Overcoming dogs fear of heights/unstable surfaces

Question
Hi, I have a Newfoundland that is 150 pounds.  He is both a champion and a CD.  

His problem is that he gets very upset about being put up on a grooming table or any unstable surface.  One leg of his grooming table wasn't properly attached and it collapsed slowly.  I caught it as it was going down and the dog wasn't hurt at all, but then he flat refused to get on the grooming table again.

So I just bought a "pause table", the kind that you use in agility, from J&J dog, and set it at the 8 inch setting.  I put a rubber mat underneath it and on top of it.

I've been trying to get him on it, but he is still frightened of being up on any surface, even this very stable one that is only 8 inches high.

Yet, he needs constant grooming right now- it was a very cold winter and he his shedding a very heavy coat.

I'd like suggestions as to how to get him to use the pause table as a grooming table, and at what point it might be appropriate to try to raise it higher (it goes to 16 and 20 inches).

Also, he is in general very scared of unstable surfaces- he refuses to go over a wooden bridge on our bicycle path (and so we go around- which scares me to death- because to go around is to go on the interstate off ramp!).

I also have about 8 stairs down to the downstairs bath to bathe him, and he refuses to climb the stairs to get back up after his bath.

Any help would be appreciated!  I looked at your web site yesterday and it was very interesting.


Answer
Hi, Mary,

Thanks for the question.

I think the fear of being up on an unstable surface is related to a basic fear we all have, losing our balance, whether you call it a fear of heights or a fear of drowning, maintaining one's balance operates on a very deep, yet mostly hidden, level for all mammals. (Even though he's scared to climb the stairs, I'm impressed that you were able get him to go down them, which is most dogs are cautious about...)

I don't know if you've had a chance to read the blog entry* I made yesterday, but it's actually about one of the bits of advice I've given here recently. In it, I kind of compare to a dog who loses his emotional balance to a salmon who can't swim upstream. The way I see it, dogs inhabit a river which consists of a steady flow of emotions, not water. And when their emotional waters start rushing faster than the dog can "swim," that's when you get behavioral problems. The trick is to teach the dog how to handle strong feelings of resistance, either from external circumstances or from their own internal emotions.

There are two basic exercises that will help.

One is a pushing exercise, where you hand feed the dog all his meals outdoors, putting one hand, palm up, against his chest, while you hold out his food to him with your other hand. As he eats you slowly pull the food hand away, ever so slightly, until you can feel pressure against your other hand. Over time you need to get him to push into you so hard, you have to brace yourself or he'll knock you over!

Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/3balu6

One thing you'll find as he gets more and more comfortable with this game is that he'll working very hard not only to get to his food, but to maintain his physical balance as well.

The second-most important exercise is to play tug-of-war with him outdoors, to always let him win, and praise him enthusiastically for winning. Sorry that you have to do these exercises outdoors, but for various reasons they don't work as well when you do them inside.

Another thing I would do, is take him to a local park, or somewhere he loves to play, and make a game out of jumping up on the picnic tables. If he's in a place he associates with fun and playtime, and you get him to chase you or another dog, he may not even notice coming after you or the other dog when you jump on top the picnic table, for example. To him it'll just be part of the game. Then, once he's used to doing that while playing, you can start training him to obey some commands, like down and stay, while he's on top of it.

He sounds like a good boy, and I'm sure he'll be fine. I hope this helps,

LCK
*My blog: http://LeeCharlesKelleysBlog.blogspot.com