Worried about Fido’s reactions to holiday guests and hubbub? Wondering how to travel with Lucky when she’s terrified of car rides? Frazzled by Fluffy’s separate anxiety fits?
Canine fears require intervention for the animal’s well-being, for our own sanity and for safety’s sake. Since dogs can’t say, “Please don’t approach me, I’m scared,” canine responses have the potential to escalate to growling and biting. Even if the aggression is defensive and not offensive, it’s still not acceptable in human society.
So what do you do? Turn to Nicole Wilde’s new “Help For Your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer his Fears.” The California-based certified pet dog trainer share insights, management and behavior modification techniques drawn from her own experience and that of an all-star cadre of canine experts.
The well-organized guide doubles as a concise course on understanding, managing and shaping canine behavior. Topics include distinguishing fear aggression from other types of aggression; reading face and body language signals; identifying individual fear “triggers”; managing fear, anxiety and phobias (thunderstorms included); and tailoring behavior modification programs to your dog.
Holiday-timely tips range from controlling exposure to fear triggers to teaching guests Wilde’s smart “Bore and Ignore” technique.
Wilde nicely articulates the key owner responsibility: becoming a benevolent leader who instills calmness and elicits trust. So often, people telegraph their own anxieties, fueling doggie freakouts.
Diet, exercise and mental stimulation immensely affect behavior. Wilde explains why it’s good to remove corn and artificial coloring from fearful Flopsy’s food, and instead add veggies, brown rice and B-complex vitamins.
[ She writes: “A dog whose mind is under-stimulated is more likely to be anxious and to display that anxiety by chewing on inappropriate objects, pacing, whining, barking or exhibiting relentlessness or hyperactivity.” ]
The Santa’s bag of practical calming strategies include teaching the “settle” command … Valerian root and other herbs … touch therapy … and DAP (dog appeasing pheromones). Wilde illustrates how, in minutes, “the deep, uniform sensation of pressure” of a body wrap calms a dog.
The lend-worthy book’s thick with insight; thankfully, it’s easy to flip to the most relevant chapters and return to others later. The payoff: a dog who trusts you, and a dog you can trust.
» “Help For Your Fearful Dog”
» By Nicole Wilde
» Phantom Publishing, 2006, 414 pages, $24.95
» phantompub.com
