What does your dog fear?

Yannick took several minutes to study these new roadworks on our road before venturing nearer. You can see from his shadow how outstretched his neck was.

You don’t throw your frightened toddler into the deep end of the pool. You start by sitting on the steps of the baby pool, your toddler on your lap, and - after many sessions - eventually your child will be wanting to join the other children in the shallow end of the big pool. 

Lessening fears and building confidence is a lengthy process achieved by slow desensitisation to the fear and gradual exposure to cause of that fear in small steps.

But we are human!

We are impatient! 

“Oh, so I introduce my fearful puppy to another dog and it’ll all be fine!”

Nooooooo. 

Not like that.

Confronting the fear full on right off the bat is called “flooding” and is known to make the fear worse!

There’s a right and wrong way to do this, and it seems that even experienced dog trainers can get it wrong if they don’t understand it. 

I recently heard a dog trainer with quite a following, who normally follows a kind training method, reveal her mistake with her dog-fearful puppy.

She took her puppy to a new hall, positioned another owner and puppy at the other end, came in and closed the door behind them.

Chaos! The puppy was terrified and shrieked and they had to decamp fast.

Credit to that trainer for publicly admitting her mistake.

Overwhelming the dog

What went wrong?

• It was a new environment for her puppy

• It was an enclosed space - no escape!

• It was an artificial setup

• It was all or nothing

What should she have done (and I believe did do after her realisation)?

• Choose a familiar place, though not on your own property

• An open outdoor space! No close boundaries of hedges or walls

• Seeing the other dog at a distance as a natural occurrence on a normal walk

• Plenty of opportunity to retreat and regroup 

How to desensitise your fearful dog or puppy

It took a while for puppy Yannick to work his way towards this “goat” in the garden centre

Just how difficult is it to work this system? 

It’s easy! 

All you need is foresight, access to an open space with little opportunity of close contact with other dogs, and somewhere where there aren’t too many dogs, especially off-lead ones.

This may require a bit of research to find a suitable place and a good time to go there.

And it may take quite a while to build your dog’s confidence so they can say, “Hey-ho, another dog. Not to worry.”

But you can achieve this much faster, and without making simple novice errors, by joining us in From Growly Dog to Confident Dog.

You see I’ve been there before you, and so have my carefully-picked team of trainers. 

We know how you feel! 

And we know how to make life better for you and your dog.

Kick off with this free Masterclass and remember to start in “the baby pool”!

RESOURCES:

“Flooding is rarely used, and it can be dangerous.” https://www.simplypsychology.org/flooding.html

Flooding is “highly traumatic for patients and causes a high level of anxiety” https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/treating-phobias-flooding

Connecting with your dog

Walking nicely on the lead is something we all love to have.

Ambling through the highways and byways, our dog trotting happily beside us, the lead dangling …

But for some of us that’s a pipe-dream!

We see others who, without any apparent effort, have dogs who mosey along beside them, never pulling. And we wonder why - with all the work we put into teaching loose lead walking at home - we are still being hauled along by a frantic dog who seems to have an urgent train to catch.

But it may not in any way be your fault.

It may be all to do with what’s going on in your dog’s head.

It’s not that he doesn’t know how to walk on a lead.

 It’s that he can’t do it right here, right now - he’s overwhelmed!

Dog anxiety

Many of you, I know, have dogs who have been labelled reactive. That is to say, they travel the world reacting to things all the time.

Maybe another dog (horrors!), or somebody dropped something (eek!), a car door slammed (oof!), a flag fluttered in the breeze (yikes!), something moved at the end of the road (oh noooo!) … they can react to anything at all.

And mainly it’s to do with a change in their environment, or SEC as we dog-nerds call it - Sudden Environmental Change.

“There wasn’t a dog there last time we walked this way - what’s it doing there??” huffs and puffs your worrit dog. So he has to repeatedly check ahead, behind, above, either side …

And our job is to navigate the walk, managing all these alarums and excursions, without our poor frazzled dog having a meltdown.

But my dog loves walks!

But my dog sees walks as the high point of his day, you say. He gets so excited when he sees me get the lead.

That’s as may be.

But it doesn’t mean he’s not super-anxious about the whole venture. If you were stuck inside four walls all day, you’d be excited at the prospect of new scenery!

So why is it that when we get out of the front door, he goes into carthorse mode, and starts pulling as fast as he can?

Let’s look at it from his point of view, and see how we would be in a similar situation. If you were walking along dark alleys in a strange city at night, wouldn’t you be walking fast?

It’s because of anxiety.

The world is full of sights and sounds - most of which we weedy humans miss, our senses being so much poorer than the dog’s.

