Posted by Brad
on April 20, 2009, 11:23 am, in reply to "Re: Phobia"
I have found the best way to over come a dogs phobia of ANY given thing is to desensitize them by forcing them to encounter that given thing gradually. In the case of the plastic bag, I would take a small piece of the bag (say a 5 inch square) and hold it in your hand along with a treat the dog is likely not to refuse. My dogs would get raw chicken. If the dog takes the treat than give them verbal praise and get them exited and next time try a larger piece of the bag and build it up until you can hold a whole bag with no fear. If they do not want the treat and seem to still be afraid of the small piece of bag than try a smaller piece. Remember when you offer the treat to be calm and act as there is nothing wrong and do not think about the dogs possible bad reaction, just focus on the immediate task at hand. If this does not work than forcing the dog to be near a bag or two until they calm down and relax may be what is needed. This WILL work of done correct but could take a long time to complete so dedicate some time so you can fallow through with it. Get the dog in a small room or an area you can control where they go. Present a bag and let them panic and hide in a corner and calmly and confidently approach them with the bag and get it close to them. They will likely be shaking and not looking at you or the bag and may try to get away from you and the bag. This is avoidance and panic and may last a while depending on the level of energy and fear the dog has. But you do need to get close to them with the bag and hold that position. The goal hear is too let the dog were them self out and give up. They will give up but like I said this is were the waiting comes in. Some dogs will put up quite the fight here and you may think you are getting no where and if you give up at this point than you did get no were and also may have made the situation worse, so don't give up. If you decide to try this, than you must complete the task of you can make things worse. If not done correctly you can make the fear worse and loose your dogs trust. What you will soon see is the dog will drop there level of energy and submit to the situation. During this hole thing do not talk, do not get mad or frustrated and remember this is no different than giving a child a shot, it is going to hurt for a short time but in the long run worth the effort and the child's well being. The dog will get tired and submit the the situation and will soon see there is no reason to fear the bag. This could be dangerous if you are dealing with a dog that may bite out of fear so know what you are getting into and if you are not completely comfortable with what you are doing do not attempt this and seek out a professional that has done this before. I am not claiming to be a professional but I have done this with a few dogs for different things. My APBT Lily was afraid of brooms. She is a rescue dog and I believe previous owners hit her with a broom. If she saw a broom she would dart out of the room and go hide. This worked for her as the gradual desensitization would not work as she would bolt at any sign of a broom. She now can lay on her dog bed and I can sweep around her. This process took about 45 minutes with her and she was still afraid of the broom but was much better and I was them able to work on desensitizing her by asking her to lay on her dog bed in the room I was sweeping and gradually getting closer to her while sweeping over time. I can now touch her with the broom. Remember to be calm, confident and assertive at all times.
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