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Training Timid Dog
Hello.
Would appreciate any tips or advice on the following videos.
First video is Ebba the brown dog who is timid and under social as she got adopted about 2 months ago.
https://youtu.be/qhhqgOGaLyk?si=hqrVp2w8W2bg030g
Second video she’s supposed to be playing with the white rescue dog but maybe not comfortable enough?
https://youtube.com/shorts/v36crXzv3Fk?si=Zownh9cFF9A_DwL-
Thank you inn advance.
Regards,
Par
Patrick
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21 Replies
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Hi @pkoh , thank you for sharing the videos. Here are a few thoughts/tips regarding the first video:
I’d recommend the decoy dog have its face turned AWAY from a fearful dog, perhaps even the whole body at first. The decoy dog presents as very still and staring, and Ebba was very sensitive to that.
Ebba often wanted to sniff the ground and this was interrupted. I think it’d be good to allow her to move more slowly and be able to sniff longer. She may be gathering info about the environment, but the sniffing can also be an indication of her unease, like a displacement behavior, so more distance from the ‘trigger’ may be warranted.
Ebba would benefit from some separate training, using rewards, to teach her how to do an about turn with her handler, when verbally cued, so the leash doesn’t have to be tightened to get her to move away. The tight leash used to move her away from the decoy dog can add stress/tension.
As previously mentioned, looks like Ebba needs more distance and a slower pace to keep her below threshold. As the session progressed, she got more concerned, tail tucked, tensely reacting to other environmental stimuli too.
I don’t recall seeing any food used in earlier part of the video. Was there a reason for this?
Later in the video, when food is introduced, Ebba is already so stressed that eating the treats is probably not having the positive impact we’d hope for.GREAT advice to have Ebba approach the decoy dog from behind to sniff!
On video #2, I wouldn’t say she looks fearful of the other dog. It seems more like the environment is overly distracting and perhaps a bit overwhelming, so she’s more vigilant about what’s going on around her rather than being relaxed enough to consider playing with the white dog.
When you have a chance, it’d be great to learn some more about your protocol, how long you’ve been working with Ebba, etc.
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Hi Virginia,
Thank you for your message. I’ll try again with the decoy dog when I meet them. This was our fifth session, but only the second one outdoors.
The sniffing has always been present whenever the owner brings her out for walks — she’s often distracted and constantly looking around. She doesn’t always take treats during walks, so do you have any suggestions other than keeping the leash tight?
She also seems quite concerned about her surroundings during walks and sometimes insists on sticking to her usual route.
By the way, she’s very fearful of anything with reflections — mirrors, wine cellars, televisions, refrigerator doors, waste bins, etc. She avoids going near them and will bark whenever she sees one.
Any recommendations on how to cope with these issues?
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Hi Patrick,
I’ll jump in here as well. In addition to Virginia’s comments, I’m noticing that Ebba seems generally fearful. Is this her normal presentation in any environment? Is there any environment in which she appears relaxed and playful? Does she rest well? For dogs who are constantly “on”, the world can be a very overwhelming place. If she is always hypervigilant, and afraid of multiple things it may help her a ton to be seen by a veterinarian who can work with some anti-anxiety medications to get her to a place where her thinking and reasoning skills can kick in. If she’s constantly worried about the reflections, the sounds (she has a startle response a few times in the stuffy video), she really can’t relax enough to engage.
For the video with Asker, I’m not seeing any indication she wants to engage. Her approaches are straight on, but moreso, I look to Asker for the effect of her messages. Asker backs off and offers calming signals. That tells me all I need to know. Maybe she can relax and “play” down the road, as she doesn’t seem uncomfortable with Asker, but until she has a more secure foundation, I’m not sure playtime is in the cards, at least in a novel environment.
I agree with teaching a hand target and auto-turn with the handler, to avoid the leash getting tight to pull her away from things. I would not pull her away unless she’s completely over threshold. Giving her some choice in the matter will build her confidence. Start that work in a comfortable place if she has one, until she’s able to access it fluently in a new place with triggers far away. If she’s not comfortable even in her own home, then discuss finding a vet who can help her.
