As humans, we know about the extent to which fear can be subjective. Some people like that feeling, being a little bit scared in certain circumstances, which explains the existence of horror novels and films, and scary games. Others find the idea of voluntarily exposing themselves to something scary as utter insanity. Still others find difficulties in everyday living because they have a phobia of something most people regard as commonplace. I fall into that final category – I describe it in brief as a phobia of dolls, but it actually extends to what is known as automatonophobia, which is a fear of anything that imitates the human form. This can make clothes shopping ‘interesting’ as, while I’m usually ok with most store mannequins, some provoke a big old ‘NOPE’.
The things that scare me have no effect on the majority of people, and I am sure some of them would label me as ridiculous for being terrified of encountering something so ‘minor’. It does not make any difference at all to my levels of fear no matter how surrounded I am with people who would *shudder* cuddle a doll or play with a ventriloquist’s dummy. In addition, let us not even start with the people who think it is funny to try to ambush those with phobias with pictures of their triggers…
I am, obviously enough, a human being, and this means I have the capability for rational thought. Things will scare me, and I will go through all of the neurochemical and physiological changes involved in the fear response, but I can rationalise and calm relatively quickly from the state of terror.
The part of the brain responsible for higher thinking and rational thought is smaller in dogs than in humans. This means that they do not have so much capacity to analyse and reason through situations as we do. They live much more by instinct. It is important to remember this when dealing with dogs who are fearful or anxious. They cannot ‘get over it’ or ‘man up’ or whatever phrase some people like to use. Side note: I hate that kind of response to humans suffering with fear and anxiety as well, as it is never useful and completely lacks any sense of humanity or empathy. If that is all the advice you have to offer, thanks but no thanks.
This was brought home to me recently by an event that I mentioned on the Blue Merle Minion Facebook page. I wanted to add to my enrichment options for Finn. Buying a large shallow rubber tub seemed like a great idea as it can double as a little paddling pool just big enough for a collie dog if he deigns to get wet and as a ball pit when the weather is not ridiculously hot as it has been recently. Innocent enough, it seemed, as he is used to deeper versions of this style of tub—I use them in the garden, and he will happily dump his football in there to demand attention while I am trying to plant on vegetable seedlings!—and so I did not think anything of cutting straight into the wrapping when it arrived. Unfortunately, the wrapping was argumentative, and the tub rolled out in his direction. From his perspective, this new thing chased him as soon as it came into the house.
Utter drama ensued! He tried climbing up me to get away from this (to me) inoffensive tub, then steeled himself to dash past it at speed and out into the garden, where he remained and utterly refused to come in the entire time I was anywhere near the tub. Ridiculous, right? This tub was not going to harm him, in fact could not harm him.
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| Terrifying, isn't it? To Finn it is, and that's all that matters. |
What I thought of the matter is completely irrelevant. In that moment, to Finn, that tub was a monster out to get him. Even getting near it constituted extreme danger. He could not take treats, play with toys, or respond in any way to me at all when I was near the tub. This thing was supposed to make his life better, but clearly was doing anything but. How to change that fact?
Patience, empathy, and encouraging the scared dog to work things out for himself, in his own time.
I found a spot in the room we spend most of our time in – it is where my desk is at one end of the room, sofas and television at the other end, and is our main route out into the garden. This spot is out of the way of the direct route to the door, so Finn could walk past with a little distance between him and the tub. I also put a load of tennis balls in there so that, if he felt brave enough to explore, he would find something fun in there. At that point, I stopped paying the tub any attention at all and treated it as a completely irrelevant part of the environment. Finn quickly seemed happy walking past and so I left him to do as he pleased, if he wanted to have a closer look or ignore its existence for a little while longer.
It took less time than I thought – a little over 24 hours. I was sitting on the sofa in front of the television, tapping away at the laptop at the same time when I became aware of something touching my leg. On looking down, I saw a tennis ball. It could only have come from one place, as I made sure all the dog play balls in the house were in that tub. He had felt brave enough to investigate, and brought me a toy to play with.
We are not rushing things – the tub is still sitting there full of tennis balls (I say full, but at any point there are between 5 and 8 balls positioned around my feet in case I feel the need to play with a variety of them!) and Finn is still doing his own thing.
It is a balancing act, working with a scared dog. There is such a temptation to wrap them up in cotton wool when it is your own dogs, attempt to protect them from the world. In the long run that is not the kindest thing to do, as they learn nothing and their world cannot expand. However, by supporting the dog and giving them the chance to encounter and learn in controlled, safe surroundings and at their own pace, we give them confidence, resilience, and an improved ability to cope with what the world might send their way.
If you are interested in learning more about canine fear, canine anxiety, and reactive canine behaviour, check out the Canine Principles website. I talk about this company a lot (and write for their blog) and they offer some wonderful informative and ethical canine courses.
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Paperbacks are still via Amazon, although Conversations with Collies can be purchased direct from me via the contact form on my website.
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