DEALING WITH NERVOUS DOGS
There are only two reasons why your dog is nervous that is either nature or nurture. Your dog is the product of a nervous bitch and blood line or the messages he or she has received from his or her environment has convinced your mate that the world is something to be feared. Canines by nature are not nervous animals and to be struck down by nerves for them makes life extremely unpleasant and uncomfortable and can lead to unwanted behaviour and even in extreme cases displays of fear or aggression.
Nerves, stress or whatever you want to call it if left untreated can result in medical conditions and premature death. The conditions associated with stress are urinary tract infections, bladder stones, strokes and the list goes on. Everyone wants to prevent the early demise of their best friend and we are going to show you today how to do it.
We are going to deal with a very simple path to giving your dog a stress free life, the path is not hard but must be travelled.
The best way to start is by making sure you are your dog’s boss (whatever word you want to use does not matter alpha, pack leader mum or dad) now you are probably thinking I am already the boss. I can tell you now you are not, not in your dogs eyes anyway, if you were your dog would not be nervous.
How to be a boss
This is very simple although you may find it hard to implement because you will think it just does not seem fair to my dog. I’ll let you into a secret; dogs learn in the whelping box that life is not fair it is the messages that humans give that make the dog feel they are in with a chance of winning.
When dogs through miscommunication believe there is no boss they will attempt to fill the role and in doing so nerves appear because they have been given (they believe) this huge role to fill and they have no life experience to draw upon to help them fill this role.
If a dog has a leader they do not become nervous because they have someone to look to for guidance. Therefore it is important to make sure you are in the role of leader
Basic Rules
Dogs do not touch without permission
Dogs are not allowed to sleep upstairs or in their owners’ bed room
Dogs get ten minutes to eat their food
Dogs should not be greeted on returning to them
All guests to your house (including family) must completely ignore your dog
Implement these rules and stick to them shows your dog they have a boss you will show them the way
VERY IMPORTANT SIGNS OF STRESS: You need to be able to identify exactly when your dog is exhibiting signs of stress and nerves. When your dog is exhibiting signs of nerves it is very important that at this time you do not touch or interact with your dog as your touch or comment can reinforce that the nervous response is the correct one thus encouraging your dog to be nervous.
Body posture Body tense or extremely droopy, body lowered, not cowering , stretching , shivering, sitting down, Tail wag differently paced (faster or slower)
Vocalizing Whining, yelping, whimpering, barking
Eyes Dilated pupils, Glazed look, Squinting, Crescent moon eye, white showing, Repeated blinking, Red pigment around eyes (also inner ears), Avoiding eye contact (turns head away), Looking to human frequently for assurance
Mouth Panting, too wide or too narrow, Licking lips or nose, Yawning, Snapping jaws, Drooling, White coated tongue
Face Wrinkled brow, Mouth corners back; “smile”, Ears back or uneven Veins prominent under eyes
Other Stopping to chew on self or scratch , Sitting or lying down, Approaching in an attention getting manner, Sweating paws, Tail held lower than normal, Sniffing, Digging, Circling and returning to you in arc path, Out of context behaviours (leash biting, diarrhoea, jumping on people).
There are only two reasons why your dog is nervous that is either nature or nurture. Your dog is the product of a nervous bitch and blood line or the messages he or she has received from his or her environment has convinced your mate that the world is something to be feared. Canines by nature are not nervous animals and to be struck down by nerves for them makes life extremely unpleasant and uncomfortable and can lead to unwanted behaviour and even in extreme cases displays of fear or aggression.
Nerves, stress or whatever you want to call it if left untreated can result in medical conditions and premature death. The conditions associated with stress are urinary tract infections, bladder stones, strokes and the list goes on. Everyone wants to prevent the early demise of their best friend and we are going to show you today how to do it.
We are going to deal with a very simple path to giving your dog a stress free life, the path is not hard but must be travelled.
The best way to start is by making sure you are your dog’s boss (whatever word you want to use does not matter alpha, pack leader mum or dad) now you are probably thinking I am already the boss. I can tell you now you are not, not in your dogs eyes anyway, if you were your dog would not be nervous.
