some dogs don't show stress signs until you open the door. It
is really important to know when he starts getting afraid because this is his
first trigger to the outside world. You should turn this negative trigger into
a positive one.
For
example: your dog starts showing signs of anxiety when you put on your coat. A
solution for this can be to put on your coat, ignore your dog, and go sit on
the couch for a little while until your dog loses interest in you. When you see
your dog is relaxed you can stand up and walk towards him to put the leash on.
The
same procedure for when the leash is the bad trigger. Grab his leash, lay it
down next to you and go read a book or so. Every now and then you can pick up
his leash and lay it down again. If your dog is relaxed and not paying
attention to you it is time to put on his leash.
If
your dog starts to get anxious when you touch the door
It
is very important to make sure your dog is 100% relaxed before you leave the
house with him! If he's not then take a step back, go sit down close to him and
wait till he calms down. Then repeat: try it again. It may take an hour or even
longer. It is important to never push your dog into something he's not up to. Stay
calm and positive yourself. Believe in your dog, because he can do it, in the
end both of you will be successful!
Don't
talk to your dog if there is no reason. You can show your leadership with your
energy and your body language. Only use your voice in a positive way and only
for a good reason (like rewarding his good behavior!).
Make
sure you reward only his relaxed behavior with a snack or something else he
loves. But make sure he doesn't show any signs of fear, otherwise you still
reward his anxiety.
Going
outside together
When
your dog is totally relaxed it is time to take it to the next level, which is
going outside. A huge step, because this is what he fears so much. Closely
observe your dog's body language, especially the position of his tail and ears
and all other signs he shows. Put his leash on and walk slowly outside, watch
your dog every step you take. If your dog starts showing signs of fear and
stress again you walk back and repeat the same procedure. If your dog is fine
with the situation praise him in a calm but cheerful way, use a cheerful,
friendly voice, give him a friendly pet or hug and maybe he now is in for a
small snack.
Make
sure you keep his leash short and make him walk next to you. When he feels good
you can walk in a faster pace. Please keep observing your dog! Stay close to
your house and don't go for a long walk. Start with 5 to 10 minutes, offer your
dog the chance to do his thing. Don't worry if he's still not comfortable doing
it. You can ignore that. Simply return home together when the time is up.
Going
inside together
Don't
immediately unleash your dog when you both step back inside your house. First
calmly close the door and make him sit and wait. Wait a few seconds and if he
shows the behavior you want offer him a small snack. Tell him he's a good dog
and smile, feel how proud you are! Only after that you unleash him. Leave him
alone, don't play or so, offer him the chance to recover from his new
experiences outside.
Repetition
is the key to success!
In
order to succesfully fix the situation you need to repeat this procedure
several times a day. Practising only one time a day isn't enough. You need to
repeat it every time you go out together. And especially in the beginning you
need to do it over and over again. Best is to do this every 2 to 3 hours every
single day. Situations like this require time and patience. If you don't have
time then simply make time for your dog if you want to fix this! There is no
quick fix, no miracle medicine etc. It might take longer than you like, but
your dog is worth this time!
Most
dogs are great students. You will see that you will soon succeed.
Bring
in another stable dog
If
you still experience problems with your dog, another dog to walk with you can
be of big help. This should be a stable and strong dog he trusts. Let this dog
lead your dog. Maybe you know someone that will let you borrow his/her dog for
this purpose or go all together!
Natural
medicines and aromatherapy
There
are a few great herbal medicines to help your dog calm down easier. One example
is Rescue Remedy, click here for more information.
Raising the perfect dog
Seeking
professional help
If
you think you tried all of the above and you're still not successful it's a
good idea to hire a dog behavior therapist in your area to help you out.
Housebreaking
If
you experienced problems with housebreaking because your dog was afraid to go
outside this issue will be in the past as soon as the anxiety issue has been
healed. When your dog is relaxed about going outside he will sooner or later
start doing his thing outside. Then you can start teaching him outside is the
place to do it and not in your house.
Feel
free to share your stories and/or experiences in the comments below. You can also
ask me questions for free. My mission in life is to help people to make their
dogs happy!
image
source: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3128/2316926513_23ed846768_b.jpg
