The Little Bear Dog Blog

Little Bear is an anxious little chap.  We have a long list of things that worry him. Some are pretty normal for a small dog e.g. other dogs,  children (when running and screaming), fireworks etc.  But then there’s the other list – the random list which includes:

• clickers  (our attempt at clicker training failed at the first hurdle)
• books if you flick the pages, even accidentally
• Bees and Wasps (I’m pretty pleased about that one)
• Dynabands
• Mice (he was first out the door when The Cat brought in a live one last winter)
• Bed change day (he hates the duvet shake as it makes our shell light shade tinkle)
• Bubbles. Yes, the type you buy in little pots for children or get given at weddings…one glimpse of an evil, Schnauzer killing bubble and he heads for his bed.

Now all of the above we can deal with without too much trouble, but teaching him that children and other dogs aren’t scary is a top priority for obvious reasons.

I know he’s capable of overcoming his fears because there was a time he’d bark like a maniac at horses.  I was only reminded of this the other day as we stood just a few feet away from a field of about ten horses. Our routine of sit and treat when we see horses has become quite automatic to the point that I almost forgot how he used to react.

As I stood admiring a beautiful coloured mare and day dreaming about ‘one day’ LB stood quietly by my side watching them.  The nearest horse was on a slight incline but was only about 5 feet away from the fence. I took a baby step forward and he went right up to the fence, still calm and quiet and continued his observation of the ladies in the field. This of course earned him lots of praise and treats. Clever Bear!

He’s obviously on an over-achievement kick because today on our morning walk he decided to sit and watch me instead of barking at the children we saw in the street.  He did this not once, but FOUR times!  His anxiety is obvious, he gives a little moan which is a prelude to the nervous barking. So we’ve been working on interrupting that cycle, either by telling him to ‘leave’ before he gets to the moan stage or if he spots them before me, by asking him to sit and watch me or play paw touch.  Lots of praise and treats help take his mind off what worried him.

The key to this is distance. Like any of us, scary situations are improved or made worse by proximity – so a spider the other side of the room isn’t pleasant but I can cope (ug, get a glass, grit your teeth). A spider on my lap is another matter and will elicit a completely different reaction!

So far, so good. The approach is working really well and he’s now looking at me when he’s anxious instead of launching into his usual reaction. I hope it’s also helping to build his trust in me to keep him safe.

We’ll be out again tomorrow doing our version of the school run and maybe one day soon he’ll sit quietly as the littlies march by and I’ll remember that once upon a time he used to bark at them.