How to be a boss
This is very simple although you may find it hard to implement because you will think it just does not seem fair to my dog. I’ll let you into a secret; dogs learn in the whelping box that life is not fair it is the messages that humans give that make the dog feel they are in with a chance of winning.
When dogs through miscommunication believe there is no boss they will attempt to fill the role and in doing so nerves appear because they have been given (they believe) this huge role to fill and they have no life experience to draw upon to help them fill this role.
If a dog has a leader they do not become nervous because they have someone to look to for guidance. Therefore it is important to make sure you are in the role of leader
Basic Rules
Dogs do not touch without permission
Dogs are not allowed to sleep upstairs or in their owners’ bed room
Dogs get ten minutes to eat their food
Dogs should not be greeted on returning to them
All guests to your house (including family) must completely ignore your dog
Implement these rules and stick to them shows your dog they have a boss you will show them the way
VERY IMPORTANT SIGNS OF STRESS: You need to be able to identify exactly when your dog is exhibiting signs of stress and nerves. When your dog is exhibiting signs of nerves it is very important that at this time you do not touch or interact with your dog as your touch or comment can reinforce that the nervous response is the correct one thus encouraging your dog to be nervous.
Body posture Body tense or extremely droopy, body lowered, not cowering , stretching , shivering, sitting down, Tail wag differently paced (faster or slower)
Vocalizing Whining, yelping, whimpering, barking
Eyes Dilated pupils, Glazed look, Squinting, Crescent moon eye, white showing, Repeated blinking, Red pigment around eyes (also inner ears), Avoiding eye contact (turns head away), Looking to human frequently for assurance
Mouth Panting, too wide or too narrow, Licking lips or nose, Yawning, Snapping jaws, Drooling, White coated tongue
Face Wrinkled brow, Mouth corners back; “smile”, Ears back or uneven Veins prominent under eyes
Other Stopping to chew on self or scratch , Sitting or lying down, Approaching in an attention getting manner, Sweating paws, Tail held lower than normal, Sniffing, Digging, Circling and returning to you in arc path, Out of context behaviours (leash biting, diarrhoea, jumping on people).
It is important that you make a list of everything that your dog is frightened of. Once you have your list you must systematically set about making friends between your dog and its fear. At this point you must realise when your dog has an issue he has four stages of acceptance fight, flight, freeze and submission. Your aim is to achieve submission which is the stage at which he accepts in a relaxed manner the situation.
Example: Your dog is scared of people
This program has no set time frame for which you should aim. The rate of progress and improvement will depend on the individual dog and the degree of the problem. However, the older the dog the more ingrained the habit of distrust will be and, therefore, positive results may take longer to achieve.
First of all, take your dog to a quiet place and simply sit and watch the world go by. Find somewhere that has some pedestrian traffic but that is not as busy and frantic as a shopping centre. A quiet park that does not have children and dogs rushing about, or outside a public building such as a library, museum, government offices, etc. would be good choices. Station yourself so that people passing by will not impinge upon your dog’s comfort zone. If you see that he is at all apprehensive then increase the distance. He should be able to see people but not be worried that they might come too close. Do not comfort him or reprimand him if he shows fear at any time. Instead you should talk to him in a perfectly normal voice - tell him a story, read aloud to him, sing a song, recite poetry or the multiplication tables - anything to let him know that you are not in the slightest bothered by strangers and that therefore there is no reason for him to be worried. It is very important at this stage not to allow anyone to approach too closely. If necessary explain that he is a dog in training. Do not be tempted to rush this stage of the programme. You should carry it out over at least a week, and in as many locations as possible. Only when you are absolutely sure that your dog is quite relaxed and confident in this situation should you gradually move nearer to the pedestrian traffic
Once you reach the point when people can pass fairly close by, and your dog does not display a negative reaction, give him a treat each time that he calmly accepts their presence. Do not give treats or praise if he shows any sign of nervousness as this, as well as a comforting voice, will only reinforce his notion that being scared of strangers is a correct response. Always be aware of your dog’s comfort zone and be prepared to increase the distance if he becomes stressed. Again, allow a week or two, possibly more, for him to become secure in the knowledge that passers-by are no threat.
