Dogs Anxiety: How To Help Fearful Dogs To Go Outside

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.

There are also special collars that spread a relaxing aroma, you can read more about how this works if you click here.

Raising the perfect dog

For more great tips and information on how to raise your dog I recommend Cesar Millan's book: "How to raise the perfect dog". You can buy it here!

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