At Casa de Hays, we take a lot of behavioral dogs. If I were to break it down simply for our latest two fosters, Xavier & Cayden, I could say they were afraid of people when they arrived. But, then how did Cayden progress so much quicker than Xavier? Why is Xavier still wearing the "Don't Touch" harness in public? Because while they were both afraid of people, they had different fears.
Most fears can be broken down by the dog's five senses. What visually scares him? What sounds scare her? What are they scared to touch? When analyzed, you can address each basic part of their fear to attack the much larger fear.
Cayden was afraid of people leaning over him, sight. He was also afraid of people grabbing his collar/scruff or reaching over his head, touch.
Xavier was afraid of people moving their arms, crouching, standing back up, or making eye contact; sight. He was afraid of footsteps and speech, sound. He was afraid of someone coming within a few feet of him or petting him, touch.
So, while both dogs were afraid of people, they were afraid of completely different things. Cayden had fewer fears. This piece by piece breakdown makes working on the fears less intimidating for you and allows you to work on an individual training plan better suited for your dog.
Working through almost any fear requires desensitization, but how you'd approach a dog who is afraid of sound is slightly different than sight or touch. If you think of something you're afraid of, wouldn't it be easier to get used to the sound first, then sight, then touch, then add them together? Asking anyone to overcome a fear while all of the components of his fear are working together can be incredibly overwhelming. If you flood a dog with too much stimuli, he will shut down and not learn much at all. While breaking down your training can take a while, you will have a more well-adjusted dog in the end.
**The majority of dogs don't have the same level of fears as Cayden or Xavier, but they allowed for a greater breakdown. This breakdown analysis also applies to more common fears such as grooming, separation anxiety, vet's office, etc.
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