Pethelpful's Understanding Fear Periods In Dogs

Improved Essays
Every creature in this world is afraid of something and dogs are among those creatures that have a variety of fears. Some of these fears have a clear origin, while other fears do not make sense in the first place. To be unaware of these signs may lead to long-term fears, which can be expressed in unnecessary behaviors, that can tick their human companions.

To help human beings understand these canine fears, it must be learned that a dog's life contains crucial fear periods that occur from puppyhood to adulthood. Knowledge of this certain phase in a dog's life may educate dog lovers further on how to approach their canine companions, particularly their fears.

Chapters of fear

In PetHelpful's article, "Understanding Fear Periods in Dogs",
…show more content…
In this period, it is crucial for dogs to learn how to stick with the pack for safety purposes, yet they must also learn about fear since it will be a crucial component for their survival.

In the book, "Dog Training for Dummies", Wendy and Jack Volhard relayed that puppies must learn how to run away if there is an unfamiliar entity that approaches them.

This was also the period where the dog's reactivity levels increase, prompting dogs to exercise defense, become protective, and become more territorial. It is also during the phase that dog owners frequently say that their canines' fear will just suddenly manifest.

Dogs are becoming fearful of novel stimulus or stimulus that was once encountered but did not fuel certain reactions.

Like the first fear period, owners must spare their dogs from traumatic experiences such as shipping dogs on a plane and various overwhelming episodes. They must put into mind that this fear period is set to contain bigger impacts that will prompt their concerns about the behavior of their canine
…show more content…
First, owners must be calm at all times. Dogs can determine how their human companions feel thanks to their ability to read emotions and body languages. They can perceive if their human buddies are greatly concerned or a bit tense about their canine's fears.

The second tip is for people to act like it is nothing. Capitalizing on the dog's ability to read emotions, some people discovered that by saying the lines "It's just a _________, silly boy!" in a casual tone, dogs will be trained to perceive that the stimuli are nothing.

Counter-condition is a useful tip that owners can use if a dog acts fearfully towards a specific stimulus. The said strategy can be employed by giving dogs treats. The moment the dogs refuse to receive the treats is an indication that the stimulus is too much for the dog to bear.

Owners were reminded not to force their dogs to deal with the feared stimulus. Instead, they must allow their canine buddies to investigate whatever it is that is making him or her

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Most beings are afraid at times, including humans and horses. For example, when John Grady is about to tame the horses, they are stricken with fear. “The horrified animals began to climb over one another and to break up and move along the fence in both directions” (98). Similarly, when Rawlins, a tough cowboy, is imprisoned he displays a similar sort of fear after being questioned. “He was almost in tears” (171).…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Two people watched the videotaped scenarios and looked for the seven different behaviors that were being tested for in the experiment. The tail up behavior was excluded because it was too hard to separate the positive behavior from the negative behavior. The researchers assumed someone could tell the difference between positive behavior and negative behavior but unfortunately dogs don’t wag their tails in only in the vertical or horizontal direction. Another limitation is dogs may be like people where everyone has distinct ranges of emotions, and not everyone reacts the same to different…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After attending telepathic night classes for a period of five years, Mr. Luthy earned his comprehensive doctoral degree in Organic Canine Psychiatry from the Keith Ablow Institute of Higher Mental Functions at Stanford University. He pioneered a well-respected treatment protocol for aberrant dog behavior based on the Inner Puppy School of canine psychoanalysis. He based much of his research on data gathered by studying Jacques 737’s memory banks, which retained the deactivated structural remnants of an emotional attachment…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    I use to own a Chihuahua Tea-Cup named Gizmo cute little black and white. We lived out in the country in Kerman so when we would pull up it would run towards us unconditional stimulus before condition. By seeing us pull to drive way it was unconditional response. By Gizmo just hearing the car engine it was a Neutral Stimulus and not seeing us it wouldn’t run to car unconditioned response. When it saw us and heard the engine it would run and wag its tail during conditioning unconditioned response.…

    • 120 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    At this point the evaluator instructs the handler to release the canine. For the extent of the test the decoy continues to flee and provide no further encouragement to the canine and the handler remains at the starting point. The canines behavior in this test will be assessed against the following ideal behavior. 1. Alert - The canine should show an undistracted intense interest in the decoy while he makes threatening gestures and runs away.…

