Fear & Confidence

We’ve all seen human babies sucking on pacifiers, their thumbs, or even on blankets and child experts tell us that this kind of instinctive sucking calms babies and makes them feel more secure. The same is likely true for dogs who can suffer from anxiety and stress.

If your dog will exhibit calm relaxed behavior when needed, it can help reduce stress and make everyone’s day smoother. When our dogs act calm, they will actually become calmer. Gradually, this state of relaxation will develop to match the outward behavior.

A “Velcro dog” wants to be where you are, no matter what and no matter where. A dog desiring closeness isn't a bad thing. If it's a symptom of separation anxiety building a dogs confidence can help them be confident when alone. If the behavior is new it can mean the dog is ill or in pain.

It’s understandable that dog owners would be interested in using music to facilitate calmness. And there is evidence that some music does indeed help dogs relax.

Noise canceling with noise machines, music or sounds from a speaker, or even just a circulating fan can help dogs with a noise phobia, or dogs that are scared of thunder relax.

Calming dog treats and medications can calm down an anxious dog and help build their confidence to approach new situations without anxiety.

An increasing percentage of clients are bringing dogs to me for help with fear-related behaviors. Many of my fellow behavior professionals agree: They, too,...

Marty Becker's Fear-Free Initiative embraces every dog's emotional well-being, as well as its physical wellness. Designed for pet professionals, the initiative promotes a holistic and force-free approach to handling animals.

Separation anxiety, aggression, fear of humans, fear of other dogs - though common, these pet behaviors indicate your dog may be suffering on a neuro-chemical level. How anxiety medications work in humans is still a considerable mystery, but we know that some also work on dogs. Can they help YOUR dog live a less stressed life?

apprehensive

One of the most irritating – and common – phone calls I receive in my capacity as a professional dog trainer is when dog owners urgently ask me to help solve their dog's behavior problem immediately – even though, as it often turns out, the problem has actually existed for years. Sometimes, it's even phrased as, If we can't get this fixed now

but thousands of owners count on them to calm their thunder-phobic dogs."