If you’re unsure how to approach a fearful dog, you have come to the right place. Today, we’ll cover the details on how to help a fearful dog gain trust in you and how to stay safe in the process. We’ll also share a helpful video from Cesar that explains how to approach a fearful dog by engaging the dog’s curiosity and taking him for walks.

Ready to learn how to approach a fearful dog and boost his confidence? Let’s get started!

Read the Fearful Dog’s Body Language

The first step to approaching a frightened dog is to understand fearful dog body language. Because dogs communicate with humans and other pets through body language and certain behaviors, it is important to be able to understand the meaning behind the fearful dog’s actions.

There are many reasons a dog may act fearful towards you or other humans. New environments, lack of socialization, and new people are just a few factors that can cause anxiety and fear in dogs. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to realize that fearful dogs will have different behaviors than non-fearful dogs. You should always be aware of the dog’s movements and be prepared for aggressive behavior.

As you approach a fearful dog, be on the lookout for the following behaviors:

• Standing completely still 
• Staring directly at you
• Lowering or raising the head while looking away from you
• Growling
• Snapping
• Lunging toward you
• Tucking his tail between his legs
• Trembling

As you approach the dog, be alert of any aggressive behaviors the dog may show. Growling, snapping, and lunging are a few signs a dog may be acting aggressively. In these cases, be extremely cautious and do not suddenly approach the dog.

Be Careful of Your Body Position

Approaching a fearful dog requires you to be aware not only of the dog’s body language but your body position as well. If you notice the dog cowering as you approach him, immediately make yourself “smaller” by either kneeling down or bending over.

If you’re approaching an extremely fearful or shy dog, you may need to build up his confidence and trust before you may continue approaching him. Rather than walking towards him, sit down next to him, keeping your body turned slightly sideways to show him you’re not a threat.

As you gently approach the dog, remember to continue being aware of the dog’s behavior. If the dog is lunging at you or showing signs of aggression, remain standing up and do not get too close to him. If you feel uncomfortable approaching the dog, seek expert help from an animal behaviorist or trainer.

Avoid Direct Eye Contact with the Fearful Dog

The key to approaching a fearful dog is to gain his confidence and trust in you. In order for this to work, you need to appear less intimidating to the fearful dog. Because direct eye contact can appear threatening to dogs, it’s important to avert your gaze as you slowly approach him.

In addition to avoiding direct eye contact, you may turn your body slightly sideways and lean away from the dog. Remember to continue reading the dog’s body language even as you glance away from the dog’s location. 

Don’t Force Anything

Patience is the key to gaining a fearful dog’s trust. If your dog is fearful of new people, slowly introduce him to friends and family members in an area he feels comfortable being in. Never force your dog to meet someone by holding his collar or keeping him still. Once your dog becomes comfortable around individuals, continue socializing him by going to dog parks and walking him around the neighborhood. 

This method can also be used when introducing your dog to particular environments. Many dogs, especially fearful ones, can become frightened when in a new location. If your dog is afraid of a new environment, use positive body language and rewards to assure your dog the environment is safe. Continue this process for several days until your dog becomes more confident in that particular setting.

Use Positive Reinforcement with the Fearful Dog

Just as your body language influences your dog’s behavior, positive reinforcement can help your dog overcome his fears and become comfortable in frightening situations. 

There are many ways to use positive reinforcement to comfort and reward your dog. One way is to praise your dog each time he becomes less fearful and more confident in the situation he’s in. Remember to maintain a quiet yet cheerful voice that does not startle or frighten the dog in any way. 

Another way to reward your dog is through treats. Every time the dog reacts positively toward you, hand him a savory treat he is attracted to. Be careful feeding a fearful dog from your hand, as some dogs may become aggressive and snap at you. If the dog appears aggressive in any way, withhold the treats and use only verbal praise. 

Cesar’s Advice for Approaching a Fearful Dog

Are you still seeking expert advice on how to approach a fearful dog? No worries! Recently, Cesar hosted a group of veterinarians for a day of training at the Dog Psychology Center. In this video, he teaches them how to approach a fearful dog through certain tips and tricks. Whether you’re interested in how to walk a fearful dog or how to help a fearful dog regain confidence, this training video covers all the topics on how to approach a fearful or shy dog.

We hope this article helped you gain a better understanding of how to approach a fearful dog. Remember, gaining a fearful dog’s trust can only be done through time and patience. Once you earn his trust, both you and your dog can live life with confidence and excitement.

