It is early in the morning and I am preparing coffee after returning from boot camp. Deuce is barking outside and the barking does not sound like his typical barking when our neighbor and her dogs are walking on the ridge.
I step out to find out why he is barking this way. I can’t see anything and I am thinking now that he saw a coyote just outside the fence, but I cannot see the coyote either.
John, who came out to ask Deuce to stop barking, tells me that he is barking at a tumbleweed in the middle of our “soccer” field. Ah, a funny picture…
Rio has now joined him and they are both sort of close by the tumbleweed both with conflicted body language. Rio is also exhibiting pilo-erection (hair-ends up) and they continue barking as they stare from a “safe” distance at the tumbleweed.
I grab my jacket and coffee in hand as I walk towards the dogs.
I talk to them with an upbeat tone of voice, and they both look at me. I walk towards the (offensive) tumbleweed and I encourage them to do the same. As they do, I give them some treats to encourage exploring the tumbleweed.
After a couple of minutes at the tumbleweed both dogs appeared more relaxed and totally comfortable with it. A funny picture is a visual stimulus that looks odd, unsafe to our dogs. Other animals such as cattle also have the same (conflicted/fearful) response to visual stimulus that appears out of place.
The tumbleweed was threatening to Deuce and Rio because perhaps they had never come across a weed such as this at close distance, or they had - but never in this location. Another reason for the funny picture perhaps is the tumbleweed dragging on the ground due to the wind.
Examples of “funny-picture” abound. The reality is that there are so many of these situations for our dogs that we would be smart to take advantage of them to teach our dogs self-confidence.
I do this by gently encouraging the dog to investigate at its own pace the unusual item. As they do, I continue to encourage them and if I have treats available I begin to treat the dog away from the item as to not put the dog in conflict: “I want the treat, but I am afraid of approaching." When I reinforce the dog away from the scary stimulus, I can also gauge if the dog is willing to approach the object again and again for further investigation.
It is clearly impossible to prepare our dogs for every single stimulus out there that might appear out of context and thus threatening to them. But the good news is that as we encounter with our dogs these scary situations they learn that this particular item/situation is not to be feared. As a result their confidence soars and they can now add that positive experience to their overall learning. Resulting in a better (care-free) quality of life.
I step out to find out why he is barking this way. I can’t see anything and I am thinking now that he saw a coyote just outside the fence, but I cannot see the coyote either.
John, who came out to ask Deuce to stop barking, tells me that he is barking at a tumbleweed in the middle of our “soccer” field. Ah, a funny picture…
Rio has now joined him and they are both sort of close by the tumbleweed both with conflicted body language. Rio is also exhibiting pilo-erection (hair-ends up) and they continue barking as they stare from a “safe” distance at the tumbleweed.
I grab my jacket and coffee in hand as I walk towards the dogs.
I talk to them with an upbeat tone of voice, and they both look at me. I walk towards the (offensive) tumbleweed and I encourage them to do the same. As they do, I give them some treats to encourage exploring the tumbleweed.
After a couple of minutes at the tumbleweed both dogs appeared more relaxed and totally comfortable with it. A funny picture is a visual stimulus that looks odd, unsafe to our dogs. Other animals such as cattle also have the same (conflicted/fearful) response to visual stimulus that appears out of place.
The tumbleweed was threatening to Deuce and Rio because perhaps they had never come across a weed such as this at close distance, or they had - but never in this location. Another reason for the funny picture perhaps is the tumbleweed dragging on the ground due to the wind.
Examples of “funny-picture” abound. The reality is that there are so many of these situations for our dogs that we would be smart to take advantage of them to teach our dogs self-confidence.
I do this by gently encouraging the dog to investigate at its own pace the unusual item. As they do, I continue to encourage them and if I have treats available I begin to treat the dog away from the item as to not put the dog in conflict: “I want the treat, but I am afraid of approaching." When I reinforce the dog away from the scary stimulus, I can also gauge if the dog is willing to approach the object again and again for further investigation.
It is clearly impossible to prepare our dogs for every single stimulus out there that might appear out of context and thus threatening to them. But the good news is that as we encounter with our dogs these scary situations they learn that this particular item/situation is not to be feared. As a result their confidence soars and they can now add that positive experience to their overall learning. Resulting in a better (care-free) quality of life.
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