Step 2: Your Dog’s Thresholds
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Living with a fearful dog can be frustrating. We want our dogs to be happy, to be able to join us in the activities of our lives, yet they are unable to because of their fears. Aggressive behavior often has its roots in fear and if you can change how the dog feels you can eliminate the barking, snarling and lunging. In this series of articles you will learn the steps you need to take to help your dog. All dogs should be examined by a veterinarian to address medical issues that might be causing your dog’s behavior.
In 'Step 1: Understanding Triggers' you learned about identifying your dog’s triggers. In 'Step 2' you will learn about your dog’s thresholds for those triggers.
Thresholds are the points at which your dog can no longer remain calm around its triggers. They are not set in stone and can change in different situations, but by understanding when your dog is ‘going over threshold’ you can help them become less reactive to the things that scare them.
Your dog may not be bothered by a person walking on the sidewalk 30’ across the street, but any closer than that and your dog would show signs of being uncomfortable. In this case the dog’s threshold is determined by distance, in other situations it might be determined by size or quantity. Some dogs are uncomfortable with big dogs, or small dogs, or cannot tolerate more than one person being near them at a time.
Pay attention to your dog’s reaction to its triggers so you can understand where their threshold lies in regard to their comfort level with them. The process of helping your dog feel better about the things that scare them involves keeping your dog ‘under threshold’ when they are exposed to their triggers. This means that you need to understand how your dog can be in the presence of a trigger but not react to it. You may need to move the dog away or ask people to keep their distance. The fewer times your dog has the opportunity to react negatively to a trigger by being kept under threshold, the process of training them to behave appropriately will be easier.
Read about how one owner helped her aggressive dog become more relaxed around its triggers.
In Step 3: Changing The Feeling you will learn about how desensitization and counter conditioning helps change your dog’s reaction to the things that scare them.
For more info: Visit The Fearfuldogs Website
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