Good Dog Living

Spooked!!

This morning, I was walking into work with our visiting Future Guide Dog, Perky. There was a Coca-Cola truck parked outside making a delivery to our building. On the back of the rig, there was a great big poster of a polar bear, advertising for the local Zoo. Perky decided she didn't like those big brown eyes looking at her from the back of that truck!

Perky put on the brakes - nearly pulling me off balance in the process - and refused to go any further. She also proceeded to bark at the poster. The problem was that we couldn't get in the building without first walking by the truck. It was my responsibility to get her through this awkward fear. So when Perky put on the brakes, I calmly stood my ground. When she released the tension on the leash by coming forward a step or two, I would encourage her. Then I would take another step closer, thus putting tension on the leash again and waiting for her to make the decision to ease it by stepping forward.

We took our time - about 10 minutes - to finally get past the back end of the truck. And of course, I made her turn around and do it again. The second time, she walked better - still hesitant, but better. By the third time I made her turn around and do it again, she walked by with her tail wagging and tongue hanging out as though she was saying hello to the bear.

It's hard to say why she panicked; the important thing is that I never allowed her to pull away from the picture of the polar bear. She was going to have to face it, but we had to do it very carefully. If I was to simply drag her by the poster, it would have left her with a negative feeling and thus been detrimental to her training. Instead, it was important that she believed she had control of the situation and could make the decision on her own to move forward. Fortunately, she also has faith in me that I won't lead her into a bad situation (thus, the job a pack leader should have).

When you run into these types of situations with your dog make sure to remain calm. Allow the dog to soothe themselves but without allowing them to escape the problem. Take the time that is needed as you can't rush these kinds of things. If you do, the dog will sense it and it will only exacerbate the situation.

I also have to take a moment to thank the Coca-Cola driver and his trainee for giving us just a couple extra minutes of their time. They came out of the building while I was working with Perky and chuckled at the thought of her being afraid of the picture of the polar bear. She got to say a happy hello to them once she was able to walk by the truck with no problems.