What Is Your Dog Afraid Of?

Dogs are afraid of all sorts of weird and wonderful things from the sound of the wind to beards, hats or TV remote controls.

But as amusing as some of these fears might seem, living with a fearful dog is never easy. I’ve come across owners who can only walk their dog after dark because they are terrified of seeing other dogs, those who can’t even invite their friends and family into their own home because the dog is so frightened of people and others who can’t get their dog to set foot outside the house without shaking..

A dogs fears can also contribute to other behaviour problems such as fear aggression, excessive barking and destructiveness and other conditions such as separation anxiety in dogs.

Top Dog Fears

Noises seem to cause the most fears and there are many dogs who are afraid of thunder, storms and fireworks. Loud noises are perhaps more understandable to us, but equally you will find dogs who are afraid of noises such as the telphone ringing, the vacuum cleaner, or the doorbell.

People can also be a great source of fear amongst dogs, with some dogs singling out men or children to be afraid of, and others being afraid of particlular things about people, like beards or hats or particular voices. I heard of a dog that would always bark ferociously at the sound of a popular newsreaders voice, but at no others.

Places can also make dogs afraid, ranging from wide open spaces right down to developing fears about peeing in their own favourite backyard spot. Some of them are hard to understand, especially when a dog suddenly is afraid of a place they have used for years without worry. On a forum recently a dog owner was discussing how her dog was suddenly afraid of being downstairs and would rush upstairs at every opportunity and spend her time looking nervously back down the stairs. She would only come down when desperate to pee or when offered a walk and then would run down the stairs and out the door as fast as she could.

What Causes a Dog to be Afraid

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Genetics, nuture, and trauma are all thought to be sources of a dogs fear, but there are plenty of times when a dog owners can’t link their dogs suddenly developed fear up with any one of these causes.

As all dogs personalities are different, its easy to believe that some dogs are born with a more sensitive or nervous character than others, but is the same true for particular breeds? Some believe so, but a quick trawl of the internet showed up a range of breed you wouldn’t necessarily associate with being fearful:

• A massive Bull Mastiff who runs away from children
• An Australian Shepherd afraid of any fast movement
• A Basenji scared of leaves and the wind blowing

Nurture, or the way we treat our dogs from day to day, also plays a part in creating frightened dogs. For instance, poor socialisation can make some dogs afraid of people or other dogs. But while it’s perfectly understandable that a dog who has been mistreated is likely to be fearful, we can’t discount they many well looked after dogs that develop fears too.

Trauma, or a bad experience often relates directly to the dogs fears. Dogs intensely afraid of fireworks and other loud sounds have often had a bad experience connected to that sound. Countless Americans mention the firecracker thrown carelessly close to their dog around the 4th July as the source of their dogs fear. But yet again, a dog doesn’t have to have a traumatic experiece to become frighthened of something.

How To Tell if Your Dog is Afraid

Common signals that show your dog is afraid can be seen in their body language which includes the tail tucked under, head down and a cowering stance. Their actions could also include panting or drooling, pacing the floor, hiding in cupboards or under furniture, trying to escape, whimpering, or barking frantically.

Sometimes the things that make your dog afraid go unrecognised or the behaviors are attributed to other problems, such as a dog being stubborn because he refuses to do something rather than frightened of doing it.

What To Do When Your Dog Is Afraid

Fear is a powerful force and a dog that is afraid can be difficul to deal with, but there are both short term and long term strategies you can use to help them cope.  It’s clear that a fear can come out of the blue, from almost anywhere and it’s often hard to identify what caused it,  so focus less on what they do and more on how you respond to them.

Stay calm yourself. This is really important to your dog as they will pick up on your anxiety and it will confirm that they are right to feel anxious, which in turn can make them feel even worse.

Dont try and comfort them too much. The more fuss you make, the more of a big deal it becomes. You need to act like there is nothing to worry about, so by all means pet your dog or play with them, just don’t go over the top.

In appropriate situations some over the counter, non harmful medication like Rescue Remedy is said to help. Other products that dog owners have had success with are a Thundershirt, or DAP which releases a calming pheromone into the air.

Learn how to desensitise your dog to whatever they are afraid of. Long term this is the best strategy, but will take time and patience on your part. It works by giving your dog mild exposure to whatever they are afraid of, and pairing it with a positive response from you such as giving your dog a treat, some praise, their favourite toy, or a play session. Use whatever your dog enjoys most. You should gradually increase the exposure to the thing that frightens them, little by little, making sure they never start to panic. For noise phobias such as fireworks, you can get a specially made CD of the sound.

If you’re looking for a dog training programme to help you, check out our Dog Anxiety eBook as it provides a highly effective, step-by-step approach to dealing with an afraid dog, or get access to our free dog anxiety video training by entering your name and email in the box at the top of the page.