Developing Your Dog's Confidence

Let's not beat around the bush. Is your dog a bit
of a wimp? A bit of a big girl's blouse when it
comes to meeting new dogs. Of course each dog
has a different character to the next, but can
your nervous, frightened pet gain enough
confidence to start socializing properly with
other dogs. Even if their character by nature is
shy and timid, you can help them develop their
courage so that interacting with other dogs and
humans isn't too daunting for them. It may be
that they developed this because of a trauma in
their puppyhood. They may also have other
problems like separation anxiety. Firstly you
need to understand that this won't happen
overnight. Be patient. Little and often is the
key to slowly building up your dogs confidence.

To begin with start obedience training. It's the
first step in helping to socialise your dog as it
will help them to feel comfortable in their body.
The better they become at understanding and
following commands the more their confidence
will grow. You will praise them when they get
something right and that too will boost their
feelings of self confidence. Physically doing
jumps, tricks and runs, will give them a
positive sense of their own body as well as
strengthening them and keeping them fit. All of
this is helpful in building up their self
esteem. Teaching them to weave, play fetch and
other tricks are fun for both of you as well as
exercise and technique learning for your pet. Do
not baby them when they are learning. If they
need to be corrected because they got something
wrong, do it. They will feel confident if they
know their boundaries.

Dog socialisation means that your dog is taught
(hopefully from a young age) how to feel
comfortable with themselves around humans, other
dogs and different environments regardless of
their breeds and characters. Mixing them in as
many different circles of people and pets is the
best start. After the age of 4 months, if you
have socialised your puppy correctly he should
be very confident in new surroundings and
company. If you haven't done this from when he
was a puppy or you've taken on an older dog,
then the above obedience training will be a step
in the right direction.

Take your dog to the park where you can both
watch other owners and dogs. Believe me it will
help your dog to get used to being around other
dogs without having to interact at this stage.
You need to do this as regularly as possible.

You could be unknowingly encouraging your dogs
fear by your own behaviour. Next time you're
walking your dog pay attention to how you react
when another dog approaches. Do you immediately
tighten the lead or guide your dog away from
interacting? Do you talk to him and pat him as
they draw closer? You may think this is a good
way of reassuring him but your dog will pick up
very quickly on your reactions and take being
cautious as the normal thing to do when they see
a new dog. Keeping calm and walking ahead at a
normal pace will not alert your dog to any
problems. When your dog is scared the first
thing you want to do is pet him to reassure him.
Don't, he will think you are encouraging his
nervous behaviour as the correct way to feel.

Fear aggression is a state you do not want your
dog getting in to. This is very hard to correct.
It is exactly as it sounds, aggressive behaviour
produced as a result of fear. Basically a dog
will become aggressive first so that the other
dog doesn't. If you find yours has gone too far
down this road then you really should invest in
a dog behavioural expert. No amount of obedience
training will change the underlying problems. I
say "problems" because it is quite a complicated
issue. Fear, a lack of early socialisation, abuse
and possible genetic conditions could all be
contributing to this problem. It may be that you
never fully train your dog to alter this problem
as it is so deeply rooted, but with a
behavioural expert and plenty of patience you
can definitely help to alleviate it.

----------------------------------------------------
Alex Kelly

As a pet owner, my articles are based on issues
I feel are important for fellow animal lovers.
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