Making the decision to try medical intervention can seem like a big step, but there is a lot of specialist information designed to make it easier. A good place to start is Debbie Jacob’s website, fearfuldogs.com. There are also numerous over-the-counter pills and products marketed to help anxious dogs, but be careful if you choose to experiment with them. Most “calming supplements” haven’t been tested, and evidence for the ones that have been is sketchy at best. Ultimately, it’s a personal choice, but do remember that treatment has its own kind of placebo effect.
Dogs use their entire body to communicate. Their eyes and ears are especially dynamic, and they give sure-fire clues to dogs' emotions and impulses. How dogs tilt their heads, move their legs and torsos, wag (or raise or drop) their tails -- all these things contribute to the messages being sent. In this section, we cover many of the silent messages your pooch will give you, from his nose to his tail.
Animal behaviorists assert that using dominance to modify a behavior can suppress the behavior without addressing the underlying cause of the problem. It can exacerbate the problem and increase the dog's fear, anxiety, and aggression. Dogs that are subjected to repeated threats may react with aggression not because they are trying to be dominant, but because they feel threatened and afraid.[70]
Changing behavior takes time. You need to have realistic expectations about changing your dog’s behavior as well as how long it will take to change behaviors that you don’t like. Often behaviors which are “normal” doggie behaviors will take the most time such as barking, digging and jumping. You also need to consider how long your dog has rehearsed the behavior. For example, if you didn’t mind that your dog jumped up on people to say hi for the last seven years and now you decide that you don’t want him to do that anymore, that behavior will take a much longer time to undo than if you had addressed it when he was a pup. Remember it’s never too late to change the behavior some will just take longer than others.
A common mistake that many pet owners make when aiding their dog in panic or anxiety is to comfort them. While this may seem like the best solution, it is actually doing more harm than you might think. Most dogs will take this action as a reward, and it will continue to encourage their unfavorable behavior. Instead of comforting them, encourage them to act calmly.
“Today’s dogs suffer from a lack of mental stimulation and quality time spent with “their” people. The resulting boredom and anxiety can lead to no end of physical and behavioral problems. Brain Training for Dogs is the solution! In a clear and concise manner, Adrienne Farricelli walks owners through a series of puzzles and exercises that will challenge and entertain dogs of all abilities.”
Pups between the ages of 9–12 weeks who were permitted to observe their narcotics-detecting mothers at work generally proved more capable at learning the same skills at six months of age than control puppies the same age who were not previously allowed to watch their mothers working.[54] A 2001 study recorded the behaviour of dogs in detour tests, in which a favorite toy or food was placed behind a V-shaped fence. The demonstration of the detour by humans significantly improved the dogs' performance in the trials. The experiments showed that dogs are able to rely on information provided by human action when confronted with a new task. Significantly, they did not copy the exact path of the human demonstrator, but adopted the detour behavior shown by humans to reach their goal.[55] A 1977 experiment by Adler and Adler found that puppies who watched other puppies learn to pull a food cart into their cages by an attached ribbon proved considerably faster at the task when later given the opportunity themselves. At 38 days of age, the demonstrator puppies took an average of 697 seconds to succeed, while the observers succeeded in an average of 9 seconds.[56]
Let your puppy spend a short amount of time in his crate. This is a big day for him, and he needs some time to himself, so he can process his new situation. It’s okay to have the crate in the living room or some other area in the home where people are coming and going, but don’t bug him while he’s in there. Unless he needs to go potty, walk away calmly if he starts to whine or bark. Don’t let him out until he’s being quiet.
One treatment approach to this “predeparture anxiety” is to teach your dog that when you pick up your keys or put on your coat, it doesn’t always mean that you’re leaving. You can do this by exposing your dog to these cues in various orders several times a day—without leaving. For example, put on your boots and coat, and then just watch TV instead of leaving. Or pick up your keys, and then sit down at the kitchen table for awhile. This will reduce your dog’s anxiety because these cues won’t always lead to your departure, and so your dog won’t get so anxious when he sees them. Please be aware, though, that your dog has many years of learning the significance of your departure cues, so in order to learn that the cues no longer predict your long absences, your dog must experience the fake cues many, many times a day for many weeks. After your dog doesn’t become anxious when he sees you getting ready to leave, you can move on to the next step below.
Hmm…I read that book and do not remember that comment,Shibashake. I don’t know if the study has been published yet, but Susan Sharpe would know: http://www.anxietywrap.com. I will ask her next time I talk to her. See my hub about whether eye contact is good or bad. I wrote that in response to someone’s question and the responses he received about eye contact with regard to dominance. This idea has been so misunderstood and damaging to dog training. No, I do not believe that pressure on the body simulates pressure caused by a “dominant” animal. I have never seen wolves or dogs embrace each other and cause this kind of pressure. The Anxiety Wrap works by applying maintained pressure and pressure to acupressure points. I am going to be writing a hub about this. It has nothing to do with dominance.
When teaching new skills, keep training sessions short and sweet Like kids, dogs don’t have long attention spans. There’s no hard-and-fast rule, but an ideal average training session should last 15 minutes or less. Within that session, you can work on one skill or switch between a few different skills. To keep things interesting, try doing 5 to 15 repetitions of one behavior and then doing 5 to 15 repetitions of another behavior. You can also practice new skills and keep old ones polished by doing single repetitions at convenient times throughout the day. For example, before giving your dog a tasty new chew bone, ask her to sit or lie down to earn it.
No biting is more of an action taken to discourage puppy biting than it is an actual obedience training command. Puppies have a habit of biting anything and everything and this behavior should be discouraged from the beginning. Discouraging biting can be done with a variety of ways. One of the most used methods of discouraging biting is to firmly say “no” and replace the hand or fingers that are being bitten with a toy that it is acceptable to bite.
My only success has been through isolation. Immediately upon biting, I put her in her crate, which has a doggy door to escape to the outside, for 5 to ten minutes and sometimes longer. It took over a week for her to be lonely enough to not immediately bite me upon release. We had two great days where she was so good, I took her to a friends for dinner without incident. I got rid of the crate because I do not want that thing looming in the background so she’d only be obeying to avoid jail. I woke up one morning and she was sleeping by me with her head on my shoulder. It was wonderful. Then, today, she relapsed and is sitting in her cell or outside again. I hate it. I’m missing her puppy months and I feel like she thinks I don’t want her around. So much wasted time. This breed is supposed to consist of people pleasers. My last dog was a golden and was an angel. Please help before my feelings for her mirror hers for me.
If you’d like to learn how to train your dog or if your dog has a behavior problem you’d like to resolve, don’t hesitate get help from a qualified professional trainer or behaviorist. To learn more about locating the right expert for you and your dog, please see our article, Finding Professional Help. Many Certified Pet Dog Trainers (CPDTs) and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists (CAABs or ACAABs) offer telephone consultations, in-home private consultations and training sessions, and group classes.
3. Muzzle up. If your dog is reactive and big enough that you could lose control if she lunges, consider a good quality muzzle. A muzzled dog is still seen by most people as a dangerous dog, which can lead to some unpleasantness for the owner, but thankfully, the Muzzle Up! Project is trying to get rid of that prejudice and spread the word that a muzzle is a sign of a responsible owner and a safe dog. By making those with aggressive dogs feel safer, muzzles allow both people and dogs to get more enjoyment from being outside.
After a big shedding season, my dogs lose a lot of fur especially in the lower leg regions, and during activity or play, they may irritate those “thin-furred” regions. As a result, they start licking, which causes more irritation, which results in more licking, and so on. In extreme cases, the behavior can be habit forming and lead to acral lick dermatitis. There are also other reasons for dog licking and itchiness.
Begin doorway “wait”-training early. Teaching a dog to respect the threshold is important. You do not want a dog that runs out the door every time it opens — that could be dangerous for him. Doorway training doesn't need to happen every single time you go through a doorway. But you should make the most of your training opportunities early in your puppy's life.
Eating feces, or "coprophagia," is a common problem among dogs. Make sure the dog is fed nutritious food so that he has no dietary deficiencies. If his poop is abnormal, get him checked by a vet, because he may be trying to correct a digestive issue. If the problem is entirely behavioral, avoid swooping on the poop to pick it up before he gets to it, because this only makes it more highly prized. Instead, try and distract him with a favorite toy or game, and then praise him for ignoring the poop. Likewise, teach him a "Leave It" command, so he learns to get a truly tasty reward when he leaves the unsavory offering alone.
I have a 1 year old pit lab mix and she’s driving me crazy! I leave her alone and when I come home she chews on her dog bed and on furniture and also on my shoes and just other stuff n the house. I tried having her in a crate but she tries to escape and hurts herself so I decided to just not try the crate anymore. We leave her to roam free n my studio apartment. We also have a small Pekingese mix and she doesn’t do anything as far as chewing. Just our lab mix girl. Idk what else to try for her because I leave her with toys and a stuffed kong and she still chews Up stuff n my apartment. SomeOne told me to try giving her benedryl but I have not tried that
Thank you for this very informative article. I've been trying to find more information about what may be causing the symptoms my dog has and many of these fit her. So many other articles categorise these symptoms as reactions to specific situations (noises, separation from owner), but she seems to exhibit these symptoms pretty much every day, independent of any discernible environmental stimulus. This will help me talk to the veterinarian about it during our appointment.
Practice walking on-leash around the house. Make sure the pup walks at your side. Do lots of stops and have the pup Sit each time. Open the front door, walk out then back in again. This is a great time to teach the pup not to dash out the door. Leaders ALWAYS go through doorways or gates first! This is important body language to a dog. Over emphasize this move by having your dog “wait” as you walk out the door first. Use your body to block the doorway if he starts to push his way through. Body blocks are understandable to dogs, as they use this on each other.
Moderate or severe cases of separation anxiety require a more complex desensitization and counterconditioning program. In these cases, it’s crucial to gradually accustom a dog to being alone by starting with many short separations that do not produce anxiety and then gradually increasing the duration of the separations over many weeks of daily sessions.
Don't raise your voice to get his attention. Save the big booming voice for “life saving” situations, like if he escapes his fence or leash. If you rarely raise your voice, you'll get your dog’s undivided attention when you do need to yell. But if you are always “loud” to your dog, they will ignore that sound and tune it out. Shouting will no longer be regarded as something that commands special attention.
One of the cornerstones of good health for your puppy is regular veterinary care. It is crucial that your puppy maintains a nutritional diet and exercise routine to stay healthy and balanced. Plus, your vet can advise on heartworm, and flea and tick preventative care. While a lot goes into keeping your puppy in good health, it all begins with the first visit to the vet.
Feed your dog a high-quality diet with appropriate amounts of protein. If your dog spends most of his days lounging in your condo, don’t feed him food with a protein level that is ideal for dogs who herd sheep all day. The money that you will spend on feeding an appropriate quality food will often be money that you save in vet bills later on. I recommend you always check with your veterinarian for the right diet for your dog.
Note though that the dog training profession is not well regulated, so when I was looking for a trainer for Sephy, it was not always easy to find a good one who could give us accurate information about dog behavior, and is good with dogs. I found that it was very useful to read up on dog behavior on my own, so that I could better understand Sephy, as well as quickly filter out all the nonsense “trainers” we encountered.
Lavender typically works as a sedative to help your dog feel restful. Aromatherapy oils like chamomile provides calming and in some cases, pain relief. While sweet marjoram has been used to help with stress relief in pets. Watch out for allergic reactions in pets and discuss this kind of remedy with your veterinarian to get recommendations for the best kind of products to use. Essential oils can be easily found and used for your pet. Even if they don’t benefit as much from their use, you can use still use them for your own.
