How to deal with fear ...

What exactly is fear ? The different sources :

A few definitions from Wikipedia:

Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger.

A strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat. Used with a diminished meaning in a large number of sentences when it is clear that true fear is not felt.

Thus, generally, it's what is felt in the presence of danger, when we feel we are in danger or at the thought of being in danger. To be precise, because for a man or a dog these three notions are essential. It's necessary to understand that the word 'danger' has also a variety of meanings, especially in its intensity.

The notion of danger exists on a wide scale for man, it goes from that of simple daily life (routine, physical comforts, personal relationships...) to that of pure surviva l.

For a dog, and for most animals besides, danger involves survival or physical preservation. In the wild, the slightest error of judgement can cost you your life, and this acute instinct for self preservation is still inherent in our domesticated fur balls.

Fear of the unknown :

Sometimes we think our dog overreacts ( why does he panic when it's only the noise of a lawn mower ? He hides under the table during a storm, it's ridiculous...), but if you stop to consider why he reacts this way, and try to put yourself in his place, you may better understand his behaviour.

I'm a little ball of fur and I'm only a few months old. I only know the smell of my mum and of my brothers and sisters, and that of the human who looks after us. I have only ever seen four walls and a floor made of cement, and a small gravel yard when I began to walk. Someone puts me on a green surface with lots of things sticking up which tickle my paws... What is it ?

Does it bite ? Mummy !!! (this is basically what a puppy bred in kennels may feel when put directly onto a lawn for the first time). To see him run around in a panic is funny to us. For him it's terrifying. And it not only concerns grass but all his surroundings... (taken to extremes, it's a pathology called the « kennel syndrome », and in that case, unfortunately, it's incurable, even if some progress can be made with much time and patience, or a serious treatment given by a vet... the dog can never completely recover from the errors made in the first weeks of life. One out of ten dogs bred in kennels may suffer from this … for the fifteen long years of his life.)

When the breeder's work has been well accomplished, the young puppy should already have gained quite a few new experiences before leaving his mother's care, these experiences always being made gently and progressively. As soon as the puppy is afraid, he is reassured, and the experience is renewed again later...a tiled floor, outside, concrete, gravel, stairs (careful with his legs ! Steps should not be jumped from at six weeks old, nor at six months either...) trees, rain, cats, children, the car, the vet ...to mention but a few.

But now the pup is home, you must continue the work. Take him for walks in different environments (in town, by the sea, in the country, in the mountains...), take him with you to public places (when it's possible), introduce him to your friends, to other dogs (and here a dog club can be particularly useful, especially as the dog trainers can give good advice most of the time, the puppy classes are a fantastic facility for those who know how to benefit from them...)

However, there will always come a time when something new and unknown crops up. And, according to his temperament, or, if you like, his character, your fur ball's reaction can vary from complete indifference to a deeply felt terror.

Protocol « violation » or people's lack of « canine etiquette » :

There are certain ancient fears that remain firmly anchored in dogs, in spite of millenaries of domestication : whatever comes from « above » (birds of prey would never refuse a little puppy for supper if given the chance, what comes from above also seeks to dominate, when it's another dog...), whatever enters our « personal space » (a fictional perimeter which surrounds us all, even us, like a comfort zone, or personal « bubble » so as to speak)...

These instincts in particular have resulted in a few simple rules that dogs always apply when interacting socially between themselves, but also with the rest of their environment.

For example, what comes from above is a threat. Purely and simply. Some dogs get used to strangers coming to stroke their heads without having met them before or without « introducing » themselves politely by letting the dog smell them beforehand (yes, good doggy, you see I love dogs, they're all so nice...)

Others react to the threat by growling, running away if they can... by biting if they can't run away (on a lead or backed up to a wall). And in this case, personally, even if mutual human decorum demands that the dog be strongly reprimanded (or otherwise...), I would tend to agree with our four-legged friend... We would never think of patting the head of a stranger in the street (we'd be taken for a dangerous madman...), any unknown dog deserves the same respect.

When meeting for the first time, dogs will begin to judge each other from a distance, then come closer, sniffing each other (to identify one another, it's the least they can do to be polite, even if a person would not appreciate being « sniffed » there...), turn around each other (never face to face, to look the other in the eyes face to face is pure provocation), make signs of appeasement (I come in peace, you see, I wag my tail, I stick out my tongue, I yawn, I walk sideways...), and in general, except for hormone problems or poor socialisation, the doggies end up playing together and jumping on each other as if they had been pals their whole lives.

People don't behave so correctly. They enter the intimate « bubble » without being invited, and in spite of all the evident signs of anxiety (panting, yawning, ears lain back, tail between the legs...), they don't understand, they don't let us smell them (you can't smell me there, it's disgusting!), and (the height of rudeness) scratch our heads, and even fondle us in places we're frankly not used to being fondled (and here I'm thinking about the difficult work of the judges in shows when dogs aren't handled regularly … I wonder how they manage not to be bitten more often, not to mention vets).

Most dogs adapt to our lack of understanding of canine signals, they often try to « exagerate » them so that we end up by seeing them (untimely barking is an example) and, with a lot of luck, by interpreting them correctly. A few of our canine friends, however, are often too young or inexperienced, or too nervous, and can find this kind of situation very stressful. That is when fear sets in.

« Strange » human emotions (for him) :

There are also other things which can make the dog anxious. « Non-canine » situations for example, which to him are incomprehensible...

Doubt, lying, ambivalence... do not exist in the social interaction of dogs. They feel « pure » emotions like joy, anger, fear... but not all three at the same time ! Humans, on the other hand...

Here's an example : You take your dog for a walk in the usual park, but you have a meeting that morning and you are in a hurry. You're happy to be walking your beloved doggy and it's a fine day, but you can't help thinking about the manager's face when he finds out that your dossier isn't quite ready. In addition, your favourite skirt is still at the cleaner's and you have nothing to wear. In a nutshell, you appear to be more or less relaxed, but inside, it's a turmoil. Don't be surprised if your dog doesn't come immediately when you call him... all this is certain to be very distressing for him.

You may say « All I need to do is to pretend that everything is all right, he won't see the difference. »

And this is the first mistake we make when we have a dog. We behave in the same way as with our husband, our parents, our neighbours... but the dog always knows. Indeed this way of reacting is always very disturbing to him.

Dogs are capable of seeing and perceiving micro-signals that we could never imagine, and that we send out unconsciously, however much we control ourselves and our emotions. He can smell pheromones, see the slightest dilation or retraction of your pupils, detect the slightest muscular tension, the slightest frown, the slightest change in posture. Indeed when we know that non-verbal language is the most important in canine communication, we understand why.

It's a question of his survival after all. Thus he sees everything that's going on around him.

To take the most common example, try calling your dog while thinking very hard that he definately won't come in any case... it's guaranteed to fail. He can feel your doubt, and that doesn't encourage him to want to be near you.

It's one of the most common signs of fear, and it always begins with the most insignificant things...

Christine COL

Translation by Helen COL