Reddit Reddit reviews The Cautious Canine-How to Help Dogs Conquer Their Fears

We found 15 Reddit comments about The Cautious Canine-How to Help Dogs Conquer Their Fears. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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15 Reddit comments about The Cautious Canine-How to Help Dogs Conquer Their Fears:

u/lzsmith · 32 pointsr/Dogtraining

At this point you're still building a trusting relationship, not really training. Follow a daily routine. The better he's able to predict what comes next, the faster he'll settle in.

Assuming he's comfortable being physically close to people (which I hope is the case, if he's on your lap) then keep him on leash indoors to totally prevent the doggy parkour. He goes outside to a quiet spot (and hopefully pees...) then he comes back inside still on leash. He's either crated or leashed any time he's inside until he's more used to living indoors.

Add a second crate in the living room area so he has a safe resting/hiding spot without needing to walk down the scary hallway. Look for free/cheap secondhand crates on craigslist if price is an issue.

Practice feeding him by hand every day. If he only eats in the crate, that's fine--don't force anything. It's important that he feels safe. Just toss the food into the crate for him one piece at a time. After a few days of practicing that, he might be more comfortable with eating food from the ground near the crate, and then maybe eating from your hand. Let him set the pace. If you're nearby while he eats in his crate, take care not to use your body language to make him feel trapped. Sit off to the side, don't face him directly, and give him space.

Provide him a steady stream of sturdy chew toys. Chewing relieves stress. If you don't have a kong (hollow rubber beehive shape chew toy) yet, get one of those and stuff it with a portion of his daily food every day.

Pay attention to his body language, especially calming signals. Pay attention to your own body language (don't stare at him, bend over him, corner him. Do turn to the side, sit or stand calmly, ignore him, and let him come to you).

Play white noise indoors and limit (avoid if possible) loud startling noises or booming bass.

Try playing with non-squeaking plush furry animal toys. Ignore him (pretend he's not even there so he can watch you without pressure) and play with the toy yourself. Make it pause and move erratically on the floor like wounded prey. Pounce on it softly with your hands. Avoid big body movements, but use your hands to make the toy move, jump, scurry before you "catch" it. After a couple of minutes, walk away and ignore the toy. That gives your pup the opportunity to watch it and sniff it without pressure from you. After he has the chance to sniff it if he wants to (he doesn't have to) put the toy away. Repeat that process at the same time of day every day (build it into your daily schedule!) and he'll start to show gradually more interest in the toy.

With the hand feeding and toy play, the goal is to build up rewards that you can use as reinforcement during training later. First step is for him to be more comfortable just living with you, and then later the food/play will actually be useful in training. Right now you're still at that trust building level, don't have the typical arsenal of training rewards at your disposal yet.

Useful resources:

u/helleraine · 13 pointsr/dogs
  • Treat and Retreat
  • Don't push for interaction, just throw treats in your general vicinity - close enough to push his limits, far enough that he wants to push his limits.

    Helpful Books:

  • Cautious Canine
  • Help for Your Fearful Dog

    And, an online resource fearful dogs. She has a book too. The name escapes me. This will be a long journey but time and patience will make it worthwhile!

    Edit: Some behaviorists will come to your home. If you can snag one of these, it would be very useful. They may prescribe medication to go with training regimes. :)
u/librarychick77 · 9 pointsr/Dogtraining

You cannot safely have them out together until they are assessed by a trained behaviorist. Ideally a vet behaviorist (a person who has basically double credentials - not some tool who calls themselves a 'dog whisperer' after a year of 'working with dogs'. Someone who went to school to be a vet and also study animal behavior.), but a professional force free trainer who is experienced in aggression would work.

Remind you girlfriend of the vet bill you've already paid and ask her how many more just like that she wants to experience. Also, the blood and stress of more fights. If you try to just put them back together that will happen again. Guaranteed. Even if they seem fine when separated, if you won't know how to see the warning signs (and the bark/snap your lab did was probably the 10th or so signal...) and how to deescalate the situation (6 minute fight, water hose, human bitten, huge gashes...) then you should absolutely 100% not try to put them together at all.

Ok, done with scolding. Here's some constructive help.

Taking them to the vet was the right thing to do. Your catahoula x limping is likely because of bruising, and the vet couldn't have done anything about that. Treat her like you would if you got a bad leg bruise - rest, ice (if she'll let you), light exercise the next few days, and if the vet gave you any pain meds for her go ahead and use those as recommended. (NEVER use aspirin or tylenol, or any other OTC human medication on a dog unless your vet has specifically cleared it for the dog you are considering dosing right then.)

Ok, why this happened. Some people have mentioned possible dog aggression, IMO that's not likely. When I have seen cases like this (which I unfortunately have, and not uncommonly) it's often same sex dogs, although not always, and the younger dog is at or nearly a year old.