The post How to Approach a Fearful Dog appeared first on Cesar's Way.

I have a two-year-old Pomeranian who is afraid of everything; and so worried about things falling on him.  Although since I’ve had him (about one year), nothing has fallen on him.  He even approaches his food dish as if a snake will attack at any minute.

Drinking water is the same, he is always prepared to run away. I have tried to show calm and assertive direction and a matter-of-fact attitude. Is there anything more I can do?

Alice Jackson

Read Cesar’s Advice Below

Dear Alice,

This sounds like a self-esteem problem, so you must approach it delicately. We want to challenge the dog physically and mentally with things like obstacle courses, busy environments, and any situation in which the dog can get feedback from other, more confident dogs. I once worked with a dog named Luna, who was afraid of everything. Even the wind scared her; she would come into a room and see “ghosts.” Every part of her would be on hyper alert – her nose, her eyes, her ears – and everything would make her afraid. I rehabilitated her by helping her self-esteem to blossom, and that’s all about exposing the dog to many different situations.

Helping a dog build self-esteem is a very, very long process, and not nearly as fast as aggression rehabilitation. You have to build confidence slowly, and the way you build it is by helping the dog to repeatedly accomplish small goals. Practice obedience training, practice obstacle courses; they don’t have to be champions, but they have to go out and do it. With every success comes a little more confidence.

Choose the right trainers. The trainers are going to help you to find the right energy in yourself, to help provide the support your dog needs. You have to be thinking about that rehabilitation, and about training yourself just as you train your dog. To do that, YOU have to have a good role model. The role model will guide and ensure that your dog is always getting the best out of you. Remember, it takes time, dedication, and patience above all else. Good luck.

Stay calm and assertive,

Cesar Millan

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More pets run away on the Fourth of July than any other day, so you should take extra steps to ensure their safety. Keep a keen eye on your dog during the commotion, and make sure your pet is wearing proper identification.

It is natural for dogs to be afraid of loud noises. The sounds trigger their nervous systems, and they can become anxious or afraid. Running away from the noise is a survival instinct.

Remember, to your dog, the experience of fireworks is different than other natural loud noises, like thunder. Fireworks are closer to the ground, more vibrant, and are accompanied by sudden booms, flashes and burning smells. Dogs experience the world through their senses — nose, eyes, ears. The typical Fourth of July celebration can be overwhelming to them.

Tips to Help Keep Your Dog Calm

Preparation

Arrange to have your dog in a place where there won’t be loud fireworks displays — a friend’s or relative’s home or a doggie day care with which your dog is familiar. If it’s an unfamiliar place for your dog, take him over there a few times in the days before the holiday so that it won’t be a surprise when you take him there on the Fourth.

Accommodation

If you cannot take your dog to a place away from fireworks, then have a travel kennel at home for her to feel safe in. if you’re not going to be home, have a friend or sitter there to keep your dog company and take her out to relieve herself every four hours.

Acclimation

The best way to prepare your dog for fireworks is to make sure he’s comfortable with the sound in advance.

While this is a simple process, it can take time — possibly three or four months of playing the recorded sound of fireworks for your dog at an increasingly louder volume before he eats, before a walk, and before affection and play.

This will condition him by association to hear the sound and interpret it as something good. While you can try this method over only a week or two, in such a short time span it should only be used in conjunction with one or more of the other tips. In any case, play the firework sounds.

Sedation

If you do find it necessary to use medication or a thundershirt to calm your dog during the fireworks, remember that you must introduce any such tool at the right time, conditioning your dog to understand that the medication or thundershirt is there to bring them to a calm state.

This means that you must bring your dog to that calm state first, then introduce the tool — before the fireworks and the anxiety begin. If she is already at an anxiety level of 8 or 9, then her mental state will overrule the medication. If she is already breathing heavily, then the thundershirt, which is designed to slow her breathing, won’t work. A tool is an intellectual thing we use with a dog’s instincts. The challenge is knowing how and when to connect the two.

Communication

If you are going to be with your dog during the fireworks, sending the calming message that they are nothing to worry about will also help him to relax. Remember, though, while humans communicate with words, dogs communicate with energy, and will look to their pack leader for clues on how they should behave. If you’re not making a big deal or showing excitement about the fireworks, then he will learn to be less concerned as well.

In all cases above, expend your dog’s excess energy first, before the fireworks start, by taking her on a very long walk to tire her out and put her in a calm state.

Most importantly, don’t think of this in terms of your dog as your child who is missing out on a great, fun time. That’s human guilt. Your dog won’t know what she’s missing. You’re being a good pack leader by not exposing her to a situation that will trigger her flight instinct in a negative way. When the booms and bangs of Independence Day are over, your dog will be grateful to you for having made it a less stressful experience!

The post Keeping Your Dog Safe When The Fireworks Start appeared first on Cesar's Way.

When people ask me for help with their dogs, I ask them to tell me what they think the problem is. Quite often, they immediately diagnose aggression. “My dog is aggressive on the walk.” “My dog is aggressive around food.” “My dog is aggressive all the time.”

In fact, in a recent Facebook survey of my fans, when we asked you to pick the single most serious problem you have with your dogs, aggression was the number one choice.

However, more often than not, the dog is not aggressive. It is curious and excited on the walk, it is not calm and submissive before being fed, or it’s just an excited dog in general. In reality, very few dogs are actually aggressive. But, because they have big sharp teeth, we tend to interpret any incident in which a dog approaches another dog or human quickly as aggression, especially if we don’t know the dog.

If a strange dog approaches us and our dog on the walk, we often become apprehensive ourselves. Our dog interprets this as weak energy and is forced to protect us, and their defensiveness can then lead to the other dog becoming aggressive in defense as well.

However, other behavior problems in dogs, if not resolved, can lead to aggressive behavior. Here are a few of the major ones.

Fear, Anxiety, and Insecurity

All animals have three natural responses to danger: fight, flight, or avoidance. They will either attack, run away, or try to hide from that danger. Fearful, anxious, or insecure dogs will not naturally fight. They will run or hide. However, if either of these things does not remove them from danger, then they can lash out aggressively.

A dog in a constant state of anxiety can eventually stop trying to run or hide first because its internal energy is very high and very scattered, so they can progress to reacting aggressively to everything.

These kinds of dogs require lots of exercise in order to burn up that excess energy and bring them back to a calm, submissive state. They also require calm, assertive Pack Leaders who will build up their self-confidence by providing protection and direction.

Frustration

When a dog’s needs are not fulfilled, the dog experiences frustration — particularly if what’s missing is exercise. An otherwise happy-go-lucky, high energy dog stuck alone in a small apartment for twelve hours a day can become so frustrated that aggression may result. The problem is made worse if the humans don’t also give that dog discipline by providing rules, boundaries and limitations.

If you can’t be home to walk your dog at least every four hours, then you need to take the dog on a long walk before you leave and after you return home.  In the meantime, make sure that there are plenty of things to mentally stimulate your dog while you’re gone, like toys with treats hidden in them, acceptable things to chew on, and so forth.

Lack of Socialization

A dog knows how to be a dog and how to relate to other dogs. It’s only when human behavior short circuits that process that a dog becomes antisocial. This is particularly common with smaller dogs, because humans have the irresistible need to pick them up at the first sign of danger.

You never see someone pick up their Rottweiler because another dog on the walk is barking at it. And yet, for breeds like Chihuahuas and Yorkies, this is the first thing that people do, and it completely confuses the dog.

They associate being picked up (affection) with another dog being aggressive toward it, so what do they do? They learn that this is what you want. When they meet another dog, it’s time to go crazy with barking and lunging so they can get their “reward.”

Even without picking the dog up, we can make it antisocial through our reactions. If we become tense or nervous and tighten up on the leash when we see another dog, then we’re teaching our dogs to see other dogs as a threat.

Dog on dog aggression is not natural. It’s a learned behavior and we teach it. In order for our dogs to unlearn it and become socialized, we have to become aware of what we’re doing to make our dogs antisocial and we have to learn what to do to let our dogs be dogs.

Injury or Illness

Sometimes, a dog that has never shown any signs of aggression will suddenly lash out and snap at a family member unexpectedly. If none of the above cases apply, then this may be your dog’s way of letting you know that it’s in pain and the snarl or nip is a spontaneous reaction similar to someone yelling “Ouch!” when they stub their toe on the coffee table.

If your dog suddenly lashes out at a familiar human when being touched, then your first step should be to visit the vet and find out if there are any physical causes for the reaction. If this is the case, your dog will be grateful to you for helping stop the pain.

