[Dailydrool] Fearful dog advice

[via Dailydrool]

Grateful drool from the Leader pack is being slung toward all of you who sent such wonderful advice on dealing with fearful dogs. We have been putting your excellent suggestions into practice and are seeing very positive results. 

Ann's advice to get down on her level coupled with Bev's instruction to smile, smile, smile has drawn Emma out from under the bed and allowed her to interact with us. We've used Vikki's trick of rewarding her with a special high value treat given only when she does her business outside and are seeing progress on that front. Val pointed out that a canine companion can be a valuable role model and emotional guide. To our delight, Dobby is fulfilling that role. He will approach an object, give it a sniff, and Emma will follow him and inspect it as well. Jennifer cautioned us against using negative reinforcement, so we've been using redirection and bribery to stop her from jumping up on the bed rather than the "No!" "Off!" we used with our other dogs. Kathryn Johnson of North Texas Basset Hound Rescue sent an excellent PowerPoint presentation on fearful dogs that gave background information on the causes and effects of fearfulness as well as professional training tips for dealing with it. Fantastic resource!

Anyway, you've all been an invaluable help to this wee timorous beastie and her new pack. BTW, now that she's opened up more, we can see an interesting mix of behaviors. She will give Dobby the Cattle Dog stare, but when she's outside, her nose is plastered to the ground in pure Basset style :)

Lois Leader, Emma (the Aussie Basset Dog formerly known as Pepper), and Dobby the House Elf, with Bobo and Scout watching over the new arrival from the Bridge.
lois.leader at cox.net