how do i desensitise the dog ?

Legacy_user

Basically we have a terrier we rescued a few years ago, hes a lovely little chap but hes a scaredy cat with loud noises and my electric fire !

even if the back-light on the fire is put on he is shaking like a leaf. i don't want to traumatize him but its getting cold and id like to use my fire .

any suggestions.

trolleyrun

I also have a rescue terrier (mix). She was scared of lots of things when I got her. I taught her that when I say "it's all right" it means she's safe. Basically, whenever she got anxious about something, I said the phrase and petted her. It took a while for her to understand, but I'm so glad I did, as she still gets nervous about a few things such as fast cars and lorries. Only yesterday, we were walking up a road and a fast car came towards us and she got quite scared. I told her "it's all right" and she carried on walking happily.

Another example: in the early days she was terrified of the washing machine, growling at it and jumping when it made a noise. I got myself a cushion and sat with her on the floor by the machine for a whole cycle, cuddling her and saying the phrase. After that, she was fine with the washing machine and ignores it.

Do you have any history of your dog? It could be that he's been in a scary situation with fire. Can you hold him when someone lights the fire and you tell him it's ok? I'm not a dog trainer so I don't have any "official" advice, but that's what I would do. Good luck, and I hope you get to light your fire soon

Caroline_a

I think distraction techniques work well in this situation. So, nice treats, favourite (squeaky?) toys, etc. Beware of doing the petting and giving hugs when he shows fear or you will be rewarding for the fear. I have found that the best idea in these types of situation is to totally ignore what the dog is doing and carry on with normal life, doing stuff that involves dog. So, do mini training session, turn fire on halfway through, carry on as if nothing had changed.

krlyr

Recently it's been shown that you can't reinforce an emotion, so comforting anxious dog won't worsen the fear (it was previously thought you'd be rewarding and therefore encouraging the behaviour).

I'm on my phone so it's a brief post, but I think Kikopup's video on barking at scary objects may help

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5BjvNScFPs

System

We have no history prior to him coming to us,but the fact he is seriously like a jelly when we put the fire on /the smoke alarm goes off and doesn't like water makes us believe he has had some involvement in a fire.

meritaten

have you got a screen you could put in front of the fire? a solid one for now so he gets used to the 'glow' but cant see flames? then when he is calm with that use a mesh fireguard? remove that when he is fine with that. sort of like a gradual 'desensitising'?

System

we have tried just using the light function but he runs a mile

meritaten

no - what I mean is to try an oldfashioned type of 'solid' firescreen which covers up the fire 'display' part. so all he would see would be a glow? or should I say to block off the fire part - so he cant see it? then gradually introduce it back to him?
I agree with you - this dog has issues with fire and you may need professional help. but, desensitising is the same with people and animals and to my mind it should be done very gently and very gradually! I am not a big fan of 'confronting' your fears in the aggressive way so popular right now (but mainly with tv programme makers who don't follow up months later).

System

meritaten wrote: »

no - what I mean is to try an oldfashioned type of 'solid' firescreen which covers up the fire 'display' part. so all he would see would be a glow? or should I say to block off the fire part - so he cant see it? then gradually introduce it back to him?
I agree with you - this dog has issues with fire and you may need professional help. but, desensitising is the same with people and animals and to my mind it should be done very gently and very gradually! I am not a big fan of 'confronting' your fears in the aggressive way so popular right now (but mainly with tv programme makers who don't follow up months later).

Thanks -going to give it a go VERY slowly.

pawsies

Try Adaptil and a stuffed kong and allow him to have a covered place he can settle comfortably that is away from the fire.

meritaten

yes pawsies - distraction and calming techniques along with desensitising very slowly sound a good idea to me!