Fearful Dog Sees Horses in the Park

Fearful Dog Going To Park To See The Horses.
One of the big problems I need to train for with this dog is overcoming its fear of new places and situations.

On today’s post we are visiting the park to see the horses and greet other dogs. I am continuing to building this dogs confidence with trips into the community. Often I find that a dog will get better or worse when exposed to stressful events. Fortunately this dog will get better with each exposure to the event. On this outing we’re working at a new location so this is a big adventure for a little dog.

This is the same dachshund mix from Long beach that is staying with me for a homestay dog training program. Yep, he’s the one who is a little fearful. We started this trip by visiting a new store location and then moved to the park and eventually to the equestrian center. He had a little problem with the new store, but adapted nicely after we passed the automatic doors. On the way back he was much better with the doors. When you have a very sensitive dog you always need to be extra careful when working in new locations.

You may notice that I have a slip collar on this dog. With this dog the slip collar of choke chain is not used to make a correction. It is used because it is the safest collar to use with a very fearful dog. If the dog panics and tries to slip out of the collar it will not be able to get away.

You will also notice that I use a lot of food rewards with this dog. Not only am I using food, but I’m also asking the dog to perform a behavior. An interesting thing about the behavior is that executing the behavior requires some degree of self control. I’m asking the dog to come to me. Towards the beginning of the video you’ll see what happens when the dog is under too much stress, it won’t take food.

On this outing we encountered several new dogs. Although he was a little cautious of the new dogs he remained passive and peaceful.

Seeing the horses also went okay. He wasn’t exactly thrilled to see such large animal, but he did manage to approach the corral.

We ended the outing with a walk through the shopping center. By the time we finished it was a bit after sunset and time to go home.