How to help your anxious dog feel a little less anxious

You know the people who see your dog whether it's in your home or somewhere else and rush towards them with a high squeaky voice exclaiming how much ALL dogs love them. Meanwhile your dog's shaking like a leaf and this person somehow doesn't get that she's frightening your dog more than anything else in that moment.

Advocate for your nervous or anxious dog's space by not allowing guests or other people to bombard them

Exposure is good, but make sure to give your dog ample space. Example a truck is idling loudly on the street and your dog is fearful of the noise. Instead of dragging you dog by it with an unheard attempt at soothing your dog like, "it's ok", get some distance. Cross the street, move by at some distance. This way you getting exposure to the noise without taking them into red zone where they just can't deal at all.

If your dog is fearful of other dogs, or is selectively reactive, don't hesitate to set boundaries with other people and their dogs. Please put your dog on a leash. No my dog doesn't want to say hi. My dog needs space please keep your dog back and thank you!

Use space again in this instance.

You can work your dog through this, but you can't make your dog get over it by putting them in red zone over and over again.

Fearful dogs often flee and by that I mean they will hide under a table or a chair. They might try to get between your legs. If you allow your dog to hide out, they'll never get over it. Use a leash if you have to get them to come out from hiding under things. Yes, give them some space if there's a house guest they are fearful of, another dog, whatever the case may be. Give them a job to focus on. It can be something easy. A trick. Going to a bed called "Park It". You know how it is when you can do a simple thing well. You don't stress. You just do it.

Set that up for your dog. But don't let them flee.

Teach your dog how to "Park It". I used an elevated bed, teach my dog to get on it and stay on it. Rewards. Duration. Distance. It will teach any dog, especially a nervous dog how to relax. It holds your dog accountable and they get really good at doing something that calms them down.

Teach your dog to follow you on a leash. When you teach your dog how to follow you they can let go of anxious decision fatigue and follow the leader. You become a true leader. Your dog can start letting go of the fear and follow you.

Have you ever felt like you just wanted a little down time without a bunch of interaction. Introverts are classic examples of this. Family gatherings, social obligations for work, anything where there's a lot of interaction can take it right out of you. All you want to do is go home and sit in a quiet space.

Dogs have this same things. Even those that seem like social butterflies.

Crate time is a good thing. It's not mean. It's not because your dog is bad. It's a great time to relax. To let go of all the stress of the outside world.

Anxious nervous dogs benefit from crate time in so many ways.

The perfect time to practice a down stay is in the car. It's a contained area. And it's much safer for everyone when your dog isn't moving around while you're trying to navigate driving.

It's as simple as this: you don't get even mediocre results when you aren't consistent. Any habit you want to change isn't going to happen unless you get consistent. That's especially true of anxious, nervous energy. Practice makes permanent. Consistently show your dog what to do instead of falling into the anxiety trap over and over again.

We've been conditioned for instant gratification. So many times I hear people say it's not working. Yet they've only tried to do a new thing with their dog (or themselves) for a day, or two. Or a week or two. Patience goes a long way. It gives off an energy that allows gradual permanent change. Patience doesn't require perfection in the learning stages.

Patience is a virtue. Don't expect big change to come overnight. Keep the vision you want to create and make small incremental moves to get to the place that looks like the perfect day for you and your dog every day.

Working with anxiety in dogs can be challenging. I'm here to offer you my 22 years of training experience in the Calming the Chaos Experiment. I'd love you and your dog to join me. You can find me here: Dog Life Unleashed