But your dog hears and sees them all!

The whisper of someone walking in the next road; the slight movement in the grass up ahead; and, of course, the scents which are filling his nostrils, of what’s recently passed this way - and might still be there … waiting to pounce!

Mental assault course for dogs

For the anxious, shy, nervous, type of dog, this walk is an assault on his senses - from every side.

Yes, he was excited to get out in the world.

But once he’s there, his only way to cope is to surge forwards, and get through this fast.

“What can I do to help my dog?”

So, what can you do to help? After all, you’d like your dog to enjoy his walks as well as your shoulders to stop aching!

You do need to teach Loose Lead Walking (we have a terrific, simple, system in the Brilliant Family Dog Academy so that your dog knows what you’d like him to do.)

And at home, indoors - where he’s not frightened of anything - you can get this going really well. Graduate slowly to doing a few steps in the garden. You may have to ‘go back to the drawing board’ as you re-teach in this new place. It may be your safe garden, but it’s outdoors, and there are all those sounds (that you probably can’t hear, or simply ignore) to disrupt the game.

Once you have a semblance of Loose Lead Walking indoors, you can start working outdoors, and then on a walk.

But you’re not going to expect him to walk nicely beside you.

“No? What am I to do?”

What you’re going to work on is connection. 

Connecting with your dog!

You want to establish a connection with your dog when he’s out.

Hitherto he has been too stressed to notice you. I could walk my anxious young collie for a good ten minutes before he’d turn and say, “Oh, are you here too?”

So what I suggest you do is spend some time before you set off on your walk, just feeding treats for any glance he gives you.

You can stand outside your front door, wander in circles on your drive, step through your gate and amble up and down twenty yards or so, and all you’re doing is chatting encouragingly to your dog, and feeding him a treat every time he makes eye contact with you - even fleeting eye contact.

To begin with you may do well to get him looking at you just the once!

But repeat this, boringly, every time you leave the house, and gradually he’ll find himself able to cope with this small familiar bit of the outside world, and give you more and more eye contact.

You may graduate to adding in some of his favourite tricks (a SIT is a trick to him), even incorporating a little of your nice lead-walking from inside the house. Maybe he’s a tactile dog and would like to feel your hand on his shoulder, or he can offer you some nose-touches to your hand.

Building this connection is the most supportive thing you can do.

It will allow him to connect with you when something worrying appears.

It will allow him to come out of a state of paralysed fear - or even a shrieking meltdown - much faster.

If he starts ramping up his anxiety during the walk, pause and repeat your circles and wanderings from the start of your walk, until the area you’re in has lost its terror for him and he’s able to relate to you once more.

Over time, you’ll be able to avoid the meltdown altogether, using some of the techniques we teach you in From Growly Dog to Confident Dog

Get started with your dog right now!

.. and let me know how it goes.

Keep in mind that this will take as long as it takes, but like all worthwhile things, you’ll be glad you stuck with it when you look back in a year or so, at how nightmarish your walks used to be!

RESOURCES:

The Brilliant Family Dog Academy

From Growly Dog to Confident Dog

Teaching a hand-touch

Does your dog terrify everyone?

The Brilliant Family Dog series of how-to books

Why is my dog reactive?

It’s natural for people to question things.

And especially when that “thing” is having a major unwanted effect on their life!

So “Why is my dog reactive?” is a question I hear often.

And the questioner often furnishes what they think the answer may be. These “reasons” can range from:

He’s a rescue dog

I think he was beaten

He missed out on socialisation

He was over-socialised

He was attacked as a puppy (“attacked” can mean anything from being stared at to being torn apart, I have learnt)

He had a bad breeder / bad breeding / bad start

We went to a bad puppy class

He never went to puppy class

.. and so it goes on.

Now whether any of those things are true, and - more to the point - whether they have any bearing on how your dog is now, can never be quantified.

Keen to learn more to help your Growly Dog? Get our free e-course here and get started!

It’s been proven that fears can be hereditary. Even that the position in the womb can affect a puppy’s mindset! And while all the research goes on - you have a dog to look after.

The fact is that your dog is reactive!

.. or anxious, nervous, shy, “aggressive” …

This is what we know, for sure - so why not start there?

Start from where you are

It really doesn’t matter why your dog is reactive or fearful. He just is.

A family may have two or more children who are poles apart in character. Same parents, same genes, same environment, same diet, same everything.

And yet they are totally different. We all know families like this - maybe even have a family like this!

Perhaps one child is brave and fearless and dives into everything.

While another is shy and reserved, lacks confidence, and prefers to be a wallflower.

Thing is - we get the children we’re given! We don’t have too much say in the matter.

And we love them just the same.

