Anxiety/fear of people

[CARI MACDONALD]

23 mo. Cavalier/Schnauzer is extremely anxious of people. I take him places a lot. He’s OK until someone points him out or tries to pet him. Once he flipped out of the cart and ran got out the door and his leash got tangled around a man’s ankles & the more he ran the closer he got. Thank God the man just stood still. If it’s like that he is running blind. He can’t see me, hear me…he’s out of his mind.

I’ve been taking him places hoping it would help. Dog parks are ok, except the people. He’s fine at home, it’s just he and me. He’s learned searching games, basic commands, nose training, “where’s the car” in a parking lot. And we’re chilled at home, lots of room outside. Oh and he LOVES babies.
Is there any training I can do or psychological voodoo to help my little guy? 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums,

In cases of such, we need to be very careful to avoid instances of flooding, that is too intense exposures that overwhelm the dog and prevent them from getting better. This can mean preventing people from trying to pet him until he's a little more confident and ready.  Also, it's very important to keep him under threshold as much as possible. Here are some tips:

Protect Your Dog

Anytime a person approaches and your dog gets startled by something, this can trigger him to be more and more hesitant in future interactions. The big problem is that in  casual encounters with new people, we cannot control what the person does that may startle the dog, and we may never know exactly what triggers our dogs to feel threatened by a particular person. It can be just about anything, such as the way the person talks or looks at the dog, or sometimes even a person's smell.

It's therefore best to keep some distance from people, having people ignore him and/or letting them know your dog is very shy and struggles with all the attention. You therefore want to take as many steps as possible to keep your pup under threshold as much as possible. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

 Learn to Read Your Dog Like a Pro

 

When dealing with dogs who struggle being around strangers, it’s important to read their body language so as to prevent them from getting to the point of feeling overwhelmed around new people. Common reactions to new people in dogs may involve some elements borrowed from a dog's flight, fight and freeze responses. 

 

Flight: A common response in dogs fearful of strangers involves avoidance. The fearful dog may try to make herself as small and insignificant as possible by lowering her body, keeping her ears flat and the tail between the legs. He may tremble and even hide behind a person or under furniture in hopes of being left alone. Contrary to what is often thought, some dogs who flop over and expose their belly are asking to be left alone rather than asking for a belly rub 

Fight: Lunging, growling, snapping and biting are the most obvious signs of a dog asking for distance. These signs may be seen when a dog’s flight option is removed (dog can’t hide and is cornered) or when the dog feels the situation warrants it as they are deeply stressed. However, there may be other more subtle signs of growing fear and stress prior to the escalation that may go missing (e.g., head turning, whale eyes, yawning, lip licking, etc.).

Freeze: In this case, the dog is completely shut down and terrified and will often freeze. When freezing, the dog is barely moving and in a state of helplessness.

Manage Your Dog’s Environment

Management entails recognizing and avoiding the stimuli or situations that trigger a dog’s problematic responses. In other words, management focuses on preventing dogs from being pushed beyond their comfort level at least until they’re better:

• Prevent people from invading your dog’s “space bubble.”
• Instruct people to ignore your dog (no talking, no looking, no reaching out).
• Prevent people from blocking a dog’s escape option by cornering or crowding the dog.
• Never force interactions.
• Protect your dog from encounters that may particularly stress him out ( people who are loud or gesticulate a lot).
• Keep your dog at a distance from people, where he is able to remain calm.
• Prevent your dog from rehearsing barking, lunging or growling behaviors directed at people from behind windows, fences or doors.
• Avoid using food to draw your dog closer to people (which can create conflicting emotions).
• Avoid asking for stationary trained behaviors like "sit" and "down" in the presence of strangers..

Due to the potential for a fearful dog biting, it’s important to keep others around you as safe as possible. Close supervision, and the use of distance and tools to allow a better level of control so as to prevent close, full-intensity exposures is important. This helps prevent stress and the potential for biting. You may need multiple layers of management and protection as an extra safety precaution.

Helpful Tools to Prevent Aggression in Dogs

• Bite-proof basket muzzles (make sure your dog has been well acclimated to it)
• Front-attachment harness 
• Head halters
• Leashes
• Crates
• Fences
• Exercise pens
• Long lines attached to the back ring of a dog harness and attached to something sturdy
• Vests that tell others to give the dog space

Work at Your Dog’s Pace

Behavior modification to change how a dog feels about new people requires working at the dog’s pace. This requires lots of patience and close observation of the dog’s body language to ensure your dog always stays under threshold. A dog is said to be under threshold when he or she feels calm and safe. When a dog goes over threshold, he or she becomes unable to function cognitively, making it difficult for any potential lessons to effectively sink in.

Working at the dog’s pace means ensuring he or she remains comfortable during the process by controlling the environment and preventing intense, stress-inducing exposures.

During the initial stages, you will find it very helpful to enlist the help of volunteers who are willing to take directions from you so as to ensure your dog is comfortable and relaxed. You can start with people your dog knows already creating structured set-ups, and then based on how well your dog does, gradually progressing to strangers.

 Use Distance to Lower Your Dog’s Threshold

Giving your dog distance from strangers is one of the best ways to keep your dog under threshold. Most dogs struggle with strangers when they invade their perceived “space bubbles.” If you can find that special sweet spot where your dog sees and acknowledges the presence of a stranger but remains in a calm, responsive state, this will give you a starting point on the path to behavior modification.

 Create Positive Associations

Once you have found a distance from where your dog sees a stranger without reacting, you want to start forming positive associations with that stranger. There are several ways to form positive associations, and one method may work better for a specific dog or in a specific conntext. Here are several strategies.

