Fear

Quite often, I have been asked to help with fearful dogs. Fear is a natural reaction for dogs as a method of self preservation. When it interferes with canine-human relationship, then behavior modification in needed.  Excessive fear can result in bites, unwanted urination, and annoying behavior.

Fear is usually caused by improper socialization as a puppy, or some traumatic incident. Dont forget that an incident that may seem harmess to us, may leave a lasting imprint on the dog.

One of the things that we do to reinforce fear is to try to reassure the dog when they are fearful, and inadvertantly reinforce the behavior. "Good boy" and "Its o.k., nothing to be afraid of." is the same tone, the same non-verbal, so only the words are different. You reinforce the undesired behavior by trying to reassure the dog out of his fear.

One of the best ways to stop fearful behavior is to redirect the dog into a situation that the dog enjoys and does with confidence. It can be anything, tug of war, sit, fetch, and in the case of a gun-shy dog, a bird to chase. With the gun put away for the time being.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to contact me with specific questions - maybe you have something that has worked for you?