Choosing your dog

So why not view your dog the same way?

Maybe you went to great lengths to choose a breed you thought would suit you, the gender that seemed right for you. You hunted till you found a good breeder, checked the lines, made your choice.

Or perhaps you took pot luck - picking a dog from a shelter, or inheriting a dog from someone else.

I can tell you now, that there is more variation between individuals than there is between breeds.

In other words, two dogs of the same breed - even from the same litter - will be individual. Not clones. Individual.

Your collie may be afraid of things that run fast, your spaniel may have no interest in using his nose, your GSD may be sound-sensitive, your lapdog may hate laps …

So, to some extent, no matter how carefully you choose, you are taking a gamble.

First of all, be kind

Your dog can’t help how he is. He didn’t choose to be afraid. He just is.

And fear of some kind, whether inbred or acquired, is at the bottom of most reactivity.

So let’s cut him some slack.

He may not be the dog you had hoped for.

He may never be a good agility dog, or working dog - which is why you got him.

He may never be comfortable in strange places, or with strange people or dogs.

But that’s not his fault!

It’s just the way it is!

No need for whywhywhy - it just is.

You chose him.

So you need to do what you can to make his life with you the best it can be. If that limits what you can do with this dog, then so be it.

More love on offer

Just about all the reactive dogs I have ever known are wonderful family pets. They are utterly devoted to their people. They are fun to have around - at home.

I’d go so far as to say there is no bond like the bond between your reactive dog and you.

You have to put so much work in to keep him - and you - happy.

And in so doing, you understand him so much better. You build his confidence, slowly but surely (this can take years).

And your dog knows (once he’s no longer a terrified screaming furry blob on a walk) that you love him and will protect him.

What better pet could you wish for?

Want some help with your challenging dog? Hop over to our free Masterclass for Growly Dogs, which gives you practical techniques you can use straight away to make your your dog - and your walks - calmer

How much does your dog sleep?

I make no apologies for revisiting this vital subject! So many of the queries I get can be resolved by simply allowing or encouraging your dog to sleep more!

Dogs need 17 hours of sleep a day to function well.

And this doesn’t mean snatched minutes of shut-eye when nothing is happening for a few moments!

It means proper, deep, uninterrupted sleep, for at least an hour at a time - and, of course, all night!

Teach ‘em young

And this doesn’t just happen without careful management.

In the same way that most responsible parents manage their babies’ and toddlers’ sleep sessions, teaching them that a sleep will cure lots of upsets, we have to teach our puppies how to manage themselves.

This is valuable learning.

We put small children in cots to make sure they can’t race around exhausting themselves when they need to rest.

In the same way, we can use crates or playpens to manage our puppies - who often won’t stop till they’re nailed to the floor!

I honestly don’t know how anyone manages a puppy without a crate or a playpen! I think that without these terrific aids we’re giving ourselves a huge amount of extra work and stress.

If you struggled to manage your youngster over the holiday period, now is the time to double down on teaching him or her how to sleep.

💤 Alone.  

💤  Contained.

💤 Without you.

💤 Without distraction.

You’ll be so glad you did!

And for more gems on managing your dog, check out the how-to books here!

Check other post that might help your brilliant dogs:

I have a new puppy: will I ever get any sleep again?

How much time does your dog spend sleeping?

Errorless Housetraining and Crate Training

Puppy Crate training demystified

I love my dog AND I love my sleep!

Dog training books for you at special prices!

I’m delighted to be able to announce a new improvement here at Brilliant Family Dog!

My immensely popular dog training books are now available for you to purchase as ebooks direct from me.

This cuts out the middle man, and enables me to share the savings and give you a special price! It also ensures you get your book immediately, direct to the e-reader or reading app of your choice, e.g. Nook, Kobo, Kindle, etc.

In fact, you don’t need a physical e-reader at all, as we give you a free app for your phone or desktop where you can read the books.

How easy is that?!

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!

The books are, of course, entirely force-free, and aim to build a stellar relationship between you and your Brilliant Family Dog. They’re easy to follow, with plenty of troubleshooting and case studies.

Here’s where you go to find which book will be best for you:

https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/books

And here’s what a couple of readers told me just recently:

“I have all your books and I am loving working my way with Tally steadily through them. So far Calm Down! and Let’s Go! Both are transformative. I recommend you wherever I go especially on the group dog walk I do on a Saturday.” AK

“Your books are just brilliant! I’ve read every one cover to cover and it’s a revelation. Honestly I’ve spent 40 years doing what I thought was right - I hope thanks to you I’m getting it more right than I used to!” JP 

For now, you can purchase ebooks or audiobooks directly from me - it won’t be long before you can buy paperbacks too! Exciting times … watch this space!

