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.
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