DOG BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS
Negative Associations
Lots of people describe their dogs as “not liking men” or “won’t get in the car” or “doesn’t like German Shepherds”. These behaviours can be because of a negative association. This could be the result of a previous encounter that didn’t go so well, or the dog might be reading how the owner feels. If your dog suffers from something like this then we can gently help your dog to overcome it and build confidence.
Dogs can decide that they don’t like something. This can be anything from inanimate objects to specific dogs or people.
Why?
As human beings we need a narrative – a story that explains why something is as it is. It’s easy to think that a rescue dog doesn’t like something because they have had a bad experience with it in the past; this makes sense to our need for narrative. When we look at a dog’s associations we need to be careful to view the world as the dog sees it, not just to fulfil our need for an explanation.
What is the dog doing?
The place to start is to look for the trigger. What sets the dog off? What is the set of circumstances?
How can we help the dog?
Depending on the trigger we can then find the remedy. It might be appropriate to gently expose the dog to the trigger and use rewards if it stays calm. It might be possible to build positive associations around the negative.
