Entrance Anxiety

So the question was posed: I'd like to see you discuss how to get dogs into your business who might be scared. I'd love to bring my dog by, but I can only get her in if I pick her up and carry her through the door. She won't even go in for pastrami.

There's a lot written about counter conditioning your dog for the vet, which is a nice model, but obviously not quite the same. So, unfortunately I wasn't able to find a good reference, but there is a lot of information out there on counter conditioning and desensitization.

I'll preface this by saying I know the person who posted the question personally and a little bit about her situation, but I'll speak in much broader terms to cover the topic more thoroughly. So, here's my take on it, in an ideal world: The first step is to identify when exactly does the problem start. Do you see signs of anxiety when you first go to the car? Is it when you pull into the parking lot? When you walk up to the door?

Let's say she starts showing signs of anxiety when she gets in the car. How counter conditioning works is to make a good association with something that was bad. By forcing the dog into the car, you run the risk of flooding or learned helpless which I won't get into here but to say that it can lead to worse problems we want to avoid. We're trying to change behavior, not suppress it.

People who read my blog will also know that I am not a fan of positive punishment (leash corrections, hitting, etc.). All we would do in this instance is teach her that every time she gets close to the car she is punished. I won't go any further into that here either, but you should be able to see the down side to that.

So we might start by getting as close to as the dog can tolerate without going past threshold. For example, you can get to within 20 feet. Every time she looks at the car, give her a reinforcer, whether it's a treat, a favorite toy, praise, or whatever. Anything that makes her feel good, and it should be high value. Instead of the usual cookie, use a piece of liver (just a pea sized piece is plenty). It should be something that is only used in training, and not for everyday.

Once she associates the car with good things, move a little close. It may be as little as one step, or as much as 1/2 the distance. Just be sure she stays under threshold (freaking out to the point of ignoring everything else). You may even introduce having another person open the car door. When she looks at the car, treat, then have the person close the door. Eventually work her in this way with the car door left open.

Once she is comfortable working next to the car with the door open, instead of giving her the treat, put it on the door frame so she doesn't have to get in the car, but has to interact with it. Next, put the treat just inside the car, and so on. Something that may also help is opening the door on the opposite side so she can see a way out and doesn't feel trapped. Obviously you'll want to phase this out.

When she is comfortable getting into the car, close the door for literally one second, then open it and let her out. After a few trials of one second, go to two, then three, and so on. Then start the car, let it run for a second, then turn it off, and so on. To make the association stronger, once you can drive her in the car, go to the dog park or a puppy play date, or something really fun.

It's kind of like a recall. A lot of people complain that their dog won't come to them. Well, these people call their dog, the dog comes and they get the leash slapped on them and they go home or the get thrown in the crate or in some way they don't get to continue their play. What I do every time I take my dog out is call him, he comes, I reinforce the come, then let him go back to playing, sniffing or whatever. Only about one in five times do I put the leash on him and go home or make him go inside, or otherwise end the play. Likewise, only about one in five times she gets in the car should you go to the vet or the dog wash, or somewhere that might not be so fun.

Once she has a positive association with the car, you may want to come to the store, park away from the store, like down by the ATM kiosk, and work your way to the store in the same manner you worked your way to the car. If you want to start opening and closing the door to the store though, just let us know so we're not wondering what's going on.

Another option may be to bring the dog into the store and just sit down with her. Give her a few things to do like sit, down, or anything to preoccupy her. Then leave with her. A few days later, come back and do the same thing. If she's calm enough, maybe by the third or fourth time you could put her in a tub. Spend a minute letting her get used to the idea, then out of the tub, another sit or two, then leave. I have to say this would not be my first suggestion depending on the amount of anxiety, because again, we don't want to flood her or put her in a state of learned helplessness. I would really only recommend this in extreme cases (like having been sprayed by a skunk) or very mild cases.

This may seem like a lot of work and very time consuming, and honestly, it could take minutes, or it could take weeks. But it should change the behavior, not suppress it, and in the end, everyone should be happier for it.

One final note: According to Dr. Patricia McConnell in her May 4, 2009 blog (http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/you-cant-reinforce-fear-dogs-and-thunderstorms), "You can't reinforce fear." In the context she speaks of it, and in this context, I believe she is absolutely correct. So go ahead and comfort your dog when she's stressed, anxious, or fearful. It may not help, but it certainly won't hurt.