HOW TO DESENSITIZE YOUR PUPPY AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Thunderstorms can be a very harrowing experience for dogs. The sudden onset of loud claps of thunder and lightning tend to freak dogs out. Generally, their flight instinct will kick in and they will often escape the confines of the yard or house in an attempt to escape the frightful experience.
Exposing your puppy to the world teaches him.her what to expect in certain situations and what you expect them to do. Desensitization takes place when we introduce the puppy to a variety of people, places, and animals and teach them how they should act.
During this period of desensitization take your puppy to a variety of places to meet as many people as possible and to meet other animals such as dogs, cats, horses and cows. Continue to do this over the lifetime of your dog for best results. Repetition and continuing exposure are important. When first introducing your puppy to these new things and places it is very important to avoid frightening experiences. When introducing your dog to a new dog make sure that the dog is friendly before exposing your dog to a potential attack which could traumatize your puppy and develop into dog aggression later in the dog’s life. And when introducing your dog to children you should carefully instruct the children on how to behave and how to meet him/her before simply throwing your puppy into a group of screaming, jumping children who might terrify your puppy. If your puppy is frightened then the experience my form negative associations with children in your puppy’s mind which may last throughout his/her life.
You should desensitize your puppy gradually in slow steps. Having some basic obedience will help before you begin so that you have some ability to control and get the puppy’s focus. Begin in a safe and controlled environment so that if something goes wrong or if the puppy displays fear or other inappropriate responses you can reassure and calm him. Basic obedience can help your puppy feel more confident and that you are in charge and that there is no reason to feel anxious in new situations.
Your puppy is very sensitive to how you respond to situations and will pick up on your anxiety, fear and emotional responses. Staying calm and cool in new situations is very important. For example, if you become tense and nervous when introducing your puppy to a new dog because you fear that he might be aggressive your puppy might think that you are afraid of the new dog., sensing your fear your puppy might become more aggressive thinking it should protect you. On the other hand, if you praise and coddle your puppy every time it runs and hides in fear of something, you may unintentionally encourage its fearful behavior. Your coddling may convince your puppy that its fear was justified, and continue to be afraid in similar situations, which will continue to be reinforced by your praise and reassurance.
Prevention is Better Than the Cure
If you have a new dog or puppy, introducing thunder and loud noises as part of a socialization program is ideal. Below are some steps you can do to introduce your dog to loud noises.
While playing with your puppy, have another house member bang on a saucepan in another room. If the dog is startled, ignore that behavior and attempt to give them attention to distract them. Make the introduction of the louse noise a positive experience.
At the next session, move the noise closer and closer until you are making the noise in the same room. Even use food and rewards to give the dog a positive experience of the sound.
If the dog acts startled or shows fear, do not reinforce this behavior or try to reassure it. just lessen the noise and continue as if nothing is happening, try to make yourself and the play/rewards really, really fun.
Eventually, you should be able to drop pans and all sorts of things beside the dog without them flinching. As far as the thunder goes, there are CD’s and digital recordings of thunder everywhere that can be purchased. Expose the dog or puppy to the replays of thunder the same as you would introducing the loud banging noises of pots and pans.
Another great place to expose dogs to loud noises is beside roads and cars driving past. Start in a suburban street and just let cars drive by. The fast motion and noise should intrigue the dog but not be too overwhelming to scare it. Again make the experience positive and fun.
Increase the exposure to the side of busy roads over time. These roads will have a multitude of vehicles, trucks and motorbikes that will expose your dog to the different tones of vehicles.
It won’t be long before your dog is taking all of these things in its stride. Desensitization to loud noises should be part of a dog’s socializing program from the get go. Like in all dog training, addressing possible problems before they arise is a much better way to own a dog than dealing with the problems after it exists.
For dogs that already have a fear of loud noises, use the same exposure program. You may have to take things quite slow and let the dog’s reaction dictate how fast you expose them to louder noises.