In several of my previous articles, I had talked about how various stressful situations can be counter-productive to your dog's ability to learn. Stress will adversely affect our dogs in similar ways that stress affects people. Although there are some similarities, there are some distinct differences as you will see. An experienced eye can discern stress in a dog during the training process and employ “stress reducing strategies” to work the dog through the stress. Behaviorist and trainers do not always agree on theses strategies and that may be in part because they have different training goals.

Some trainers believe that any stress at all should be avoided and the goal of training is that the dog is having fun and is completely comfortable during the process. Others believe that stress in life is inevitable and helping the dog to work through the stress will result in a better well rounded dog equipped to deal with stressful situations when they arise in the future. Although I agree that the training process needs to be conducted in a fashion that builds the dogs success by using motivational training methods, I don’t think sheltering a dog from all stress is completely productive to the dogs overall conditioning and development.

Let’s examine the “socialization period” of your puppy’s development. This period of development is between the ages of seven weeks of age up to twenty weeks of age. This is a critical time in a puppy’s development. It is the time when your puppy needs to be exposed to as many different things, people, other dogs and places as possible. At this age, a puppy learns to accept different stimuli which will in time enable the dog to accept changes in his environment when he gets older. Failure to socialize a puppy at this young age will result in serious behavior issues down the road. (See my article on my web site on “Socialization”)

The first time your puppy meets the neighbor’s dog may result in a stress filled event. Your puppy’s hackles might go up, he may start barking while lunging forward and then backing up all at the same time. Other signs of stress might include elevated respiration (panting excessively), salivating, snapping at the other dog, high pitched barking (sounding like a baby crying), hiding behind you seeking protection, or pulling on the leash to attempt to escape. Obviously, these signs of stress and fear do not require an experienced eye to recognize. However, the way in which you as a handler deal with this situation will have a significant impression on your puppy for the rest of his life.

There is one assumption I am making here and that is that the neighbor’s dog has some reasonable good social skills of his own and he is not overly dominant ,or a highly excitable (too playful) dog and that he is certainly not aggressive. A well behaved, obedient, calm dog can model good social skills for your puppy. An obnoxious, unruly dog can model bad behavior too! One of the most common human responses in a situation described above is to either console your puppy trying to reassure the puppy that “it’s alright” or to remove the dog from the situation.

One of the most significant learning principles gained from the theory of Classical Conditioning developed by Dr. Pavlov, was that dogs learn by association. It is generally accepted that rewarding good behavior strengthens future behavior while disciplining bad behavior inhibits future behavior. Petting a puppy and telling him that “it’s alright” is rewarding the dog and communicating to him that his behavior is “alright.” Consoling a frightened puppy is the same thing as rewarding your puppy for his reaction to the other dog. Removing the puppy from the stressful event will certainly remove the stimuli causing the stress, but will ultimately reinforce the puppy’s fear of other dogs in the future. By consoling or removing the puppy from the situation, you are communicating to your puppy that there really is something to be afraid of. The next time you and your puppy are faced with the same situation, the puppy will exhibit the same fearful reaction and perhaps even more so.

To complicate it even more, if you “wig out” when your puppy “wigs out,” your puppy will pick up on your emotions which will make the problem worse. Even a young puppy has the uncanny ability to pick up on your emotions. I can’t tell you how many calls I get from puppies that want to know, “what do I do when my owner “wigs out?” Whether it’s an owner or a puppy wigging out, there are two things that you should never do. One, don’t console, remain calm, and don’t remove the party wigging out from the situation triggering the stress.

The best way to help your puppy to work through this stressful event is to take the lead. Be firm but loving and communicate (using a leash to restrain your dog) that there really isn’t anything to be afraid of. If your puppy has learned any commands like sit or stay, try to redirect the puppy’s attention away from the other dog and toward you. That is leadership. When attempting to get your dog to sit, do not use treats!! If your puppy is stressed and wigging out; by using a treat to get him to sit; you may actually be rewarding the wigging out rather than the “sit command.” Remember, dogs learn by association. If your puppy is really focused on the other dog, the treat may reward the stress rather than the “sit command.” For serious “stress issues” you should consult an experienced canine professional acquainted with “balanced training” strategies. Not every problem can be resolved with love, treats and rewards. If they could, puppies and dogs wouldn’t have obedience and behavior problems.

Contact Information

Tom Beitz is the owner of the Academy for Puppies and Dogs and is an authorized dealer for Pet STOP Hidden Dog Fences. Tom can be reached at (716) 628-0651 to answer your questions or he can be found on the web at www.smartdogtrainer.com . E-Mail: Tom@Smartdogtrainer.com

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