Positive Dog Training Tips to Help a Dog Regain Confidence

For this Playa Vista dog training session, we worked with French Bulldog Beau, sharing tips to help a dog regain confidence.

When I first arrived for the session, Beau’s ears were pinned back, he was moving slowly, avoided looking at me and kept some distance. This caught me off guard as one of the issues the guardians wanted me to work on was his getting excited when guests arrive. But those were common indicators of a fearful dog.

After discussing his backstory with Beau’s guardians, I learned that a couple of years ago they sent him to a board and train facility.

If you’re not familiar, board and train facilities are dog trainers who take dogs in for a couple of weeks to do “intensive training” with the dog. The promise is somebody else is going to do all the work for you and fix all of your dog problems in a couple of weeks.

The problem is many of the trainers who operate board and train facilities are what we referred to as “balanced,” “alpha theory” or dominant trainers. This means that they use physical punishment and corrections when dogs make mistakes. Punishment is one of the worst things you can do with a fearful dog.

I personally know of over 500 board and train facilities and I would only recommend one of them. I have visited some of these facilities and was shocked by the techniques that they used.

Dogs that bark at board and train facilities are sprayed with fire hoses or have their heads dunked underwater. Dogs who are fearful of another dog and ask for the other dog to go away or punished. Other dogs are pinned down until they submit.

Sadly, these seem to be all too common for board and train trainers. While there are some positive board and train facilities out there, I onlyh know of a few.  I have sadly been called him to fix the problems that these archaic dog training facilities cause in their client dogs too many times to count. Usually fear and reactivity.

Not all dog training is the same and these facilities are something I recommend people steer clear of. When you have a trainer or behavioor expert teach you, they deepen the bond between human and dog. The dog gets more motivation to listen and this helps in many areas, including how to build a dog’s confidence.

Throughout the session, anytime that Beau offered an unusual behavior, I asked a few questions and all of the answers kept on pointing back to the board and train. Although Beau had some problems before they sent him there, he came back with fear and anxiety based problems that did not exist before he went to the board and train facility.

It breaks my heart to see a dog subjected to these cruel and unnecessary training methods. The gog guardians are simply looking for the best and fastest option to help their dog. But sadly, these people who should know better, subject the dogs to horrible things that have long lasting repercussions. Beau is a perfect example. Now he needs someone to help show his guardians how to build a dog’s confidence.

To help Beau feel more comfortable, I tossed treats on the ground, gave him plenty of space, did not move or tried to pet him when he approached. I also made myself as accessible as possible; sitting on the floor and turning so that he was positioned on my side.

As the session progressed, Beau became more and more comfortable with me, however there were times that he would forget that I had earned his trust and reflexively move away or get startled by a simple movement or sound.

I wanted to give the guardians a number of things that they could do to help a dog regain confidence. We went over the importance of using marker words to clearly communicate to Beau about what it is they wanted from him.

Anytime you’re dealing with a fearful dog, it’s important to do everything you can to reduce stress and anxiety. Establishing clear, consistent communication is one of the first things I always go over with my clients for many reasons but building a dog’s confidence is near the top of the list. Not only does it eliminate confusion, its an easy way to build a dog’s confidence.

I went over how to introduce dog cues to make sure we continue with clear communication. Many people say the cue at the wrong time. They introduce it too early and repeat it at the wrong time. But by using the marker word exclusively (not saying the cue) until it’s easy to get the dog to do the action, then sneaking the cue in before you lure the dog into position, you can make it easy for the dog to understand what you are saying.

Another great way to build confidence in dogs is to celebrate desired behaviors. This is probably the easiest way to train any dog but it also helps them practice basic obedience, increases their respect for their humans and makes them feel more comfortable because they know what to do.

I recommended the guardians point to each other and say “celebrate” anytime they witness Beau offering a desired behavior that the other person missed. This way they can still mark and reward the desired behavior, increasing both confidence and helping him understand what it is they want him to do.

Next I went through an exercise I used to show people how to read their dogs cut off signals and signs of consent. This is probably one of the most important lessons that I covered in this session. Although Beau’s guardians love him dearly, they were petting him in a way that he was saying he did not like.

Now that his humans are aware of his cut off signals, they will be able to recognize when Beau is uncomfortable and immediately stop or change the situation. I cant think of many more effective ways to build a dog’s confidence than helping the people around it know when its asking them to stop.

