Helping a Pair of Fearful Dachshunds: Free Training Tips

In this Omaha dog training session, we worked with a pair of fearful Dachshunds, Wally and Tasha. We taught them how to sit and come by petting them at the right time.

We were called in to help the dogs stop being afraid of the family’s grandchildren. However, it was clear that their fears went much deeper.

Wally and Tasha barked then moved away when my colleague, Taylor and I were at the door. Once we came inside the dogs displayed a number of classic fearful behaviors; barking and hiding, tense body language, stiff or jittery movement and cowering any time they came out from behind the couch. These are all classic signs of cortisol, the stress hormone.

How to Help Fearful Dachshunds

Anything a dog is doing when you pet it is what you will amplify and this includes fearful behaviors. The guardians had been unintentionally encouraging their fearful behavior whenever they petted them while scared. This is probably the most common mistake people make when trying to help a fearful dog.

As Taylor asked the guardians about the dogs and their day to day life, we learned that they didn’t know many commands. Well just like humans, dogs develop self esteem and confidence when they master new skills. If a pair of fearful dogs ever needed to develop some confidence it is this pair of scared Dachshunds.

Since Wally and Tasha were so scared of strangers we used a delicate approach to training them. I began a clicker priming exercise while sitting on the floor. I tossed treats to encourage the anxious pups to come out from behind the couch. It took a lot of treats and no other attention from me, but eventually these scared Dachshunds were taking treats out of my hand.

Tasha was the more confident of the two for this session which puzzled the guardians, as she is usually the more fearful dog. Regardless, the treat tossing worked. I asked Taylor to repeat this approach when she returns for a follow up session.

Easy Way to Train Any Dog

The dogs were extremely anxious, and our session had already lasted a few hours. So, I want to share a great dog training tip. This is an easy way to train any dog, especially a fearful or anxious dog. I call it passive training and you can learn how to do it by watching the free positive dog training video below.

When training an anxious dog, it’s important to be mindful of what behaviors you’re reinforcing. For example, if you pet your dog when they jump up, you’re encouraging that behavior.

Instead, stop petting when the dog jumps and only resume once they calm down. This teaches your dog that calm behavior gets attention. Consistency and timing are key—reward or correct your dog within a few seconds to strengthen the connection.

Another good method is “concentrating.” This means paying attention to your dog when it does what you want.

For example, when it sits or comes to you on its own. Using a consistent command like “sit” or “come” while petting reinforces these behaviors. For families, a marker word can help coordinate training efforts and timing.

Over time, your dog will learn to offer good behaviors to get attention. However, do not reinforce bad behaviors, like chasing your dog when it steals something.

This teaches them that stealing gets attention. Also, don’t pet an anxious dog, as it can make the anxiety worse. Finally, naming toys can help your dog learn to retrieve specific items on command, further reinforcing positive behavior.

The best part of this easy way to train any dog is that anyone can do it. It’s a type of Operant Conditioning, but you don’t need to be a professional dog trainer to do it.

I wanted to share some other dog psychology tips that can help these fearful dogs learn to stop being scared of people. To help the guardians remember everything we covered in this in home Omaha dog training session, we filmed a roadmap to success video.