The Cautious Canine by Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D

Author:Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D.
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Published: 2010-02-15T09:47:00+00:00

How long will this take? Hopefully it is clear by now why it is so hard to write out a single schedule that works for all dogs. What steps you take each day and how fast you procede always depends on your dog and his reactions to each session. For preventing problems with a sweet but slightly cautious young puppy, you just need to be opportunistic during the first year of your pup's life. Take your pup with you when appropriate, go out of your way if necessary to invite over guests who toss food treats as they enter, and enroll in family dog training classes that use lots of positive reinforcement. Be sure to have the UPS man and your mailman toss treats whenever you can (have a can of treats right by the door, then you'll always be prepared). These simple steps will make a big difference in the life of your dog.

Prevention efforts or treating minor problems require little effort, but older dogs who have an established behavior problem require more time and more organization. Although it is hard to estimate how long treatment will take for any one dog, the process described above might require three to twelve months of work for a dog who is starting to act out on his fears. Ideally, during that time you will set up situations where people enter the house or friends pass by on walks 5 to 10 times a week. That sounds intimidating, but if you can walk each day in a place with just the right amount of people, then you only need to "organize" a few events a week. These "organized" events can be really simple. Say that you have a friend who's coming over to borrow a book. Just ask him, before he comes, to ring the bell, and then toss some treats (you've conveniently left some by front the door) before he enters. What you do from there depends, of course, on how serious your dog's problem is. It's not critical that every week has the same schedule. Some weeks are busier than others, so every week won't look the same. Don't worry about it, just do what you can, whenever you can.

Good news and bad news: The bad news is that you're never really done with this. Ifyou have a dog who is genetically predisposed to be fearful and/or "protective," you will want to keep this up all his life. The good news is that after you go through an intensive conditioning procedure, it takes far less effort to insure your dog continues his appropriate associations. If I happen to be home when a delivery person comes, I ask them to throw tennis balls for my Border collies. If a family comes to visit, I am sure to take treats down to the barn so that the kids can feed goodies to my guard dog Tulip as they enter the sheep pen. Once your dog responds appropriately, you can use an easy, opportunistic routine like this.

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