Uo to date comments fro Kris Glover BA (Hons), MSc (CABC), CCAB APBC
Monday Myth: Don’t comfort your dog when he’s afraid of something as you will reward him for being fearful
Whether your dog is scared of fireworks, hot air balloons or the vets, many of our canine friends like to seek comfort by being close to us or even snuggling up really close and maintaining physical contact.
If you have a fearful dog that will do just that when scared, you might have been advised to ignore him when he does it, to walk away from him, avoid stroking and “babying” him so you don’t make him more fearful and rewarding him for all the panting, shivering, whinging and hiding.
Despite all that advice, a lot of us, sometimes guiltily, still cuddle our frightened dogs as this seems to be a natural thing to do. After all we care about our friends and hate to see them in such a state of distress, and really want to do something to make them feel better.
Fortunately more and more trainers and behaviourists debunk the myth about rewarding the fear and making your dog more fearful by giving him reassurance and attention. And here is why.
Fear, unlike, say, a “sit” command, is not an operant behaviour, which means that it is not motivated by reward, lack or reward, or punishment. Fear is an emotional reaction accompanied by a physiological response (increased respiration and heart rate, release of adrenaline and cortisol, dilation of the pupils, salivation) and it is mediated by the autonomic branch of the nervous system – which is not under voluntary control (unlike, for example, the muscles in our arms). In other words, your dog can’t do much about being fearful, just like you can’t help being afraid of spiders or heights (if that’s what you’re scared of). You can’t just say “be fearful, here is your treat” in the same way that you say “sit, here is your treat” - fear is not something one can influence in that way. Not to mention that if your dog experiences acute stress, his learning will be very limited - and even if you could reward fear, your dog would not be able to learn anyway (think how well you can concentrate on learning new tasks if you are stressed – probably not very well at all!)
What we can do, however, is attempt to change the emotional response our dog has to something by pairing the fear-inducing stimulus (e.g. fireworks) with something pleasant (such as food or cuddles)! This can help your dog slowly desensitize to whatever he’s fearful of, and your touch and attention will also help release “happy chemicals” into his nervous system (such as for example oxytocin, which is a known “relaxation hormone” released for example during nursing or massage).
So if your dog likes to be cuddled when stressed – go ahead and give him as much reassurance as you want. It won’t make the fear any worse, and can actually help your dog cope with the stressor.