Teaching people how to read their dogs cut off signals is one of my favorite lessons because I know that I’m making a quality of life improvement that will help the dog for the rest of its life. And again, this is a snealy way to build a dog’s confidence

After we finished up the other dog behavior fundamentals, I got to work demonstrating various techniques and exercises to help.

I showed the guardians how to use a CER to change how Beau feels about his harness. Then I showed them an easy exercise that will condition bow to put the harness on himself.

Many anxious dogs bark at unknown sounds and Beau was no exception. I pulled out some higher value treats and showed the guardians how they can use a counter conditioning and desensitization exercise to stop both from feeling the need to bark when he hears those sounds.

I briefly went over how to help a dopg feel comfortable having thier nails trimmed. Since we were short on time, i promoised to include a video that shows how to teach a dog to feel good about having its nails trimmed.

We also went into the bedroom so that I could show the guardians how they can stop Beau’s resource guarding of one of his humans and the bedroom. The guardians had already started practicing some of these tips on their own so they were relieved to know they were on the right track.

I shared a few additional tips to help them fully extinguish that behavior before we turned to what I felt was the most important thing; help a dog regain confidence.

Many people with fearful dogs simply think that they will regain their confidence on their own. But just like humans, dogs need some support when they are not feeling 100%. Fortunately there are a number of things you can do to help a fearful dog.

A Few Tips to Help a Dog Regain Confidence

The guardians mentioned that the individual who operated the boarding train facility had similar characteristics as myself. I recommended they recruit one of their friends who is a tall caucasian male. When I’m rehabilitating a dog with a behavior problem, I try to re-create situations or scenarios that the dog struggled with in the past and then reconstitute them in a positive way.

Finding someone who looks like the board and train trainer, and having him practice these tricks to help a dog improve their confidence can help bow forget about the mistreatment and abuse that he received at the board and trained facility.

This friend needs to be someone who is open to taking direction and following instructions. Many people jump in without looking trying to help an anxious dogs only to accidentally make things worse. They move unexpectedly, they use body language that makes the dog feel uncomfortable or they reach out to try to pet the dog.

For an fearful or anxious dog, unexpected sounds or movements are often amplified by the cortisol in their blood. It’s much better to move slow slowly and only when the dog is looking in your direction.

There are a number of other things that people do or failed to do that can help a dog regain confidence. I wanted to make it easy for the guardians to remember them as well as to share those tips with their friends who can come by and help practice with Beau.

If you have a fearful dog, or one that is insecure due to lack of early socialization or a bad experience like being sent to a punishment based board and train facility, you should definitely check out the free positive dog training video below.

I asked the guardians to recruit someone who looks like the board and train trainer or anyone else that Beau is uncomfortable with, and then arrange for them to come to their home and practice these tips for anxious dogs.

Our goal is to create positive associations through short visits where nothing happens that Beau does not like. After enough practice, but will stop being such an anxious dog and instead look at these people or situations as positives.

The most important factor to consider is that it is 100% positive from Beau’s perspective. Now that they know how to read his cut off signals, body language and affirmation signals, they can help guide their friend through positive experiences. A key step when you want to build a dog’s confidence.

It will take time and practice and very careful observation to make sure that Beau is comfortable and enjoys each experience. I’m confident that they will be able to make a dramatic improvement in Beau’s day-to-day life.

That doesn’t mean that they should expect to be able to fully undo all of the damage done by the board and train. Unfortunately, when bad experiences happened to dogs at certain points of their lives, they can often be long lasting. It’s quite possible that both will never be able to be fully comfortable and trusting around a tall white male.

That’s OK. It’s sad but OK. We just need to keep in mind that our goal is to help Beau feel comfortable in that situation. He doesn’t have to get petted by the man or interact with him, we just hope that he learns to be comfortable enough to exist nearby without being a fearful or anxious dog.

Fortunately for Beau, he has some pretty outstanding humans looking out for him. It was wonderful to see the excitement and enthusiasm they gathered as I was sharing all of the dog behavior and training tips we covered. Sometimes you just get a good feeling and I definitely had one with his guardians in that regard.

To make sure that his guardians were able to remember all of the positive Dog training tips we covered in this in-home Playa Vista dog training session, I set up my phone so that I could record a roadmap to success summary video. You can watch that video below.

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