This happens because your older girl has been playing queen of the house and being a bit bossy. The pup has been a bit rude, but has gotten a 'puppy license' (aka - toddlers don't have to follow the same rules as adults). Now, her puppy license has run out and the older dog is saying "No. Stop that. You're an adult, you know the rules and this is MINE."

That doesn't make either girl right. In fact, they're both a bit wrong, IMO. Your younger girl was probably being a real PITA for a while before she got a serious warning, but your lab escalated things too far.

To have any chance of fixing things a few concrete steps need to be taken.

u/Whisgo · 8 pointsr/puppy101

So first thing is first - any adversive methods such as a vibrating collar with a dog that has fear or anxiety is only going to backfire and promote more fear or anxiety. I would ditch that. You're potentially causing more behavior issues when it's used. Dog learns to hide fear rather than teaching the dog confidence.


So you have a dog that is likely reactive and fearful - and a lot of anxiety. So before we can get to work mode, we need to address the causes of the anxiety and get the dog back to neutral. So first thing, you might want to try doing a two week shut down with this dog. https://www.marshmallowfoundation.org/info/file?file=20866.pdf This is to remove all the stimuli that can keep causing stress levels to be high. Adrenaline - when it spikes up during a moment of fear or panic can take over 6 days for the hormone levels to return to normal. It's great that the dog is food motivated because that is going to make things like counter conditioning to specific things much easier... but right now - stress is so high, your dog cannot focus let alone retain the cues you're training. Dog is in fight or flight mode... So give the two week shut down an effort.


Meanwhile, you want to write down all the things this dog is reacting to... if it's potentially separation anxiety, check the links I provided below. Anything else, you're going to want to work on each thing separately using desensitization and counter conditioning. Again, we're trying to bring the fearful dog to a neutral place... work on building confidence and associating the list of stimuli with positive rewards. Any negative behaviors - redirect.... either remove the stimuli or remove the dog. Reinforce calm relaxed behaviors.


https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/comments/48sglg/discussion_separation_anxiety/ has some great info that you may find useful.

Do take a glance over at /r/reactivedogs They have lots of helpful advice on how to manage some of these behaviors.


Some books that may help:
The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell

I’ll be Home soon by Patricia McConnell

Don’t Leave Me by Nicole Wilde


If after that two week shut down and working a bit you still feel a bit overwhelmed, it might be a good consideration to work with a certified animal behaviorist. https://avsab.org/resources/speakers-bureau/behavior-consultants-near-you/ and https://iaabc.org/consultants are great searches for one.

u/LordGrump · 6 pointsr/dogs

Have you looked at Patricia McConnell's "Cautious Canine"? http://www.amazon.com/Cautious-Canine-How-Conquer-Their-Fears/dp/1891767003
It's not expensive and will give you some good insight on your fearful dog, as well as teaching you to help him overcome his fears in a positive manner.

u/trying_to_adult_here · 4 pointsr/AskVet

Since you have trazadone I'm going to assume you have already talked to your veterinarian about your dog's anxiety. If that is not the case, please discuss it with your vet.

The behaviorists are pricy, but they're an excellent resource and worth the money. I'd definitely stick with either a Veterinary Behaviorist or an Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist over a regular trainer, anybody can call themselves a trainer while CAABs and VBs have tons of education and experience. They can tailor advice to your specific dog and your specific household in a way a book or video cannot.

I am by no means an expert (I'm a vet tech at a general-practice clinic) but my go-to recommendations for behavior books are Decoding Your Dog by the American College of Veterinary behaviorists, (it has a chapter on house training and a chapter on separation anxiety) and The Other End of the Leash (it's about understanding dogs and how they think rather than specific issues) by Patricia McConnell. Patricia McConnell also has books (booklets? they're short) about anxiety and separation anxiety. I've never read the booklets, but she's a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist with a Ph.D, so they're probably a better resource than random internet sites even if they're not as helpful as an in-person consultation with a behaviorist.

u/brdtwrk · 3 pointsr/Dogtraining

This is a complex issue that requires a good amount of knowledge and work on your part.

In this case, I'd break out the books, then hire a professional trainer that has experience in dealing with fearful dogs.

u/nomorelandfills · 3 pointsr/dogs

He can improve with continued work, but given what is known about the genetic and developmental basis for fearfulness, I don't think he's going to outgrow it, ie, completely become a normally non-fearful dog.

It's important that you control socialization to make it all good. The outdoor restaurant was too uncontrolled, and resulted in more harm than good - the biggest positive was probably the encouragement it gave you that he could do well with large groups. That's important, but was offset by his having 4 unintended lessons in growling and barking and menacing children.

