From fearful to confident

There are many frightened dogs in shelters. Some of them can be so shut down that they don’t even move, let alone eat anything. Dogs end up in this new, scary place with many new noises, smells and many other dogs around. It’s not easy but with time and patience, they can be helped. 

The first time I saw Franio, he crawled at the back of the room and didn’t move a limb. He was sniffing the food that I tossed but didn’t eat it. Next time I saw him he started to eat and he got up on his legs! He was still too scared to come close to me but he started to come towards a gate if I stayed behind it. Next time we played a game and did so-called loopy training (term by Alexandra Kurland). Training happens in loops, everything that happens before delivering food is reinforced. That can easily include dodging, moving away, shaking, tail tucked and basically everything that dog does. I wanted a confident dog that comes to me with relaxed muscles. I assessed how close can I be to be able to see that and started training. To create loops I chose carefully where I deliver food. I was tossing the treat behind him. He was coming towards the gate and then I tossed the treat so he needed to go get it and could come back up towards the gate. I focused on seeing him eagerly come back. When it was going nicely, I slowly started coming closer to the gate (decreasing distance between us). At some point, he stopped a little distance away from the gate and to me, it was a sign that I came too close. I moved away and repeated a previous step.

I can’t say how much of it was this training and how much of it was many other factors but the next time I came there, he was moved to a different place and was already like a different dog! He made friends especially with one of the workers and was coming to her for petting as soon as she came in and you no longer can see the same frightened dog as at the beginning. Patience and moving him to the place he felt more confident in gave him a second life. It’s stories like that that inspire me to keep going.

Environment plays a huge role and it cannot be understated. The dog can be afraid of many things at the same time. Allowing dogs to get more confident at their own pace can make a huge difference in overcoming their fear. The process doesn’t even have to take long if it’s done systematically. It's great when working with dogs is based on consistency and predictability but it's not always possible especially in shelters. No matter how long it takes, getting dogs out of the fear is possible. Personally, that’s one of my favourite things to see unfold.