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Spooked Dog – How to Get Them to Focus Again?
Recently I watched an owner struggle to get her young Poodle’s attention back after she heard other dogs erupt in a squabble (out of sight, but in the same building where dog training class was being held.) ????
This young woman held treats in front of her dog’s nose, said her name repeatedly and gently tugged on the collar. Nothing was working. The Poodle’s tail was tightly tucked, her gaze was toward the source of the noise (which had since stopped) and her body was tight.
What are some other ideas to help a dog like this to recover quickly and be able to again focus on her owner in that moment?
I’ll share my thoughts after a few of you have chimed in. 😉
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18 Replies
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The owner in the future would have to begin counterconditioning to help the dog with this problem, but in that exact moment of stress and anxiety, I think I would just pet gently and speak softly to the dog to calm him down until the noise stops. If I was really scared of something, comfort would be what I would want. I don’t believe that would reinforce the behavior because it is emotional. Just a thought….
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@jan – I totally agree. You can’t “reinforce” an emotion. Comfort is needed and is a great response when our companions are scared. My girl Joy gets spooked sometimes, usually at a sound, and I’ll say, “Tell me all about it” and encourage her to put her feet in my lap. After a couple snuggles (she’s not normally snuggly), she seems to quiet down and relax. I like your idea and agree it may work in this case.
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Save the date for our Live Chat on this topic! – Meanwhile… what else might be a good idea for a dog and owner in this type of situation?
In that moment, what can you do to help your dog recover?
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Another potential way to provide comfort in this case would be to body block/step between the dog and the source of the noise and face the noise. You can also speak calmly and softly as Jan suggested. I do a version of this when Henry gets scared by noises he hears in our building’s hallway.
Very curious to hear everyone’s responses as the parent of a dog who is easily scared and not easily refocused when he gets spooked!
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Blocking is a great idea, @wagswithwarren – it sends a message that you’ve “got this”. It’s an excellent interrupter in the moment. I usually follow it with some other activity – particularly if I can create distance! Walking away is powerful (may not be available in a class environment tho).
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Yes, for sure! We often follow the body block with a crate target and unless he’s super locked in to the trigger he will disengage and run to his safe space!
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Oh wow – that’s so powerful and empowering – teaching the dog that they have the freedom of choice to move away and giving them a safe space. Brilliant, @warren !
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I find that using play whether it’s a ball, tug or scent games seems to work very well for noise anxiety. Many times I find dogs won’t take treats but play seems to bring them out of their fear state of mind more times then not. Of course it depends on dog.
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YES! Play is my favorite, @bmacwatt . Sometimes, even just “silly talk” is enough to get the dog to reconnect. I also like the idea of a quick scentwork game – simply tossing high-value food on the floor would be an excellent choice in this situation. Since we were in the same class and Bliss was also a bit worried, I pulled out a tug toy and teased her with it. She was instantly, and 100% “All In!” and completely forgot about the barking. Good tip!
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If the dog/pup won’t take treats, my first go-to would be to move them away from the source of the fear. Teach them a “this way” (in unscary times) using a happy voice, so that you can use it when you need to get out of a scary situation.
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Yes! @sandy Distance is our friend in these scenarios! Love the proactive thought about teaching a “move away with me” behavior. Awesome tip.
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I think, too, it’s okay to advocate for our dogs when they are afraid. In this situation, the dog owner may have simply asked the class instructor if they could move their dog further from the area, or even into a little side room until she was able to feel better. In fact, the instructor should have offered that idea; so that’s an “oopsie” on her part. Meanwhile, our dogs trust us to keep them safe. If they don’t feel safe, I think it’s good for us to remain with them and help them to move to another space or failing that, at a minimum, comfort them. I may have sat on the floor and invited the dog into my lap, or practiced some slow massage if she was open to being touched.
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@sandy i totally agree with you. I would move the dog away from the source of sound so they can slowly move back into the THINK and Learn Zone. You can even do this with a cue you already have “let’s go” then move into a pattern game. I also agree with what everyone else said. When I reach the point the dog is comfortable, continue with those options!!
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@pawsup nice! In a small space like a portion of a class environment, do you have tips for what moving “away” might look like? In other words, how? And what kind of pattern game might work here? Can you expand on that a bit for those who may not know what you mean by “pattern game”? Thanks.
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There are many different kinds of pattern games. Teaching this before you need it. I did teach my Berner the 1,2,3 game. So I started with saying 3 and giving a reward. After a couple repetitions of that. I would say 2 ( no reward ) pause 3 and then reward. So you are moving backwards to one. Again repeat my process. Leading to 1 ( no reward ) 2 no reward then 3 reward. After my dog got this concept. I used it with walking one step and say one. Second step say two. Third step say 3 and reward. I hope this makes sense – I do not know how big the room is but distance is our greatest friend in dog training. So I might use a let’s go cue to u turn in a direction from the sound and start doing the pattern game 1,2,3. I loved this book. I think it’s the one with pattern games. I can’t remember there have been so many. And @catherine you know my nose is always in a book:)
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Great description, @pawsup -thanks for taking us through it. This is a good example of “backchaining” learning. Where we start with the end (3=cookie!) and then layer the antecedent, what comes before the end – “2, 3” then “1,2,3” – this is such a pivot from where many of our grannies had us… (1… YOU BETTER GET OVER HERE! 2…. I’M NOT KIDDING….. 2 AND A HALF…. I MEAN IT!…. )
This pattern game – and the others – are so proactive and helpful because they start with the end in mind and help the dog work toward and anticipate a great outcome for all.
Great share!
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Thank you @catherine sometimes I get nervous trying to explain what I do in a small paragraph:) I just realized that is back chaining:) thank you for pointing that out! I think it’s so important to read your dogs body language and get them to a safe place that they can be in that Think and Learn zone. I understand people that throw food in their face ( I did before being educated through CATCH) and then wonder why it doesn’t work. Not only can it poison the food and make the dog say hey don’t you see I am scared- they are too stressed/scared to use the front part of their brain. Just like us humans when we are worried we don’t want to play a board game. We can’t focus.
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That’s such a great analogy, Krista – “too scared to play a board game”. That was certainly what was happening for that poor Poodle the other night.
I love the empathy here, and reading body language to understand how “freaked out” a dog is, then adapting our choices and techniques to help them overcome in that moment.
Thinking it through further, sometimes, we just are NOT going to get them to relax in that moment. For example, what if that Poodle has a history of a dog attack? Hearing those dogs squabble might trigger a traumatic memory -whether in that dog’s history or even in cellular, epigenetic memory (something we often overlook, as Kim Brophey points out.) That is, if a traumatic event occurred in the ancestry of the dog, it can impact an individual’s experience of a similar event in present day. It’s fascinating.
A good reminder to help our dogs cope as best they can in that moment, but to respond with understanding if they can’t seem to get past it – we may not be able to fully understand why – and that’s okay – but being a good partner to them means helping them and comforting them like a good parent would with a toddler.
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