Comforting A Scared Dog. Will It Reinforce Fear?

There is some confusion about reinforcing fear when your dog is scared or unsure. Some people will suggest ignoring the dog during a thunderstorm or when encountering something frightening. They are told not to pet or interact if the dog runs to them because fear will be reinforced. 

When you are walking at night in a sketchy area and a stranger is behind you, or you slam on your brakes to avoid an accident or you hear a sound in the middle of the night, your heart begins to race.

Did you intentionally make your heart beat faster?

 That heart racing was due to your sympathetic nervous system kicking in. It controls an involuntary response to stressful situations.

Fear is an involuntary response to stress. It is out of our control. It is an important evolutionary response. If we didn’t have a natural fear of scary things, we would die out.

 I believe this idea of being able to reinforce fear comes from understanding how reinforcement works in other situations. We want to teach sit so we give a cookie every time the dog sits.

 In those situations, the dog is aware of what he is doing. He is making a decision to do something because it works for him. Every time he sits, he gets a cookie. He was reinforced for sitting. He has learned a behaviour.

 We have no control over emotions. They happen whether we want them to or not.

Comforting a fearful dog will not make him more fearful or less fearful. Speaking softly, remaining close and calm is comforting.

Big effusive displays of “oh my gosh, don’t worry, it’s fine……”, are ineffective.

Acknowledging anxiety while you remain calm is reassuring.

 On one of our walks this week, Louie was frightened by some very loud, unexpected noises. He jumped up on me and in general, displayed fearful behaviour.

Instead of worrying about his jumping, I knelt down and offered slow strokes to calm him while speaking softly. I remained like that until he felt safe enough to move on.

 What I do hope to gain from offering comfort when he needs it is I am a safe place for him.