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@pkoh , thank you for the additional info. Now that we’ve learned a bit more about Ebba’s fearfulness, I agree with Catherine’s wonderful advice to speak with a vet specializing in behavior to explore anti-anxiety options.
If she’s unable to eat when brought off her property (and based on your description of Ebba’s behavior), confidence-building exercises and safe outings are key.How does Ebba behave on her own property? Is she relaxed (barring reflections)?
Will she engage in play?
Will she readily eat food?
Does she enjoy training sessions there? It’s important to build skills in a safe environment before ‘taking them on the road.’
With some of my own clients, for early outings, they’ll drive to very peaceful places so their dog can experience new settings in a relaxed way.
Also wanted to mention, when a dog is stressed, the treats offered may not appeal, no matter how delicious. But I’m curious what type of food you’re using…? I generally recommend fresh proteins to be used as treats, combined with exposures to new things in small enough steps to keep the dog reasonably at ease.
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Hi Catherine,
Thank you so much for jumping in and sharing your observations — I really appreciate the insights and the time you took to review Ebba’s videos in detail.
Yes, she does tend to present as generally fearful and vigilant, even in familiar environments. She’s quite sensitive to movement and sounds, especially outdoors or in new places. At home, she’s calmer but still on alert with noises or reflections. We’ve been gradually working on helping her feel safer through predictable routines and controlled exposures.
I completely agree about introducing more choice and control for her. We’ll start working on the hand target and auto-turn exercises in her most comfortable setting before bringing them into outdoor sessions.
I’ll also speak with her guardian about consulting a vet to explore whether mild anti-anxiety support might help her cope better and learn more effectively. FYI she’s just started on Pure Calm supplements hopefully to help with her anxiety.
Thank you again for the thoughtful guidance — it’s very helpful as we fine-tune her sessions.
Regards,
Patrick
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Here’s another video the owner just sent me walking Ebba downstairs their apartment.
Thought Ebba did so much better with lesser distractions.
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Yes, Ebba is somewhat able to focus on the training task in this video, and is able to eat treats, but still looks stressed and is still showing a good deal of vigilance about stimuli in the environment.
If possible, I’d suggest Ebba’s person find quieter places to bring her. And rather than focusing first on obedience skills, I’d focus on helping Ebba feel happy and relaxed in the environment. She could use food tossing as a fun chase activity. Food scatters so Ebba happily searches for and snuffles up the goodies. If she enjoys toy play, try that. If safe to do so, a longer line attached to the back clip of a harness would give her more room to engage loosely in these activities.Once a dog feels safe/relaxed in a given environment, training will then be the enjoyable next step.
You might like to check out a book by Zazie Todd called: Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog.
There’s also a book by Debbie Jacobs called: A Guide To Living With & Training A Fearful Dog.Looking forward to more updates about Ebba as you continue to work with her. ????
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Ooh, I love Zazie Todd’s Wag: The science of making your dog happy, so I look forward to picking up this one by her. Thanks, @virginiad
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@pkoh What a lovely team. I see your client really doing her best here, and it’s wonderful that she’s so invested in helping her dog.
Have you done any work with her on reading Ebba’s body language? For example, the whole session, Ebba is stressed. It’s nice she’s able to obey the cues and sit when asked, but do you see signs she’s loving it?
It would be really great to get more background about Ebba and what you’ve done so far. Meanwhile, see if you can find something that lights this girl up. Play? Better treats? Tossing the treat? Does this owner play with Ebba? How long have they been together? What brings joy?
Happiness is a great antidote to anxiety, if you can find a way to access that. Again, you may not, without chemical/medical intervention, but it’s worth a try.
I’d take 1 or 2 happy reps of this walk, sit exercise over a dozen with tension.
What do you think? Please share your insights and more about Ebba’s background when you have a chance. Thanks, Patrick!
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Hello,
What you think of this?
https://youtube.com/shorts/AkryqUIE-Fs?si=tBIcmNZgmV-apqHZ
Thought Ebba was more relaxed and focused.
