You can calm fearful dogs with a lot of patience and persistence.
Owning a dog as a pet can be an immensely rewarding and satisfying experience for many dog owners. However, some dogs may experience great amounts of fear during certain situations. Fearful trigger situations may vary from vacuuming the house, new people entering the house or even thunderstorms. Dogs that experience these fearful moments may hide, lash out at others or even soil the carpet. Calming a fearful dog requires lowering the sense of fear that these objects create.
Instructions
1. Expose your dog to the object or situation that causes his fear. Introduce it in a situation or distance that is very low stress, such as placing a fear-inducing object 100 feet away. In the case of being afraid of thunderstorms, play a CD of thunderstorm sounds at a very low level.
2. Reward the dog when he shows non-fearful behavior in the presence of the fearful object. Gradually increase its severity, such as bringing the object closer or turning the thunderstorm noises louder.
3. Continue rewarding him for non-fearful behaviors as you increase the intensity of his exposure. Increase the intensity very slowly and gradually. Going too fast may create fearful behaviors in your dog, which will ruin your calming session.
4. Repeat this process a few times a week over an extended period of time. Continue to reward your dog as he shows non-fearful behaviors to the fearful object. Progress at a pace comfortable for your dog.
5. Give your dog commands when he shows non-fearful behaviors in the presence of his fearful object. Reward him if he complies. Use this technique to desensitize him to his fearsome object more fully as he will associate it with pleasant sensations as opposed to negative.
6. Ignore him if he shows fearful behavior, such as whining or shaking, in situations that occur beyond your control. Do not scold or comfort him. Scolding him will only make him more fearful while comforting him will give him positive reinforcement for his fearful behavior.
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