The "Look at That" Method

Coined by dog trainer and behavior expert Leslie McDevitt, this method consists of forming positive associations with triggers by having the dog watch them from a distance. Every time the dog looks at the trigger, she is fed high-value treats. This exercise can be started indoors by feeding treats when your dog sees strangers walking outside by a window and then progressing outdoors in front of a porch and then on walks. Eventually, the "Look at That" Dog Game should help create positive associations with triggers. Here is a guide on this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

The Treat-Retreat Game

While it may feel tempting to have strangers hand feed or toss treats to your dog, consider that this can backfire. Showing a treat or tossing it nearby will cause the dog to feel tempted by the treat, but the dog may not realize how close he is to the stranger until he actually reaches the treat. This can cause the dog to further engage in approach-avoidance behaviors, which will put a dent in the process.

Instead, a better option may be having the owner feed the dog treats upon seeing a stranger as described in the "look at that" game or having the stranger toss treats in a strategic way so as to prevent the dog from falling into the approach-avoidance trap.

The Treat Retreat game was invented by dog trainer Suzanne Clothier. This method works well in open spaces so that the dog has more freedom of choice and movement. Here is more about this method: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/how-to-play-the-treat-and-retreat-game/

The Open Bar, Closed Bar Method

This method was coined by dog trainer Jean Donaldson. The goal of Open Bar Closed Bar is to create positive associations with triggers using a strategic approach that makes it crystal clear that strangers are sources of great things and that all the fun ends when strangers are no longer around. Here is more about this method: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/

Use High-Value Treats

It’s important to use amazing treats when working on dog behavior modification. The purpose of this is multifold. Strong treats will:

• leave a very strong impression on your dog because your dog doesn’t normally receive them in other circumstances.
• heighten the chances that your dog will actually eat the treat (many dogs lose some of their appetite when stressed, even if they are just mildly stressed).
• help get your dog through hurdles that you may have struggled with if you were using something less appetizing.
• break through your dog’s fear and anxiety, making it easier to modify behavior and gradually reduce your dog’s negative responses.

What Are the Best High-Value Dog Treats?

Examples of some high-value treats/food include the following, but of course, every dog is different, so what may work for one dog may not work for another. Consult with your vet if your dog has a sensitive stomach or any allergies or intolerances.

• Freeze-dried meats
• Low-fat cheese
• Low-sodium hot dogs
• Boneless, skinless chicken (boiled and shredded)
• Liver treats
• High-quality dog treats

The Benefit of Problem-Solving Games

In one study, dogs who were engaged in problem-solving skills demonstrated calmer and less fearful behaviors towards strangers, most likely because problem-solving skills help dogs increase their levels of self-confidence. Mental stimulation, play and exercise incorporated into a dog’s daily routine may not seem like it will directly address the problem of barking at strangers, but it will certainly help.

 Know How and When to Raise Criteria

When your dog is progressing at a steady rate and you start noticing the onset of the so-called positive conditioned emotional response, it’s time to start raising the bar. Decrease distance slightly, and keep working on forming positive associations using your dog’s favorite high-value treats.

Be Patient

If your dog ever happens to become unresponsive to you or won’t take treats, take that as a sign that he’s too close to his trigger. Take a few steps back again to increase the distance and his level of comfort. Behavior modification involves continuously gauging your dog’s progress so as to determine whether it’s time to raise the bar or take a few steps back. It requires several judgment calls based on where your dog is at in the moment.

Adjust Parameters as Needed

On top of decreasing distance, you may also wish to add other parameters at some point (always offered at low-intensity levels at first), such as the duration of the interactions, the actions, speed, tone of voice and body position of people, and then touch so as to get your dog used to these too. When you do so, you will need to relax the other parameters temporarily.

For example, if your dog is fine with a stranger ignoring him while standing right next to him and you want to add the stranger looking at him/talking to him, increase the distance between the stranger and your dog temporarily. When the stranger talks or looks at her, be ready to drop several tasty treats right afterward.

Introduce Touch With Caution

At some point, you may want to create positive associations with hands (hand targeting and chin rests are helpful introductory skills to train), but always make sure your dog is comfortable doing so, and let him decide whether he feels safe and comfortable interacting in that specific setting with that specific person.

You may wish to then progress to brief touches while always using high-value treats to create positive associations, but it’s important to practice caution. Dogs don’t always want to be petted. Many dogs struggle with people extending their hands and doing things like giving pats on the head.

It’s important to always monitor your dog’s body language and evaluate how he feels about it. Giving dogs a choice of when or who to interact with is important.

Doing a few “consent tests” (stopping an interaction and watching if the dog gives signs of wanting to interact more) is equally important to ensure he’s still comfortable with an interaction. A behavior professional can provide guidance on how to introduce touch while also keeping safety in mind.

Work With a Behavior Professional

Behavior modification isn’t a walk in the park. It requires patience, determination and time. It also requires close observation and continuous judgment calls to determine when a dog is ready for an increase in criteria and how to introduce a trigger in a way that doesn’t evoke a reaction. On top of this, safety is important.

Working with a behavior professional is paramount to ensure the correct implementation of behavior modification while also taking steps to ensure safety. It’s particularly important to work alongside a behavior professional using gentle behavior modification without the use of aversives (shock collars, punishment-based methods) which risk creating added stress and increase the chances for aggressive responses.

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) emphasizes the importance of having veterinarians refer clients only to trainers or behavior consultants who adhere to non-confrontational techniques, using scientifically-based guidelines of positive reinforcement, operant conditioning, classical conditioning, desensitization, and counterconditioning.

In difficult cases where progress is not being made or when dogs react unpredictably and are very stressed, the use of calming aids and prescription medications given under the guidance of a vet can be valuable to get the dog in a more comfortable learning state.

More tips to help a fearful dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/helping-fearful-rescue-dog/ You can find also more reads by using the search function and searching the word "fear."

I hope this helps!

Happy training!