Don't force your dog to deal with things that scare them
When dogs are afraid their fears are literally ‘in their head’. Their brains become ‘wired’ to cause them to react in fearful ways. Simply exposing them to things that scare them is often not enough to change that wiring, indeed it can make the problem worse. In the case of fear aggression (fear is the basis of most of the aggression seen in dogs) this is likely what has happened. By being forced to ‘deal’ with the dogs, people or situations which scare them, a dog’s response escalates as it tries one more tactic for making the scary things go away.
Too often owners expect that by showing their dog that something they are afraid of is not going to hurt them, the dog will lose its fear of it. When this technique works it is usually with a dog that has mild fear issues. A mildly fearful dog might react to a trash can on the corner but is able to cautiously approach, check it out, and learn that it is harmless. A dog with more serious fears will only become more upset and afraid. Each time the dog encounters whatever scares them, they will repeat their fearful response.
You cannot force a dog to stop being afraid, but you can use some basic techniques to help them learn to feel and behave differently around things that scare them. An upcoming article will focus on how you use behavior modification to help fearful dogs feel and behave calmly around things that scare them.
Helping your fearful dog step by step: Step 1
Helping your fearful dog step by step: Step 2
For more info visit the Fearful Dogs website
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