Life is unpredictable and sometimes, things can occur that could frighten your puppy. The benefit of desensitization training for puppies is the lower risk of your puppy experiencing an uncertain situation later in life and reacting! Imagine going out with your puppy and something startling happens, thanks to desensitization training, you can regain your puppy’s attention much faster and easier. It will condition your puppy to look to you for guidance and also help them remain calm during those types of incidents.
If your puppy is still nervous with the sound of the blowdryer or vacuum, keep the appliances near your puppy, turning them on for only a few seconds, and give your puppy something to work on. Pick a routine like “Come” from “Place” and back to “Place” and “Sit”, or something your puppy really knows and enjoys doing to ease the pressure of working with a loud and scary appliance.
Luckily, there are plentiful resources on the internet! YouTube search any of the noises that we listed before and you can find plentiful video loops. Also, there are apps available to download on your phone with similar sound loops. Play these sound loops during your puppy’s playtime, or when they are in their crate, or just hanging out with you. The key is that your puppy is listening to these sounds in a calm and controlled environment. You can control the volume of the noises, starting at the lowest setting and gradually increasing to higher levels up to where your puppy tolerates and as your puppy grows more comfortable.
How did your puppy’s desensitization training work out? Like a lot of things related to puppy training, desensitizing your puppy to sounds takes consistent repetitions. But you don’t have to do this all your own! Join us each Wednesday at 1 pm PT on @thepuppyacademy Instagram for our LIVE Q&A with our expert trainers. We’ll talk about desensitization techniques you can try with your puppy, plus more useful puppy training tips!
There are two instances we recommend you focus on when it comes to sound desensitization training your puppy. The first, being during downtime. So think of your puppy’s crate or playpen when they are settling in during the day for a rest. Play the loop in the background on low to help them get used to it as part of their normal every day. Then, the second, when your puppy is actively working on an easy and enjoyable training routine, like “Come” for their food bowls. The reason why is because you can’t magically make your puppy not be afraid of something but you can use food to condition to look at you when uncertain situations happen. This builds a positive habit of your puppy relying on you.
Desensitization Plan for Dogs Afraid of the Vet’s Office
A lot of dogs become frightened visting the vet, but the following plan should help boost your dog’s confidence and ease her fear.
If there are specific things your pup is worried about in the clinic, such as walking onto the scale, spend some time working towards that.
Every time she steps toward the scale (on her own — don’t coerce her), give her a treat and then let her decompress by walking away from the item or situation.
This goes for anything she may find scary in the clinic, such as stethoscopes, the exam rooms, etc.
If she is worried about strangers touching her, you can spend time desensitizing her to this scenario with the help of the veterinarian or vet techs.
Have people approach her, move their hands slowly near her, and eventually they should touch her. Again, watch her for those subtle signs of stress and stop before it becomes too much for her to handle. You may want to start this process at home, first.
A good way to counter-condition handling is to have a spoonful of peanut butter (a great high-value treat) for her to enjoy as you work on these steps.
How Can You Tell if Your Dog Is Afraid of Something?
Fear can come in different packages, and dogs show signs that they are frightened in different ways.
Some dogs will cower and run when frightened, while others will act defensively towards a perceived threat. Some will do both, depending on the trigger and the situation.
Dogs operate in what we call ‘fight or flight’. If they are scared, most dogs will want to run away, distance themselves, and/or mitigate the situation as quickly as possible.
However, if they feel trapped, like they don’t have the option to flee, you might find that fear turns defensive or even offensive, manifesting as aggressive behavior.
Things that may make her feel trapped include a leash that’s restricting her escape and movement, being confined in a small space, or feeling cornered.
Dogs who react defensively in these situations are essentially trying to scare off the potential threat.
This type of reaction might become worse over time when your dog learns that this behavior makes the threat retreat. In these cases, the behavior can become inherently self-rewarding.
In the dog behavior world, we often refer to aggression as a ladder. As dogs become increasingly frightened or stressed, their behavior “climbs up the rungs” of a metaphorical ladder.
The lower rungs of the ladder feature subtle, sometimes barely detectable signs of stress and unease (which are often missed), and the rungs become increasingly aggressive toward the top, including things like snaps, snarls, and even bites.
Some dogs will continue to climb the rungs toward the top of the ladder, but extreme stress can cause others to withdraw and “shut down“ (a term used to describe a lack of behavior when a dog is profoundly fearful and unable to react at all).
Let’s break this down further to examine what fear can look like. Not all dogs will show all of these signs, and the response they exhibit will also depend on the type of trigger.
Below, we’ll share some examples of the subtle signs of stress, some of the signs associated with elevated fear or arousal levels, and finally, some of the signs that are associated with the “top of the ladder.”