Building Confidence in Dogs

Thu, 06/06/2019 - 20:08
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A ball being thrown to two waiting dogs

Do you have a dog who seems uncomfortable, insecure or fearful about certain things? Fear, insecurity and trepidation in dogs can manifest in different ways. Some lunge and bark at whatever is frightening them, some hunker down and freeze until the scary thing goes away, while others give more subtle signs of discomfort. If you become familiar with your dog’s body language, you’ll know when he’s distressed.

Puppy socialization window

There are lots of reasons a dog might lack confidence and be fearful about navigating his environment. He may have had a bad experience or even have a genetic predisposition toward being fearful or shy. In many cases, though, the dog simply was not well socialized as a puppy. What this means is that during the critical socialization period (between 3 and 14 weeks of age), the puppy was not exposed to enough novel experiences, or may have had scary or overwhelming exposure to our human world. During the socialization period, puppies are learning what is safe and unsafe — which plays a big part in shaping who they will become as adults. 

Once the socialization window closes, the particular way that learning happens during that period also ends. It doesn’t mean, however, that dogs stop learning. In fact, they continue to learn throughout their lives and we can help our dogs feel better about things they find frightening — whether it’s new people, places, dogs, sounds or movements.

Dog desensitization techniques

One way to help a dog feel more confident is to use repeated exposure to the scary thing (the stimulus) so that it becomes less novel and more routine; this is called desensitization. You must be careful, though, not to overwhelm the dog (aka flooding) because it can create insecurity or fear of a person, place or thing.

Let’s look at some examples. If you want to get your dog comfortable with, say, going to a popular park, first bring him to a quiet corner of the park and allow him to see and hear other people and dogs from a safe distance. Observe his body language closely to get clues about how he’s feeling. Over many short sessions, you can move incrementally closer to the busy walkways and more crowded areas, always watching the dog for signs of discomfort. 

If you’re unsure how to make an exposure less overwhelming to start with, think about how you can manage factors such as noise level, amount of the stimulus, invasiveness or distance from the scary thing. For example, if your dog is anxious about meeting new dogs, ask a friend with a well-socialized dog to help. With both dogs on leash, take a walk parallel to each other, far enough apart that the dogs can’t touch. As your dog gets more comfortable, you can gradually move them closer to each other. If your dog is nervous around men, start with a man sitting quietly at a safe distance from the dog. Always remember that if your dog seems overwhelmed, you’ll need to figure out a way to decrease the stimulus to the point where it’s not scary to your dog, and then move on from there. Proceed at whatever pace your dog appears to feel safe. 

Counter-conditioning tips

You can enhance the desensitization sessions by adding really yummy treats. Called counter-conditioning, this technique involves the animal experiencing a very tolerable exposure to a stimulus, followed by a delicious treat — something that he doesn’t get at any other time. Once the animal is comfortable with that and expecting the treat, you can progress to a harder step. For example, let’s say your dog always pulls his feet away when you try to touch them. Using counter-conditioning, you can change his negative reaction to having his feet touched. The tolerable level of exposure will be different for every dog, but it might involve slowly moving your hand toward one of his feet without actually touching it, and then giving him a treat. The next step might be lightly touching his foot very briefly before feeding him the treat. 

Desensitization accompanied by counter-conditioning involves giving the treats based on what happens in the dog’s environment rather than as a consequence of the dog’s actions. So, if you misjudge how comfortable your dog will be when you reach for his foot, you would still give him the treat even if he pulls away. Then you would adjust your approach to make sure he feels more comfortable during the next session. Eventually, instead of feeling nervous when you touch his foot, your dog will be anticipating a special treat. 

Implementing desensitization and counter-conditioning effectively is all about timing and knowing when to move forward and when to go back to the previous step. If you find that you feel stuck and your dog isn’t making progress, consider consulting a relationship-based trainer. 

General confidence-boosting for dogs

To build your dog’s confidence in a more general way, provide him with enrichment activities and relationship-based training. Simply feeding your dog via food puzzles and getting him involved in nose work (which, by the way, is fun for both dogs and their people) can make him more confident. Training your dog using positive reinforcement teaches him that making decisions and engaging with you and the environment earns him good things, like treats and praise. After all, the more positive experiences your dog has, the more eager he will be for new adventures and the fun that they are sure to bring.

Read more about shy dogs