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Fear works differently in the canine mind. Your dog might suddenly freeze at the sight of something as innocuous as a duck, leaving you puzzled about what could possibly be so threatening. The truth lies in how dogs process fear - they connect it to whatever they see in the moment, not necessarily what caused the scary experience.
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Episode Transcript
Welcome to the 5-Minute Dog, the mini-podcast
that delivers practical trainingadvice in less than 5 minutes.
Welcome to Season 3 of the5-Minute Dog.
This is Episode 200, and I justwant to take a quick moment to
thank you for listening andsupporting the podcast through
(00:27):
the first 200 episodes.
I'm excited to kick off thisnew season with today's topic.
Imagine this your puppy sees aduck for the very first time,
very first time, and right atthat moment, a screen door
slammed shut behind your puppy,making a loud bang and scaring
(00:55):
your puppy.
The duck just happened to bethere when this scary sound
happened, but from then on,ducks equal danger to your puppy
, even though the duck hadnothing to do with it.
See, dogs often link fear towhatever they see in the moment,
not necessarily what actuallycaused the scary experience, and
(01:18):
that's why some of the thingsthey end up being afraid of can
feel so random to us as owners.
So how do these fears develop?
Sometimes it's what I call amismatch a startle plus a
visible object.
Your puppy hears or feelssomething startling and whatever
(01:40):
they were looking at gets theblame.
The duck story is one example.
Or think of a thunder crackjust as another dog walks by
Suddenly, it's not thunder thatfeels threatening, it's the
other dog.
Then there's fear byassociation.
If something uncomfortablehappens repeatedly in a certain
(02:04):
setting, the whole place canbecome scary, like the vet's
office.
One painful injection can turnthe whole building into a source
of dread.
Owner signals can play a roletoo.
Dogs are incredibly tuned intous.
So if we gasp or tense up ortighten up on the leash, our dog
(02:35):
may decide that the situationmust be dangerous, even if it
wasn't.
And finally, puppies go throughdevelopmental fear periods, and
these are stages where theirbrains are extra sensitive.
A single negative incident inthat window can leave a much
deeper impression than it wouldlater in life.
That's why it is so importantfor owners to pay attention.
(03:00):
Dogs don't always assign fear tothe right thing.
You might be focused on helpingyour puppy get used to the
noise of the screen door whileyour puppy's brain is still
stuck on ducks.
So if you're working on thewrong trigger, you won't see
much progress.
So what can you do?
(03:21):
Start by paying attention tocontext.
What was your dog looking atwhen they startled?
Notice the patterns.
Do they only react in specificsettings, like near ponds or
certain neighbors' houses?
And check yourself too.
Are your own reactionsaccidentally reinforcing their
(03:44):
fear?
When it comes to helping yourpuppy through it, slow exposure
is key.
Pair the sight of that scarything with food or play or
something they love and don'tforce interaction.
Give them space to observe froma safe distance and to slowly
(04:06):
get comfortable.
And if you're not sure what thetrigger really is, create safe
and varied practice sessions soyou can start to narrow it down.
Your dog may not always beafraid of what you think they're
afraid of.
The duck wasn't scary.
The screen door was, but yourpuppy doesn't know that.
(04:29):
So by paying attention towhat's happening in the moment
and how your puppy processes it,you can help prevent
long-lasting fears and give themthe confidence they need to
handle the world.
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