My Dog is Scared of Everyone!

Dear WOOF-

I have a 21 month old lab that has taken up the habit of barking at any person that walks by our house. He also seems to be afraid of the oddest things, and is constantly barking at things that are different or he has never seen before. For instance, the other day on a walk, we went by a man doing some yard work who had a wheel barrel on his driveway. My dog had his hackles raised and he crouched low, sniffing the wheel barrel. Seems like strange behavior for a 98lb lab to be displaying. Is there anything I can do to make
him more confident?


Hi-

The behavior that your dog is displaying is technically called "neophobia" which basically means a fear of new or novel things.

Genetics play an important role in how easily a pup will develop confidence, however during early puppyhood, (6-12 weeks) but most notably between 8 and 10 weeks, pups are the most pliable with
regard to developing confidence and a safety history with approaching and interacting with novel things in their environment, whether that's strange people, a wheel barrel, a garbage can, or whatever. It
is during this period that a pups social motivation to approach and investigate new things (which creates confidence) outweighs it natural wariness (fear), so it is considered the optimum time for exposure to as many new things as possible.

Exposure, or lack of it during this period of development heavily influences how confident the adult dog will be with handling novelty in the future. Either the dog learned as a pup to socially attract (confidence) to new things or flee from them (fear). This is why it is so important that pups be socialized to as many novel things as possible during this time.

Although some dogs are genetically structured for greater ease of sociability, and have no trouble with new things seemingly regardless of their social history during this period, others need lots of exposure to lots and lots of new and different things in order to be confident when encountering something new for the first time as they enter adolescence and adulthood.

In your case, it is important to get him out more and help him to have good experiences with things he's never encountered before. Since dogs learn to make associations with things that can either be
pleasant or not-so-pleasant, you'll use food to help him make a better association with things that are scary to him. For example, let's look at the wheel barrel incident and formulate an approach that
will help him be more confident next time he's concerned about something new.

At the first sign of concern (hackles raised, woofing, hunkering down, etc.) stop, back away from the object to a more comfortable distance for him, and begin stuffing his face with his favorite food
treats. After a few seconds, turn and walk away from the object - at which time the treats stop. Turn and begin to approach again stopping before he's concerned - and feed, feed, feed. Again turn and walk him away - treats stop. Repeat with the treats starting as you get a little closer than the time before. As you do this, he will begin to associate the previously "scary" thing with something he loves - treats - and will look forward to gradually approaching closer and closer because as he does, good stuff begins to happen.
With lots of practice and patience, you will begin to see him get excited about new things, rather than worried. Always be sure to use the food to reward investigating/approaches to things that he's never
seen before.

Another great way to help him feel more confident in approaching/investigating a novel object is to teach him to "target" or "touch" objects. This employs teaching the dog to "target" or "touch" your hand for a reward first. Once he understands the behavior of target or touch and he responds to your verbal cue to do
so, begin having him target/touch things that are familiar, and gradually move on to have him "touch" things that are increasingly less familiar. It really becomes a fun game for the dog and helps him to feel more confident.

If you live in the Metro Detroit area, I would encourage you to enroll in one of our clicker training classes. Once you understand how to use the clicker, it becomes the best and fastest way to teach
your dog anything. It does wonders for confidence and bonding too. Read our clicker training articles at www.woofology.com and check out the behavior articles too, for more helpful tips and suggestions. Thanks for writing.

Best of Luck!

Lisa Patrona, Dip. CBST, CPDT-KA, ACDBC, AABP-CDT

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