CharismaticMillie

I in NO way, shape or form believe that an owner is doing the responsible thing by coddling their fearful dog. Not one bit.

Why do you think a lot of small dogs have horrible temperaments? All too often, owners coddle them and don't allow them to be independent dogs.

Had I coddled Millie as a puppy when she reacted fearfully of certain things, I would INDEED have reinforced her behavior. When she was scared at the biked that zoomed by and bolted the other way while barking, what if I had said in my sweet, loving voice, "Millie, baby, it's okay!!!" While hugging and kissing her. She doesn't know WHAT I am saying, just that I am using a tone of voice she enjoys and that I am giving her affection. She would have thought that she could continue to do that behavior. Instead, I forced her to face her fears in a nonthreatening way by asking her to do a command and FOCUS on me instead of focus on her fear of the stimulus. I remained neutral did not show emotion in my voice while she was facing her fear/obeying a command. (For example, sit stay or down stay while the bike passed). As SOON as the bike passed, I showed my happiest emotions, gave lots of affection and we had a party, party reward session!

Now, if a dog is actually physically hurt, I think that is a different story.

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Happy tailwags from Peckerwood's Thoroughly Modern Millie, CGC and Ch. Safari's Specter, CGC!

JE-UK

I don't have a fearful dog, but I think I disagree.

In the scenario you describe, I would think it could just as easily be interpreted by the dog as "I get no support when the scary thing is there, but when it's gone, the party happens. Therefore, I want the scary thing to go away faster", don't you think?

I've seen some dogs bolt for home when they're frightened; I want mine to bolt to me .

I don't think a lot of small dogs have horrible temperaments. I think a lot of them have been frightened by people (the world is scarier when you are small) and the only option open to them to deal with it is to try to drive off the scary, looming people. Small dogs can be as confident as big dogs, but I think owners have a bigger role to play in making sure the little guys don't get overwhelmed.

CharismaticMillie

As soon as I started giving her a command to displace her fear with, do you know what she still does to this day when faced with something she fears (which is rare)? She looks to ME to tell her what to do. This is exactly what I want. I also increased her confidence by allowing her to safely face things that she was unsure of. She's now the most confident dog I've ever owned.

I think that this strategy would work with most dogs that have normal temperaments but show fear to some novel things. Perhaps more special needs dogs that actually have fearful personalities would need more coddling, like you describe, I'm not sure.

I won't comment too much on small dogs because I've never owned one. But everytime I see one with a terrible temperament, I see some owner pick their dog up and carry it everywhere, sheltering it from everything and coddling it, maybe even dressing it up in cloths, rolling it in a stroller, you get my point.

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Happy tailwags from Peckerwood's Thoroughly Modern Millie, CGC and Ch. Safari's Specter, CGC!

fjm

Surely it is all a matter of degree? If a dog is fearful I certainly would not add to the fear by sweeping her into my arms and cradling her with a flood of baby talk. I would - and do - step between her and the scarey thing, and show her I will protect her. This has the added advantage that my dogs, if scared, head for the space between my feet! If she then wants to approach it, fine, and she gets lots of praise for being so brave - if not we go round. Mine are very small dogs - there is a lot in the world that could be dangerous to them. At the same time, I don't want them to learn that they have to snap and snarl to protect themselves - I am there to take care of them.

If it is a physical hurt, I provide comfort if appropriate, and a "Don't make such a fuss about nothing" if she is being a drama queen.

There has been fairly recent research that rather contradicts the adage that offering comfort reinforces the fear - reinforcing fear in dogs TheOtherEndoftheLeash

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

CharismaticMillie

That article suggests what I was thinking, which is that it depends on the type of situation.

If the fear can be overcome by allowing the dog to face their fear in a way that feels safe to them, I think that is 100 times better than just coddling them.

Like the article states, if a dog is barking at people because he is afraid of them, the person giving the dog a treat will not reinforce the behavior (if fear of the person was the true case.) I don't see that as coddling at all. I see that as helping the dog face his fear. This is exactly what I would do.

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Happy tailwags from Peckerwood's Thoroughly Modern Millie, CGC and Ch. Safari's Specter, CGC!

Fluffyspoos

I've groomed dogs that were constantly coddled and babied at home.. man I hate grooming those drama queens. Oh no, there's a tiny mat in my tail, I'm going to SCREAM like you're killing me and make everyone stare!

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Rowan

As a miniature poodle owner (well, two minis and one really small standard), I'm personally subjected to the "bratty small dog" assumptions not to mention the "poodle put down syndrome" a LOT. I don't think size makes a difference at all; I've encountered just as many bratty large dogs. (But I do believe people are much more tempted to "baby" small dogs--ala Paris Hilton--to include dressing them up in ridiculous outfits and carrying them around in gemstone studded purses. It's no surprise this treatment results in an unstable, neurotic dog.)

As I stated upthread, I don't 'coddle' or pamper my dogs when they're scared. I do my best to redirect their attention and that snaps them out of the behaviour (as Chocolate Millie described as well). Dogs react to stimuli differently than people, and quite often this reaction isn't the desired behaviour (much like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum to get a Twinkie; you give in just for some peace and quiet and they learn that a temper tantrum equals Twinkie). If I pampered my dog when he was barking wildly at a jogger, then he'd come to associate the behaviour with getting attention and I predict he'd repeat it. So instead I correct him and immediately redirect his attention to something more productive.

Granted, this isn't necessarily the same as a fearful dog, and I'm working with a fearful dog right now. He has a tendency to hide behind me when he's unsure about something. Measured reassurance does seem to boost his confidence in trying situations--it lures him out and he soon realizes the 'Big Bad' isn't so scary after all. I also rely on his confident brothers to prop him up (and thank goodness for the power of the pack)!

It's all about moderation. Measured reassurance...if I scooped him up and cooed over him every time something startled him, I don't think he'd ever learn to be a independent, self-assured canine.

ETA: I think the same applies to children, although I'm no expert as I don't have any!

littlestitches

It is exactly like that with children.

The more information I get about raising well adjusted dogs, I see it is pretty much the same as raising well adjusted kids. Except it sounds like it is easier to toilet train a dog


Paula

Rocketagility

I try to never react ever, I usually try and give a happy emotion. Lets say we are driving and I have to brake hard and avoid a accident. I will laugh and make it into a happy event, I sure don't want my dog to think driving can be scary.

Same kind of thing if a dog fall off a piece of equipment I don't react. I mean if the dog is really hurt I might have to carry the dog off to the vet but again I will be calm and not react. If the dog is not hurt then I might give a quick pat and then back on the obstacle.

If you coddle I am sure you will change your dogs behaviour and it wont change in a good way. Build up your dogs confidence and don't support the opposite.