nervous dog behavior

Question
My 10-year old brittany has recently become very nervous whenever we are dealing with our 3-year old dauther's temper tantrums.  The "terrible 3's" have just recently started along with our dog's nervous behavior.  She will quiver, try to get very close to us, put her head down or sit in a corner.  It's difficult enough to deal with the 3-year old tantrums, but how do we now add in calming the dog as well?

Your advise would be greatly appreciated!
Terri

Answer
Dear Terri,

Don't coddle the reaction; she could interpret this to mean that you are praising it.  Older dogs sometimes get much more afraid of certain things than they did when they were younger; there could be many different reasons for this.  Nothing you're describing sounds like it's really causing a lot of problem (such as destruction, biting, aggression, self-mutiliation, loud howling, or such) so your Brit may just have to endure this period (which, as the mom of a 5 & 6 year old, I can tell you won't last forever!).

There are products out there which may help:  A DAP collar or plug in (do a search and you'll find several), or herbal Rescue Remedy which you administer at or prior to the stressor for a less extreme reaction to it.  The DAP is a continuous, ongoing treatment which, if effective, makes more sense since you don't have to give it at the time of the tantrum.  

Otherwise I'd say give your Brit a place she can go for peace and quiet when the tantrum starts.  A separate room with the TV or radio on could help, and you could even give her a stuffed Kong toy to keep her mind off the issue at hand.  But if it was my dog I'd likely just let her be and know that the Terrible Threes will be over soon.

Good luck and thanks for writing.
Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com