Thinking K9

Often when people are working with fear dogs they want to just “love them” better. And they can spend a lot of time trying to get the dog to take a treat or let them pet them so the human can show just how much they love the dog.

But, that doesn’t feel very “loving” to a fear dog. It feels scary and threatening. And they can resist those actions so hard. They try to move away and they actually become more and more distrustful as the human completely misses how they are making the dog feel worse, by “loving them” better.

Working with these fear dogs is a dance. It’s knowing when to lead and when to follow.

By allowing Luke to process moving into the house at his own speed, we actually let him move forward at the fastest pace he could. If we moved in and tried to force treats and “love” on him, he’d retreat and it would take longer for him to adjust.

Part of the dance is learning when a dog is ready for you to reach out with affection and treats.

When he was first in the house and laying very still, looking concerned and sad, was the time to let him be. Not try to “reassure” him he’s ok. (Because it’s not reassuring to him!) No talking, no touching, just maintaining a calm energy and going about life.

When he starts to show he’s acclimating, by moving more, engaging with other dogs or even people, smelling the room or even playing/chewing toys, that is the time to then see if he’s receptive to affection and treats.

And if he’s not, no big, just keep living life and watching for opportunities to see if he’s ready yet.
Part 1/2

One of the ways we work with fearful dogs is to sit on their leash. And ignore them. We don’t talk to them, we don’t tell them what to do.

We let them process their emotions and work through their concerns for themselves. By giving them a safe, calm environment where they can try a variety of behavior and figure out what feels best.

They live so much in their fear that often the quickest way for them to get past it, is to provide the environment and calm energy and then let them work it out on their own. No words, no touching, no telling them what they “should” be doing or feeling.

They can’t “hear” us when they are in that state of mind and often all we do is continue to stress them out when we try to tell them “it’s ok”.

Luke is a fearful dog who hadn’t had any exposure to the world prior to coming here. He lived an isolated life in his pack of 20+ dogs.

He quickly figured out that this wasn’t a situation to panic over and then he settled in for a nap! And has continued to make great progress while he’s been here!