Many dogs are afraid of something - some of people, other dogs, cars, whatever. In our case it was underpasses, especially ones going under railways. It is possible to eliminate fears by targeting the dog's attention to some familiar behavior. When the dog starts to focus solely to the positive thing (click & treat) he forgets the object he used to be afraid of.

There was a railway underpass close to where we used to live, of which my bloodhound had been afraid of right from the start (especially if a train happened to drive above). Every time we walked toward the underpass, she would put her brakes on and try to pull me as hard as she could to the opposite direction.

I had taught her the touch stick and I knew she loved playing the "touch" game. I decided to try this. We walked towards the underpass but not too close, so I could be sure she was still feeling happy and confident. In other words when the dog was still seemingly relaxed and wanted to play with me, I started to point trees and lamp posts with the stick and asked her to touch. She seemed to think it was an exciting new game; she nudged the trees with her nose and was clicked and treated for that!

I was sure not to go too close to the tunnel. The next day we got one tree /lamp post closer to the tunnel, all the time I watched closely the dog's state of mind. After a couple of weeks I got the dog to come and touch the outer wall of the tunnel. Next I was able to leave her in sit-stay near the tunnel when a train was passing (the dog sat there and waited when I walked away from her and the tunnel). We also played other games near the underpass; she even fetched the ball I threw into the tunnel a few times.
Dogs that are afraid of people can be shaped similarly. If the dog does not want to come close to a stranger, it is best that this person totally ignores the dog (direct attention can be very frightening to a timid dog) and as soon as the dog sniffs the stranger on his own terms, click and treat. The most important thing is to let the dog to decide what he wants to do and when. From this point on it is important to proceed slowly. The stranger can also use treats as tools to coax the dog.

On the other hand, eliminating of fears can also be very risky. You need to be able to read the dog, to see how powerful the fear is and what the state of mind of the dog at each moment. Because there is always the risk that you unknowingly happen to reinforce the dog's behavior on the moment when he is afraid, which can lead him to connect being afraid and click, he will learn that being afraid is a good thing. Be sure that the dog is happy and relaxed, when you reinforce the behavior.

Clicker training

• Clicker training
• Conditioning
• Keeping contact
• First training session
• Principles of shaping
• Touch stick
• The word "wrong"
• Can you improve show behavior?
• Eliminating fears

Obedience

• Obedience