< See All Questions
How can I make my dogs not afraid of men?
Submitted by duker on Aug 05, 2007
when ever they see a man they get scared. One will pittle right where she is and the other will get scared and try to walk away from me.
They are sweet dogs to me and everyone but I don't want them afraid ofsomeone who won't hurt them.
Answer:
Don’t force the dogs to get closer to a man than they are comfortable. That will break the trust between you and your dogs. And it won’t help the fear. Just think how you would feel about a person who dragged you into a situation that frightened you.
You will need to begin the process of desensitizing your dogs to men. During this time, it would be best to work each dog separately. Since they are both frightened, working them together may cause them to feed off each other’s fear.
First, find one male that is willing to work with you. Let’s call him “Guy”. Guy should be as non-threatening as possible. He should not have facial hair. He should not wear a hat. He should not wear glasses. He should not wear “large” clothes such as a huge down parka. He should be gentle spoken. He should never look directly at the dog. He should always be perpendicular to the dog. He should kneel down on the ground. He should move very slowly. All of these things will help contribute to making him less frightening to the dog because he looks smaller and is not inadvertently threatening to the dog. Then give Guy the biggest pile of liver treats ever known to dog.
During the session, you should have your dog on leash. Guy should walk slowly and sideways to the dog. As soon as either of you detect the smallest amount of tension from your dog, he should stop and take a step further away from the dog. You have now found your dog’s threshold for tolerating the presence of Guy. Guy should slowly kneel down and slowly toss a treat to the dog. All motion should be very slow so as not to frighten the dog.
If your dog is too frightened to eat the best treat on the planet, then Guy is too close. He should move further away from the dog and try again. And if he was much too close, the dog may be too nervous to eat for some time, so you may have to try again another day.
You must be very patient during this process. This is going to be a very long, very slow process. It may take months. Or it might even take years. Guy should only begin to take ONE step closer once the dog is obviously looking forward to his approach. That may take several days or weeks before that first step can be taken. If you rush the process, you will cause the dog to be more frightened than he was before. Patience is key to success.
These desensitization sessions should be short so as not to stress the dog. The next day’s session should never begin with Guy closer to the dog than he was at the end of the previous day’s session.
It will take time, but your dog will eventually begin to associate good things (this really awesome treat) with men. Over time, your dog will even begin to look forward to Guy approaching because it indicates the best treat in the world is approaching, too.
Once you begin seeing success with Guy, move on to including another male to help your dog begin to slowly generalize that all men are armed with wonderful treats.
During this process, you must totally control your dog’s environment. Your dog must never be put into a situation where a male is too close to frighten him.
You should never coddle your dog while he is frightened. Although this is the normal human reaction and it would be very appropriate to do to a frightened human, this rewards your dog for fearful behavior. The dog doesn’t understand you gently telling him that “It’s OK” while petting him. What he understands from that is that it’s a good thing to be frightened because you are rewarding him with petting and sweet talk. Instead reward your dog for signs of courage.
Also, be sure to have your dog wearing an appropriate collar. Appropriate collars include flat buckle collars, gentle leaders, and harnesses. They do NOT include prong/pinch collars or choke/training collars. And do not jerk your dog’s leash when a male is in sight. These things will instead tie aversive events (a snap on the neck) to the sight of a man.
In situations such as fear, it helps to work with a behaviorist to modify your dog’s behavior. Contact your veterinarian for recommendations on behaviorists in your area.
|
|
|
Please Sign In
to submit your question
|
|
|