    • 1473 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It had me wondering why every time I walk my dogs someone would act scared when they see them? It is something that has made me angry beyond belief that people are so uneducated aboutdogs and automatically assume they are horrible when, in fact, they are not. So, what gives this…

    • 2024 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Introduction All around the world, dogs have been living with humans since they became domesticated, and maybe even before then. Canines are now mostly human companions, a few being working dogs, but more likely they are just part of the family. As a result of breeding and selection of desirable qualities, we have created the over 350 canine breeds we see today (Pratt, 2004). In the past 50 years certain dog breeds have come under scrutiny for bad behavior, such as biting, and vicious attacks. Presently, as a result, laws called Breed-Specific Legislation, or BSL, have been passed imposing strict laws on particular canine breeds.…

    • 2211 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pit Bull Observation

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Despite being separated by a metal door with a barred window, the pups immediately made personal connections to me and called out for my attention. In particular, one of the Pit Bull mixes made a desperate plea for me to simply move over to her enclosure and acknowledge her presence. She would bark, yelp, and stand on her hind legs to look out of her enclosure in search of a moment of human interaction. Almost as soon as I came over to see the Pit Bull, she would calm down, wag her tail, and sit, completely content with me simply looking at her, revealing one of the beautiful natures of the human-dog relationship. This interaction illustrated the idea that canines have tapped into a mutual bond affecting the production of oxytocin, as it was evident that the human contact affected the overall feeling and attitude of the dog.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Try to come up with various situations that give you dog-related anxiety. Be as specific as you can in describing the scenarios, the environment where they would take place,…

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Study #1 Article Title: It’s Not Just About Salivating Dogs! Author: Ivan Pavlov Date of Study: 1927 Hypothesis: Ivan Pavlov believed that if a dog was exposed to a specific stimulus while being fed, the dog’s brain would associate the stimulus with the food; due to this association, the stimulus alone would prompt the dogs to salivate. Variables: The independent variables, or the variables being manipulated and tested, are the various stimuli that Pavlov used to ingrain a response in the dogs: the ticking of metronome, footsteps, the scent of vanilla, a rotating object. The dependent variable, or the variable measured and tested, is the presence of salivation in response to a neutral stimulus after the dogs have been conditioned to associate the stimulus with food.…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Another important behaviour that should be aware of is fear and aggression, by analyzing the dog you should already know it isn’t safe to approach when showing these two behaviors. When a dog is showing aggressive, he will normally its ears turned forward the forehead and nose will be wrinkled up and his mouth will be open, and also lips curled and the corners of the mouth will form a C-shape teeth and gums show, his tail will be stiff and his hackles will be raised. This will be the same for fearful behaviour accept his tail will be tuck between his legs, his ears will be laid back against his head, his corners of his mouth will be pulled back with lips slightly curled and teeth may be visible. body will be lowered with little or no…

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Parts of the figures were not in line because of experimental error. The data reveals that during the first exercise, Acquisition, Sniffy exhibits an increasing CR and CER as he is continuously being exposed to the CS, a medium intensity tone, paired with the US, a medium intensity shock (Table 1). We can note that the fear response is occurring slower because the CS is weaker. After the tenth trial in the first exercise, Sniffy has reached the plateau, which is when the level of fear is reached.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Influence Of Pets

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Pets are a significant origin of love and friendship for many people. It is also a widely known fact that pets are outstanding for our well-being. Studies show that the relationships between humans and pets are very unique and it dates way far back into history. Throughout the past, pets have been part of the human culture for an extended time. Specifically, dogs have developed to become profoundly adapted to humans and their conduct and feelings more than any other animal.…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    During the 1890’s, Pavlov accidentally discovered classical conditioning when feeding his dog. His dogs produced excess saliva when he entered the room with their food but he noticed that even when he entered the room with no food for his dogs, they began to salivate also. To begin his studies, Pavlov’s lab assistant gave his dog some food…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On one hand, by avoiding dogs she does not get bit again (Cooper, Heron & Howard 2007). On the other, she has learned through positive punishment to avoid dogs all together because of the sensations they create in her: increased heart rate; seating; fear and anxiety. This avoidance of dogs can be corrected through a program of operant conditioning that will slowly help her to overcome her…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays