Helping Fearful Show Dogs

Honestly, I thought I had already posted this here, but then realized that I haven’t.  I probably keep shying away from it because it is a big topic to cover in a simple blog post.  I work with fearful show dogs constantly and have some solid methods and advice to offer on helping them.  This post won’t cover everything, but will give you some tools to help your fearful dog or your client’s fearful dog.

One thing I want to say is that I hope that people look for help because they are genuinely concerned for the well being of their dogs and want them to feel comfortable and safe, not just so that they will be successful in the show ring.  Many dogs suffer from fear and anxiety.  One of my most successful classes is my Confidence Building for Marshmallows which was designed to help fearful dogs gain confidence.  A large percentage of my dog and bird training and behavior consulting business is helpling people with fearful dogs and birds.  I see show dogs, pet dogs and dogs that do many other dog sports and activities as well.  It is our responsibility as their caretakers to find ways to help them so that they can live a life that allows them to feel safe, comfortable and trust in someone or hopefully, many people.

In addition to my client dogs, I also live with several fearful animals that have all made spectacular progress.  I have dogs that used to bark and lunge at people on the street, who would try to flee in a panic over vehicles and even parrots who would lunge at the side of the cage bars with their beaks trying to bite, all who have improved so much that you would not believe that they had those issues.  It took some time and it took work, but they got there.  On this point, there is something that I need to be very clear and honest about.  All animals are individuals and will have varying limitations.  There are a handful of dogs that I honestly do not feel will progress enough that putting them in the show ring is humane.  Imagine being terrified of people yet forced to be touched by strangers on a regular basis.  Much of the time we can modify the behavior to the point where the dog can be shown, but sometimes not and people need to be accepting of that.  It is heartbreaking to see people showing dogs that hate it, are terrified but are forced to keep doing it because there owners can’t seem to accept the dog without a CH before his name.  And, don’t even get me started on using those dogs in a breeding program, but I digress.  Let me just say that being structurally correct or “pretty” is NOT enough to justify putting a dog in the show ring, or in a breeding program for that matter, whose head won’t allow him to be okay there.  This is an ethical responsibility we have.  We must put the animal’s well being ahead of our need or desire or ego to show the dog.  Work on helping the dog, learn how to modify the behavior, but always listen to the dog and accept it if the dog you had hoped would be your next big special (or agility champion or therapy dog or obedience dog or whatever) cannot do the job you are asking of him or her.  The animal simply MUST come first.

What Not To Do
There are some things that I do not do that pretty much apply to any and all fearful animals that I work with.

• No pressure or force.  We must allow the fearful animal to set the pace.  There is a difference between slow, steady, honest progression and pushing or forcing.  Don’t do it.  You will not only slow the dog’s progress, but you will damage the relationship with the animal.  Of course there are sometimes things we must do such as take them to the vet or groom them, but these are things we can condition them for.  Getting into the show ring or into some type of dog sport competition is NOT a necessity and is something that can wait until the dog can do it without being afraid.
• Use only methods that protect the dog’s comfort level such as classical conditioning, desensitization and counter conditioning and stay away from methods that force or overwhelm such as flooding.
• Even if things are going well, do not enter your dog in any shows until you are VERY sure that he is ready for it.  Doing so can cause major setbacks.  Depending on the level of fear, I usually have my clients attend some shows but not enter at first.
• Do not taking behavior modification advice from non-professionals.  Dealing with fearful dogs is not simply “dog training”, it is a whole other level of behavior modification that requires a strong and in depth understanding of animal learning theory as well as applied behavior analysis.  I find it extremely frustrating to be working with a client only to have their friend or breeder or handler or someone else pressuring them that they need to just “make him do it” or “correct him” when we have a solid training plan in place.
• Depending on the level of fear and the specific triggers, I sometimes recommend that a fearful or shy dog only be handled by his owner.  Handing a fearful dog off to a stranger or even someone that the dog does not trust very strongly is a bad idea and again a trust breaker.
• Do not buy into the idea that a dog is being willful, lazy, dominant, stubborn or anything else.  Believe it or not, I have had longtime breeders, I am talking about someone with decades in a breed and “in dogs” tell me that their fearful dog’s behavior was a “ploy” and that she knows these dogs and they “do this”.  Newsflash, no animal behaves afraid on purpose, they just don’t, so get over that one.
• Do not punish a dog for being fearful.  Fear can look like a lot of different things while still being a fearful response.  You cannot punish someone for being afraid or guess what you get?  If you guessed more fear and anxiety you’re right.  Don’t do it.
• Do not allow yourself to be pressured into entering your dog before he is ready because someone told you he “needs to get over it” or because your breeder wants the dog in the ring or because your dog is needed to build majors.
• Do not have other people offer food to your dog if he is afraid of them.  Many people try to force dogs by using food and when this happens you can see that the dog is trying to get the food without getting near the person.  This is dangerous and a very bad idea because it puts the dog in conflict.  Best case scenario is that the dog panics and tries to escape once the food is gone, worst case scenario is that he bites the person once the food is gone, in either case, he didn’t learn anything we wanted him to learn.  Whenever I meet a dog that I know is fearful or aggressive I start out with no food.  I need to see if the dog has any interest in people, in interacting or even just “checking me out” before I start using food.  Let me be clear that we do use food, a lot of food in this training, but it doesn’t come from scary strangers.
• Do not put anything above your dog’s well being or your relationship with your dog.