An Easy Way to Help an Anxious Dog Get Over Her Fear of People

By: David Codr

Published Date: July 9, 2019

Cali White Lab mix - An Easy Way to Help an Anxious Dog Get Over Her Fear of People

For this Omaha dog training session we go over how to meet a shy, fearful or insecure dog to help Cali, a 6 year-old rescue lab who barks and runs away from new people who visit her home.

I came up with this dog behavior secret to meeting shy and scared dogs a few years ago and it works great if you go slow. Each dog is unique so you may need to adjust things by having a longer treat trail, use different treats (like warm chicken), meet at a different location, etc.

When we headed inside, Cali’s guardian said she had never seen her relax so quickly around a stranger. But what I didn’t do played a large role there. I avoided calling her, didn’t try too pet her and focused instead on the humans for the first 30 minutes inside the home. Sometimes ignoring a fearful dog is one of the best things you can do to help a scared dog relax.

After Cali laid down on the floor on her own, I started to toss treats in front of me to motivate her to approach then move away as she desired. As we continued, she got closer and closer until she was lingering, then taking treats from my hand. This is a great way to help a dog get over anxiety of being around new people.

Id like to see the guardian repeat this greeting ritual at least once a day for the next few weeks. Because of the 4th of July activities (fireworks) I mentioned she may want to wait until after the holiday passes before starting, but then to be consistent with at least one visitor a day.

To help the guardians remember all the tips to help a fearful dog that we covered in this in home dog training session, we recorded a roadmap to success.

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This post was written by: David Codr