Dealing with a fearful behavior from a puppy can be a tricky undertaking. A handler’s goal is to expose the puppy to the fearful stimulus in a positive way and resolve the puppy’s concerns. However, not every technique works for every dog, and sometimes the behavior can worsen despite our best efforts.
First of all, there are several reasons a dog may exhibit fearful behavior. The puppy may have a negative experience and displays caution as a result. Sometimes, the fear may even be misdirected; for example, a raiser recently mentioned to me that her pup, out of the blue, began fear flighting from a particular restaurant. As far as the raiser is aware, the pup never had a negative experience in the restaurant. However, it is possible that the puppy had an overwhelming day or had a negative experience somewhere else, and by the time she arrived at the restaurant, the pup had had it. Now she may associate the restaurant with that feeling of doom and gloom.
Other times, the puppy may develop a sudden fear as a direct result of bad experience. A pup may be well-socialized to the family cat, but when he visits another home, the resident cat scratches his nose and scares him. He may begin giving cats a wide berth, even “his” cat at home.
The dog may also be genetically fearful: his genetic makeup may predispose him to a greater level of caution, a higher startle response, and a poor recovery. You may hear these dogs described as “soft” (in temperament, not fur!) or “jumpy”. These pups exhibit fears at an early age and some never improve, or even intensify as they age. This isn’t meant to frighten you as a raiser if you suspect your puppy may be genetically fearful; if you recognize that this trait may be present, you can be more conscious of taking exposures slowly, being aware of your puppy’s reactions, and working hard to desensitize to various stimuli in a positive way.
A dog may also experience “fear periods” for various reasons. Sometimes it can be related to teething; pain and frustration from teething leads to distrust, and it would also be the age they would be exploring away from the den, so caution would serve a pup well. Hormonal surges also can explain a sudden onset of fears, especially if a female is pre-heat cycle.
Although understanding the reasons why can be helpful, there are also some standard techniques that apply across the board. Desensitizing is generally the preferred method of dealing with fears. This involves exposing the dog to a stimulus at the level he can handle. You want to keep exposures brief and positive; don’t try to push the puppy past his limit. If the puppy slows, you slow; if the puppy stops, you stop. Stopping when the pup shows concern lets the puppy know that you “have his back” and that he has a choice. Try to stop before the puppy gets into panic mode; let him take in what scares him gradually. When the puppy is at a comfortable exposure level, you can use positive, fun commands, such as the treat motivated recall, to help focus his attention on the food (rather than on the far-away, slightly scary thing going on in the background). Do not try to “lure” the puppy to what scares him with a treat. Instead, give a treat for an appropriate response to a command. Trying to get him to follow a treat over to the “scary object” does not generally change the puppy’s opinion about the object; he is just trying to dive in quickly to grab the treat and then get out! On the other hand, using treats in a constructive way (recalls and attention) can help take his focus OFF of the scary object and rewards him for focusing on you instead. Then walk away and try to approach the stimuli from another angle. You have to also be prepared to retreat if it is too much. Increase the distance from the distraction, then try to approach from a different angle; stop when the puppy shows the first signs of discomfort. That is the level of exposure that the pup is prepared to handle.
In general, a puppy displaying fears should have his exposures reduced overall. Continuing with exposures when he has been having negative experiences can be harmful; staying home more gives him a chance to recover and relax.
If the pup shows a sudden onset of fear to something familiar, like a doorway to a familiar location, start with desensitization techniques. Approach, retreat, practice some positive commands. Sometimes that may be enough to help give him his confidence back. However, sometimes pups hit a mental wall and cannot overcome it easily. It may be worth retreating for the day and trying again another day. However, IF (and this is a big if) the pup’s fear is because of a known negative experience, sometimes employing the technique known as “flooding” can be beneficial. For example, the pup may have been to the local Petsmart a dozen times and looks forward to going there. However, the last time he went through the door, a forklift dropped a pallet and knocked over a display, making a terrible racket. So now the pup is putting on the brakes at the door every time he approaches. It MAY be beneficial to reduce the puppy’s options to help him get through the initial step. This can be done by finding the pup’s stopping point, then asking him to take a single step. So the puppy puts on the brakes, and the handler takes another step; now the leash is tight and the pup is frozen at the end of it. The handler should NOT feed into the puppy’s anxiety by chanting or verbally coaxing; instead, the handler should remain mostly quiet, occasionally offering calm reassurance. If the pup relaxes the leash slightly, the handler should THEN begin praising and can even offer a treat reward. The dog is choosing to loosen the leash by taking a step forward. You are not reducing the dog’s exposure to the fearful stimulus; instead you are exposing him in a calm, quiet way so that he realizes that nothing bad is occurring, and he is, in fact, able to function. This can be very effective in getting the dog through a “stuck” fear.
However, if this technique is poorly timed or ANOTHER scary event occurs at the same time, it can make the puppy’s fearful response worse. So when it doubt, talk to your AC about your puppy’s fear to come up with some techniques. Fear and anxiety can manifest in a number of ways (see last month’s Blue Cape Journal for some body language clues); learning how to recognize them and knowing when to slow down will make your puppy more comfortable and confident. Very few dogs are completely “bomb proof”, and most puppies will encounter something scary at some point during the raising period. Be aware of your puppy’s reactions and proceed gently.
