fear of flyswatter

Question
So i have a wonderful cattle dog who i got from the pound. She happens to be terrified of the flyswatter. she cowers and runs away whenever we use it.  all I know of her background was she was found as a stray. how do we show her that the flyswatter is not something to fear? she has  never bbeen struck in our house.

Answer
Of course, it could be that she's been hit with one in a previous home. It could also just be the movement and the noises it makes. I like to teach dogs to "target" to get them over fear of objects. Start with something non-scary like the outside of your first two fingers or a ball. If she reaches forward to explore them, you click (or use a marker word) and give her a treat. Soon you can have her targeting all sorts of things. Then introduce the flyswatter. (flat on the ground). Don't ask her to interact with it. Just wait until she decides to and reinforce it. If she has a history of being reinforced for touching objects on the floor, she'll probably get around to it. An alternative is to put on on the floor and leave some extra good treats on top of it. Again, let her do this at her own speed - don't push. When she's fine with it on the floor, you can spread a little peanut butter on a clean flyswatter, and allow her to lick it off while you hold it. To keep things progressing forward, I'd probably put her out of the room when you are killing flies. Sandy Case MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com