A lot of people assume that a dog is either naturally aggressive or not, but this isn’t really the case. Aggression is not a cause, but a symptom. If your dog is aggressive, then it’s telling you that something else is lacking. By paying attention to the behavior, we can understand what our dog is telling us and then figure out the cure to the problem.

Does you dog currently display any of the undesired behaviors that might lead to aggression? Now that you’re aware, how do you intend to address the issue? Share it with us in the comments.

The post The Rundown On Aggression appeared first on Cesar's Way.

And while it’s pretty common in dogs, it’s hardly easy to watch — or cure. But don’t ignore it, advises Matt Peuser, a Kansas veterinarian, explaining “Most of the time, they don’t grow out of it on their own, and many will get worse with time if nothing is done.”

Yet many owners are stumped about how to address the behavior. One reason is that no one has pinned down exactly what triggers it. It’s highly probable that pets with noise phobia also suffer from separation anxiety, according to a Cornell University study of 1,644 dogs.

On the other hand, your pet can seem fine for years, and then suddenly one day just starts whining and pacing before you even realize it’s going to rain. Experts think your little guy might be responding to a combination of barometric pressure changes that you don’t feel and low-frequency rumbles that you can’t hear.

What You Can Do

Surprisingly, joint discomfort can be another silent pre-storm trigger for older arthritic dogs. If your dog suffers with joint discomfort consult your vet about supplements that may help your dog cope. Talk with your vet.

If you learn some calming techniques now, you can help your best friend, regardless of whether the reaction seems out of character. Remember that even if storm anxiety crops up suddenly, treatments tend to take time to work. Usually, the time is worth it and can help you avoid having to use anti-anxiety drugs — not every anxious dog needs medication to cope.

“We have our best luck with a management plan that includes changing some features in the environment, applying some behavior modification techniques and some medication,” says Barbara Sherman, Ph.D., D.V.M., and an associate professor of veterinary behavior at North Carolina State University College of Medicine. Likewise, you shouldn’t rely on just one solution. Instead, try a combination of the ones we’ve gathered here — and repeat them often.

Tips For You and Your Dog

1. Always reward calm behavior. Don’t wait for your dog to act fearful to give her attention. When you console a whimpering dog you’re actually rewarding the unwanted behavior. So instead, praise her and shower her with affection when she’s completely calm. That way she knows that this is the correct way to behave.

2. Use a Thundershirt when it’s not raining. Lots of owners make the mistake of putting their dogs in these snug-fitting calming jackets (other brands include Storm Defender and Anxiety Wrap) after a storm has begun. In fact, having Rover wear the shirt before a storm hits, when he’s already happy and relaxed, will help him associate the sensation of wearing it with feeling calm.

3. Create a safe, storm-proof place for your pet. Pay attention to where your pet goes when a storm starts. If possible, help make this her permanent safe zone by adding a blanket, toy, or water dish. Crates can be safe spots, but a key feature should be that it’s as far away from storm sounds as possible.

The post Weathering The Storm appeared first on Cesar's Way.

We have four dogs, no real behavior issues other than the smallest one has become very afraid of telephones.

It started with cell phones, but now he runs outside if you so much as pick up a phone (we have a dog door and a pen), and it takes much coaxing to get him to come inside, even though our weather here has been in the 20s and he has little fur. He will lay in the snow shivering.

What can we do to get him past this? He is afraid of other things (vacuum, hairdryer, cameras, electric razor, etc.), but we can shield him from those. The phone is becoming a big problem though. I am hoping you can help, and you have some strategies we can use to desensitize him.

Thank you,

Peggy Cooper

Cesar Millan’s answer:

Dear Peggy,

You need to create a good state-of-mind in your dog and then introduce the sound (or object) that makes him unstable. In order to create the right state, the dog must be engaged in a job that keeps his mind occupied.

In good weather, I would recommend a nice, long walk, but I understand that in twenty-degree weather this would be impossible! So I suggest investing in a treadmill and hiring someone who can teach you how to properly use it with your dog. Once the dog is really focused on the task at hand, make the phone ring. This helps create a relationship between that sound and the positive activity.

Remember, be calm and assertive! The dog may try to run from the situation. Do not feel sorry for him, or you will not be able to help. If you baby him, your dog will not feel secure, because you are in a weaker state than him.

Feed him only consistent calm-assertive energy!

Cesar Millan

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