Newfie lady Elsa had her biggest challenge yet- working on her listening and recall skills around the play pack! Our daycare crew served as an excellent distraction for big Elsa as we start to work on her "come" command in a very busy environment! For a dog who really gets a mind of her own, it's nice to know that with ecollar training we will be able to influence her at a distance and get some great check ins from her! Nice job, Elsa! #calmdogscrazyworld #orlandodogs #orlandofl #dogstagram #puppy #balancedtraining #dogtraining #pitbull #gsd #labrador #doodle #goldenretriever #rescuedog #oviedofl #winterparkfl #floridadogtrainer #orlandodogtrainer #centralflorida #centralfloridadogtrainer #floridadogs #windermerefl #taketheleadk9training #boardandtrain #adoptdontshop #ecollartraining #disneydogs #ucfdogs #lakemaryfl #sanfordfl #newfoundland
Similarly, while it helps to have one adult assert themselves as the pack leader, your dog should also be trained by every member of your family. Part of puppy obedience training is simply learning where your pet falls in the order of the pack, so everyone needs to be involved. This also teaches your pet to follow commands by all humans and not just one leader.
Great article, Kimberly. Thanks so much. I’ve been looking for info on no food training. I’ve had 5 dogs over the past 20 years, all rescues, all adults. The only one who has been food motivated is the one we got as a young puppy. I started training her right away w/ treats, which worked great for a couple months but I’ve noticed her responsiveness is decreasing as I decrease the use of treats w/ training (and we do a ton of training- adv obedience, tricks, agility and find it) so I’ve been looking for guidance on how to make the transition go more smoothly. Thanks again. Great info! Sally looks like a happy well loved dog.
I have a Maltese Yorkie who has been diagnosed with anxiety, multiple vets want to medicate him, however this isn’t the way id like to deal with the problem. He doesn’t seem to have any real triggers he is just constantly anxious, in fact we have to keep the blinds shut because seeing outside causes him to bark nonstop and be unable to relax. Bentley licks compulsively and will not eat unless he chases a ball first, he will cry at the bowl until a ball is thrown. Recently he has also become unwilling to go outside unless a person goes with him (our other dog always goes and waits for him but he won’t leave the step without a human) on walks (which we go on twice a day) he is completely fine and happy. I’m not sure how to fix his anxious tendancies. I’m worried he is not as happy as he could be. Any advice out there would be great.
I have a 3 year old German Shepherd rescue that was abused/neglected. She was tied outside prior to her rescue. She spent time in a wonderful foster home before I adopted her. She is a fantastic companion – loving, intelligent, and very good with people and all other animals. Unfortunately, she has terrible anxiety – loud noises (thunder, fireworks, etc.) will send all 80 lbs. crawling under a bed shaking. She gets constant bouts of diarrhea = the most recent one lasted for six days (concidentally the length of a set of storms and the Fourth of July holiday). I took her to the vet and she was given antibiotics and meds to calm her stomach. I also got the herb – Composure. She’s finished her meds a week ago. I took her to my son’s last night to play with his puppy – she had been there the night before with just us – however, last night there were several other people there. This morning she started with the diarrhea again. She eats Blue (which is supposed to be a good food), doesn’t get table food, and only get’s Dentasticks as treats. She only goes outside with me (she’s afraid to go out alone) so she doesn’t get in to garbage. Can anyone give me any ideas as to what I might be dealing with?
Dr. Patricia McConnell recently spoke to Hannah Brannigan on her podcast about this subject. Dr. McConnell emphasized the importance of being a safe space for your puppy. Your puppy, she says, is actually likely to become braver more quickly if you offer backup. So go ahead, give your pup a cuddle during the next thunderstorm! It’ll help far more than it hurts.
Feed your dog a high-quality diet with appropriate amounts of protein. If your dog spends most of his days lounging in your condo, don’t feed him food with a protein level that is ideal for dogs who herd sheep all day. The money that you will spend on feeding an appropriate quality food will often be money that you save in vet bills later on. I recommend you always check with your veterinarian for the right diet for your dog.