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@pkoh , thanks for sharing the new videos. In the training video, the first exercise looked good. Ebba seemed focused/engaged and not vigilant about the environment. By the second exercise, her vigilance about stuff going on in the environment is evident and this gets in the way of her learning/performing her ‘leave it’ skill. My mantra is always to get the dog comfortable/relaxed FIRST, and then any training tasks you wish to do will be so much easier to accomplish.
The second video looks much more promising in the play department! The dogs are definitely trending in the right direction. Each one, at separate moments, does a shake off, which is probably a way for them to ‘shed’ some excess arousal. Of course the dogs’ safety comes first, but trying to engage with one another on leash can be awkward as it doesn’t permit them to engage their bodies in a natural way. Might there be a safely contained space so the pet parents can try dropping the leashes to allow more natural interactions?
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Hi Virginia.
We usually have the training around the owner’s apartment. There isn’t enclosed area unfortunately unless inside their apartment.
Btw, do you have any training advice on reading Canine Body Language?
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Hi @pkoh . Ah, that’s hard — the apartment setting appears to be a bit of a challenge for Ebba, but of course her pet parent needs to walk her there, at least for potty breaks.
Are there places your client can drive to, where you can meet for some initial training sessions in a more peaceful setting, and then gradually work your way into more active settings, when Ebba’s confidence grows?
There are tons of body language resources. Try a search on Youtube to find some educational options and screen them before sharing with your client. Here are a couple:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siy0eog48ys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt1-VkwN8xE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mB_zdrBDTQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptgqVgtFEI4
You can also search Dogwise for various books and DVDs. Sarah Kalnajs created DVDs called The Language of Dogs, for example.
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Thank you Virginia for the links.
Ebba is fearful of reflective items and will bark at it. The owner put on Elizabeth Collar and this was her behavior. She’s more daring to walk around passing the items though still soft barking.
https://youtube.com/shorts/-K15q0zMGqo?si=Dj1MbI_oXRmClW-z
Is this considered overwhelming her?
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Yes, Ebba is surely overwhelmed in that video clip. She isn’t set up in a way that allows her to learn anything positive from that experience and instead keeps rehearsing her alarm barks while pacing anxiously with her tail tucked.
May I ask, what is the purpose of her wearing the Elizabethan collar?Has her pet parent been exploring anti-anxiety meds with a vet who is skilled in prescribing behavior meds? If there isn’t someone like that in her area, she may be able to arrange a remote consult with a veterinary behaviorist.
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From the owner “Ah sorry for the lack of context. She was put oon the collar yesterday because she had an anal gland infection and drainage. So it’s to prevent her from licking her wound.<div>Then after putting it was surprising to us that she walked into an area she wouldn’t normally walk to. She is currently on medications so we’re on pause with the calming care”
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Hi @pkoh , thanks for the video and the explanation. That is very interesting that her exploratory behavior increased while wearing the collar. It’s possible that lowering visual acuity is one strategy that can help her. Do you know about calming caps? They are a lightweight headgear that decreases visual perception.
I agree with Virginia as well, that this dog likely needs some medication for general anxiety before you’ll make much real progress with her. Her body language here is still quite concerning. Especially if she’s still dealing with discomfort from her procedure, which she certainly is, that’s an additional layer of stress.
I’m hopeful you’ll guide your client to seek out a veterinary professional for the anxiety. Please do keep us posted.
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Hello,
She’s on gabapentin 400mg only on vet visits and now she takes around 200mg gaba for her at home only for wound cleaning.
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Hi @pkoh – Working with a veterinary behaviorist will give your client more options for long lasting anti-anxiety medication that can contribute to her dog’s overall mental health. Once an effective dosage is reached with the right medication, the dog will be able to be in a relaxed state and able to learn new skills.
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@catherine Have advised owners to consider Vet Behaviourist but they would like to consult their vet about this.
Thank you again for all the support and advice.
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@pkoh you are very welcome. Here’s hoping the best! Please let us know how it goes if you get a chance. Thanks for sharing this case.
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