This book is often recommended for fearful dogs.

https://www.amazon.com/Cautious-Canine-How-Conquer-Their-Fears/dp/1891767003

Working with a behaviorist is very, very helpful.

u/Devlik · 3 pointsr/Dogtraining

Properly fitted chest harness should not allow that, we use easy walk harness both at home and in the shelter. It is mostly going to come down to counter conditioning. Have you tried feeding her out doors? Lots of treats while outside possibly play time with a favorite toy. It is very hard to give any real hard set advice with out being able to evaluate the dog in person.

I would look into possibly a dog behaviorist who would be able to write up a dedicated plan for your dog and her needs. One thing you can try is reward her for even looking at the door. Then start rewarding her for stepping towards the door. And then reward her for stepping out side, moving on to being calm out side. But again with out seeing the dog it would be hard to tell the severity of her issue or her triggers.

One of the best books on fearful dogs is The Cautious Canine. And a very nice online resource is fearfuldogs.com. Keep an eye out for weak nerves and good luck I hope everything works out for you and her!

EDIT: Assuming she does not have weak nerves and is still getting over her shelter experience there is hope. My boy was a breeder dog for 3 years, had never walked on grass, seen stairs, felt wind etc. We had to acclimate him to all of that. It took us better part of a year and that with prior training and dedication to the dog. Look into clicker training it can be a godsend.

u/spidermilk666 · 3 pointsr/dogs

If this is behavior caused by his fear and anxiety then there is nothing you could be doing to reinforce it. You should make every effort to make your dog feel safe- let him hide in his crate, give him a soothing pat and words, etc.

This sounds like a very serious issue and I would start with your vet. First, make sure that his shaking is due to fear. My dog does not shake with fear (more of a barker) and once he became very shaky and it was because he had a fever and was sick!

After the vet rules out any health issues I would speak with a dog behaviorist. They can set you up with a training plan to slowly desensitize and counter-condition your dog to the things that are scaring him.

In the meantime I suggest this very short book by dog behaviorist Patricia McConnell: http://www.amazon.com/Cautious-Canine-How-Conquer-Their-Fears/dp/1891767003

u/retractableclause · 3 pointsr/Dogtraining

Why not try both? Any good trainer will encourage you to do a lot of work at home to support their advice. The sidebar has links for finding a good trainer. Before signing on to any training program, ask about their beliefs and techniques so you're sure you're comfortable with their suggestions ahead of time. Fearful dogs need a lot of quiet, positive encouragement. This site may offer you some good reading in the meantime. This is a great book too (The Cautious Canine: How to Help Dogs Conquer Their Fears) and is by one of the most respected names in animal behaviourism, if you're interested.

Toy play can take time. This thread may help!

Edited to add: BAT can also be very useful for fearful dogs, so if you can find a BAT trainer near you, I'd suggest you start there.

u/[deleted] · 3 pointsr/dogs

> And any recommendations for a strong no pull harness?

Ruffwear FrontRange.

As for your issues, confidence building takes a lot of time. Weeks, if not months of work. This is a fabulous article that has helped me with my fearful fosters. This book is wonderful as well, and is by a GREAT, and really well respected trainer. This book is great too. All in all, it is about creating little steps and building them over time.

It doesn't sound helpful, but if you can minimize exposure to only certain areas until she's confident, that would go a long way! For actual activities, touch, find it, general training, etc are all great, as is just being 'present' and letting your dog take their own steps.

u/cylonnomore · 2 pointsr/dogs

Our dog generally doesn't bark at people passing close but sometimes does if they talk to us or try to approach. I'm very firm with people that they can't approach because she's uncomfortable and we don't want her to practice barking.

You'll want to recruit some friends to help you. You'll want to find the distance where your dog is comfortable passing people and give treats to your dog as you pass. Then you can move a bit closer and do the same.

Our behaviorist also advised us practicing a "pet" command. As we pet we would say "pet" so with strangers she'd maybe know what to expect.

I found Patricia McConnell's booklet helpful: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1891767003

Kikopup also has some videos about barking while out on walks: https://youtu.be/Eo-L2qtD7MQ

It also takes time. We've had our dog five months and last weekend she was around a large family event with very little uncomfortable barking. That would have been impossible with her a month or two ago but we've done a lot of practice passing strangers, other dogs, treating and I think she trusts us more and has more confidence.

u/mandym347 · 1 pointr/LifeProTips

Wow, that's a tough situation to deal with. Kudos for not giving up on her. I know you say you have, but you still have her, right? Plenty of folks in your shoes would have dropped her off at the shelter by now. You're sticking with her, warts and all. That's something to be proud of.

Let's see... A dog park is probably too overwhelming for her to learn anything positive; lots of unknown variables, unpredictable, crowds, etc. So it's like the deep end of a pool. You have to start slow and gradual, rewarding the dog for calm behavior while she's under threshold (not freaking out yet). Learning to read a dog's signs of stress helps in this.

As you've seen, the barking isn't really the problem; it's seems that she's nervous, and barking is just a symptom of that. Reduce the fear, reduce the barking.