The next step is to ask people with whom he is not acquainted to walk past him without speaking or looking at him and to drop a treat as they pass. Repeat this routine as often as possible. After a while your dog should begin to connect strangers with a gratifying, rather than a disturbing, experience.
If he accepts this strategy calmly then you can ask people he does not know to hold a treat in their hand and see if the dog will approach while they are talking to you. Again, it is important that they do not speak to your dog, make eye contact with him, or attempt to touch him. Neither should you encourage him forward. Let him make up his own mind whether or not to approach. If he does come up and take the treat then do not make a big thing of it. Ignore him and continue talking to the ‘stranger’. Give the person another treat and repeat the exercise several times. Find as many willing participants as you can. Every time your dog approaches a stranger and finds it a rewarding experience the more his confidence will grow.
A final tool in dealing with nervous dogs is to train, train, and train the more things you teach him and he gets right and you praise the more his confidence will grow. But you must teach him well and if you start with say sit do not move on to other training commands until he has mastered the sit.
Example: Your dog is scared of people
This program has no set time frame for which you should aim. The rate of progress and improvement will depend on the individual dog and the degree of the problem. However, the older the dog the more ingrained the habit of distrust will be and, therefore, positive results may take longer to achieve.
First of all, take your dog to a quiet place and simply sit and watch the world go by. Find somewhere that has some pedestrian traffic but that is not as busy and frantic as a shopping centre. A quiet park that does not have children and dogs rushing about, or outside a public building such as a library, museum, government offices, etc. would be good choices. Station yourself so that people passing by will not impinge upon your dog’s comfort zone. If you see that he is at all apprehensive then increase the distance. He should be able to see people but not be worried that they might come too close. Do not comfort him or reprimand him if he shows fear at any time. Instead you should talk to him in a perfectly normal voice - tell him a story, read aloud to him, sing a song, recite poetry or the multiplication tables - anything to let him know that you are not in the slightest bothered by strangers and that therefore there is no reason for him to be worried. It is very important at this stage not to allow anyone to approach too closely. If necessary explain that he is a dog in training. Do not be tempted to rush this stage of the programme. You should carry it out over at least a week, and in as many locations as possible. Only when you are absolutely sure that your dog is quite relaxed and confident in this situation should you gradually move nearer to the pedestrian traffic
Once you reach the point when people can pass fairly close by, and your dog does not display a negative reaction, give him a treat each time that he calmly accepts their presence. Do not give treats or praise if he shows any sign of nervousness as this, as well as a comforting voice, will only reinforce his notion that being scared of strangers is a correct response. Always be aware of your dog’s comfort zone and be prepared to increase the distance if he becomes stressed. Again, allow a week or two, possibly more, for him to become secure in the knowledge that passers-by are no threat.
The next step is to ask people with whom he is not acquainted to walk past him without speaking or looking at him and to drop a treat as they pass. Repeat this routine as often as possible. After a while your dog should begin to connect strangers with a gratifying, rather than a disturbing, experience.
If he accepts this strategy calmly then you can ask people he does not know to hold a treat in their hand and see if the dog will approach while they are talking to you. Again, it is important that they do not speak to your dog, make eye contact with him, or attempt to touch him. Neither should you encourage him forward. Let him make up his own mind whether or not to approach. If he does come up and take the treat then do not make a big thing of it. Ignore him and continue talking to the ‘stranger’. Give the person another treat and repeat the exercise several times. Find as many willing participants as you can. Every time your dog approaches a stranger and finds it a rewarding experience the more his confidence will grow.
A final tool in dealing with nervous dogs is to train, train, and train the more things you teach him and he gets right and you praise the more his confidence will grow. But you must teach him well and if you start with say sit do not move on to other training commands until he has mastered the sit.
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