Developing Your Dogs Confidence

Let's not beat around the bush. Is your dog a bit of a wimp? A bit of a big girl's blouse when it comes to meeting new dogs. Of course each dog has a different character to the next, but can your nervous, frightened pet gain enough confidence to start socializing properly with other dogs. Even if their character by nature is shy and timid, you can help them develop their courage so that interacting with other dogs and humans isn't too daunting for them. It may be that they developed this because of a trauma in their puppyhood. They may also have other problems like separation anxiety. Firstly you need to understand that this won't happen overnight. Be patient. Little and often is the key to slowly building up your dogs confidence.

To begin with start obedience training. It's the first step in helping to socialise your dog as it will help them to feel comfortable in their body. The better they become at understanding commands the more their confidence will grow. You will praise them when they get something right and that too will develop their feeling of self worth. Physically doing jumps, tricks and runs, will give them a positive sense of their own body as well as strengthening them and keeping them fit. All of this is helpful in building up their self esteem. Teaching them to weave, play fetch and other tricks are great fun for both of you as well as teaching your pet about exercise. Do not baby them when they are learning. If they need to be corrected because they got something wrong, do it. They will feel more confident if they know their boundaries.

Dog socialisation means that your dog is taught (hopefully from a young age) how to feel comfortable with themselves around humans, other dogs and different environments regardless of their breeds and characters. Socialising them in as many different circles of people and animals is a good start. After the age of 4 months, if you have socialised your puppy he should be very confident with new company and surroundings. If you haven't done this from when he was a puppy or you've taken on an older dog, then the above obedience training will be a step in the right direction.

Take your dog to the park where you can both watch other owners and dogs. Believe me it will help your dog to get used to being around other dogs without having to interact at this stage. You need to do this as regularly as possible.

You could be unknowingly encouraging your dogs fear by your own behaviour. Next time you're out with your dog pay attention to how you react when another dog approaches. Do you immediately tighten the lead or guide your dog away from interacting? Do you talk to him and pat him as they come closer? You may think this is a good way of reassuring him but your dog will pick up on your reactions and take being cautious as the normal thing to do when they see a new dog. Keeping calm and walking ahead at a normal pace will not alert your dog to any problems. When your dog is frightened the first thing you want to do is comfort him. Don't, he will think you are encouraging his timid behaviour as the right way to feel.

Fear aggression is a state you do not want your dog getting in to. This is very hard to correct. It is exactly as it sounds, aggressive behaviour produced as a result of fear. Basically a dog will become aggressive first so that the other dog doesn't. If you find yours has gone too far down this road then you really should invest in a dog behavioural expert. No amount of obedience training will change the underlying problems. I say "problems" because it is quite a complicated issue. Fear, abuse, a lack of socialisation early on and possible genetic conditions could all be contributing to this problem. It may be that you never fully train your dog to alter this problem as it is so deeply rooted, but with a behavioural expert and plenty of patience you can definitely help to alleviate it.