Here is a chart from Amazon showing six of my books in the top 35 dog training books chart!

“Thank you. Your first book is brilliant, it has taught ME so much.” RN

“Excellent book! Not only for newcomers. 5* ”

“I have a whole library of doggy books and I found yours concise, easy to read, and full of very useful tips.” JC

“Brilliantly written with a compassionate and understanding voice.” SM

“Clear, simple and easy to follow and remember. I've read similar books, but almost all are much more wordy and hard to remember.” CM

https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/books

3 ways to walking your dog on a loose lead!

So many people struggle with their dog pulling on the lead. Sometimes even pulling them over and actually injuring them!

This is not the lovely companionable walk you envisaged when you got your dog!

The Holy Grail of dog ownership is to swan along, your dog trotting comfortably at your side, earning admiring glances from all those being towed along by their dog!

First of all I’d like to direct you to Let’s Go! Enjoy Companionable Walks with your Brilliant Family Dog - a complete program to teach your dog to walk on a loose lead. You can buy it direct from the author right here! at a special price too …   

And to see illustrative videos of dogs and puppies learning this skill, you’ll find the full program in the Brilliant Family Dog Academy. You can find out all about this hugely popular program in our free Workshop on getting your dog to LISTEN!

But it’s true to say that sometimes we could do with a bit of help!

You may have been directed to lots of gadgets which are meant to solve this issue at a stroke.

But most of these clever gadgets (headcollars, slip leads, choke collars, retractable leads, prong collars, electric shock collars) are “aversive”. That is to say, the dog hates them and they can actually make the whole thing worse!

So what can you do?

Use a Harness

The first thing is to switch to a harness - but not any old harness. Some twist, some chafe, some are flimsy, some restrict movement, some hurt (!).

And keep in mind that there are “horses for courses”. The harness that will help you enormously with your dog on walks, is not the one you’d choose for an active sport like agility or flyball. You need a different harness for that, just as you have different clothes for tennis, dog walks, work, swimming, parties …

You need the right tool for the job, as any craftsman will tell you. You can’t make a whole cabinet with only a hammer!

Which harness?

The harness I find brilliant for loose lead walking is the 2Houndsdesign Freedom Harness

You can get it direct from me as I’m the main UK stockist. If you live anywhere outside the UK, this is where you will find it.

Why does it work so well?

The quickest way for you to see is in this video, transforming young Shadow from a choking, pulling maniac - bent forward scrabbling - to a dog walking in an upright, natural position, beside her astonished owner! The video covers a 20-minute lesson. That’s how long it took!

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “You’re selling these things, so you would say they’re good!”

But turn that around: “You’re selling these things because they are so good!”

I’d never recommend something I didn’t use and value myself

Proof of the Pudding

See what customers have written to tell me below. You’ll see that there are very large dogs, multiple dogs, and very small dogs.

This harness works!

"Walking is now a pleasure with the harnesses." Elsie, Dogue de Bordeaux and Marnie, Bullmastiff puppy, both in Medium, Herefordshire 

"Just wanted to say the harness is an absolute triumph. I have to say I honestly didn't enjoy walking my pulling boxer, however it is now a pleasure not a chore. Thanks for bringing the harness to the UK. It's been a godsend." Cooper the Boxer in Purple Medium, Merseyside

"Harness and multipoint lead have been fantastic - highly recommend it!" Rosie Doberman in Medium, Worcester

“Have been using the harness for a month now and am pleased to report that it has significantly helped me control Max when out walking and restored my confidence and enjoyment in taking him out. Without it he would be confined to exercising in our fields as he was to strong for me to control even with a headcollar.” Jane, XL Royal Blue

“Performance-wise this tiny harness is like a miracle: at last we have four paws on the path even with a passing cat! I don't know how the design can so alter the centre of gravity but it certainly works, I feel like stopping every dog walker I see and sharing the secret.” Bertie, Toy Poodle in Extra Small Teal

“When we started classes with Beverley with our 3 year old rescue mini Dachshund we were told about the Wiggles Wags and Whiskers 2Hounds Design Freedom Harness. My husband’s feelings were, ‘Oh here we go, the sales pitch’. I find being dragged up the road by a young dog somewhat exhausting so I decided to invest in this harness.  Well I am so glad that I did, our walks have been transformed! I can control Chester so much better, and the strain both mentally and physically no longer exists. It’s not a sales pitch to make money, it really does benefit both dog and human. Even my husband is a convert!” Chester, Dachshund, in Extra Small

And just before you start teaching the all-important walking nicely on a lead, check out this mini-course that gets you started with some foundational lessons!