Are you feeling stressed because your dog is feeling nervous or scared? Does your dog shut down or stop moving, and you don’t know what to do about it? Are you sick of your dog getting scared about random everyday situations?

We assure you that other people have been in your shoes. As a professional dog trainer, we can say the best solution is of course dog training. Salt Lake City has many dogs that have had fear issues and done training. Now their dogs are much less scared.

We want to write some tips on how to deal with a fearful dog.

1.) Training your dog “target” is paramount and will help you be able to move your dog in small and safe increments.

2.) Be in the moment. Stop thinking about the future and the past. You will get the best results if you stay in the present.

3.) Go slow. Training will happen slowly with a fearful dog. If your friend is watching you train your dog they should be feeling bored.

4.) Perform counter conditioning techniques in your dog training. Salt Lake City has many stimuli that can trigger a fearful dog.

Therefore, it is important that you pair the scary stimuli with something positive. Present the trigger and then immediately give your dog something yummy to eat.

5.) Be consistent. Every time your dog is around the triggers that scare him, it will be important that you are always apply the counter conditioning techniques.

6.) For generalization to happen you will need to also practice counter conditioning with the trigger in many different situations. Remember to start in less distracting situations and then work to harder scenarios when your dog is ready.

7.) Your dog should be relatively relaxed during the training sessions around the triggers. This means that your dog is below threshold or far enough away from the trigger so that your dog is feeling of relaxed.

8.) Do not do any dog training methods that will create the experience of pain for your dog. The methods should be peaceful, easy and fun for your dog.

Of course we always recommend if you are dealing with an extremely fearful dog that you consult with professional dog trainers. Salt Lake City has many reward-based dog trainers that will help you.

You may also click on these resources for more information. 1.) Click here to learn about reading dog body language 2.) Nicole Wilde and Debbie Jacobs wrote some awesome books on training fearful dogs.

We want to hear from you in a comment in below.

What are your dog’s triggers or where is your dog feeling nervous and scared?

Namaste!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Dog Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC, Dog Training, Salt Lake City, Utah