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Writer's pictureLevi J

Can you Reinforce Fear?

Updated: Apr 9

Plainly and simply yes... You can reinforce fear.


Right away, a lot of people are going to disagree and cherry pick studies, people and all sorts of information to discredit and dismiss the fact that you can.


AND I'll bet they have done it and still do, unknowingly because according to them, you can't...


We'll explain what is happening, how it happens from the dogs perspective, what is commonplace now for owners and professional trainers and my personal approach in the examples given.


Recently this topic came up on social media and very notable and popular people in the dog world have made claims that you can't reinforce fear. Because fear is an already aversive emotion or mindset. The argument being that because the dog doesn't want to be fearful, you can't reinforce the fear.


Already, this doesn't make sense to me because aggression is also an aversive and people reward aggression all the time whether they mean to or not, or whether they know or not- rewarding aggression is an essential part of a lot of bite work.


*A quick note, to not get too of course, but there are different types of aggression- predatory, territory, defensive.*


I disagree with this. I don't think that fear is an emotion when it comes to dogs. It is more a mindset and that mindset is "self-preservation." When you think of fight or flight or freeze, those are fear responses. The dog bites out of fear to save itself, the dog flees out of fear to save itself or the dog freezes because it may not have the former two responses in them to fight or flee and accepting whatever is happening. The easiest and fastest way to deal with and get through this is freeze. The mental ability to bite (doesn't have the genetics/temperament or has learned biting doesn't work) and the option to flee has been taken away. So they freeze.


Even if we say that fear isn't an emotion, that it's a mindset, you absolutely CAN reward/reinforce that mindset. Whether you use words like saying "That's okay, you're okay." or you're petting them, thinking it's calming or soothing. It's not. You are reinforcing their insecurity, telling them that this fearful mindset is what you want.


***Slow and gentle pets can be soothing, but when you consider the mindset they're in, you're reinforcing that fear response.***


The easiest and probably most common examples we can look at is fireworks.


If a puppy is twelve weeks old and they're around the house or yard and fireworks go off so they freak out and run away, we'll go track them down, pick them up, tell them it's okay and pet them. We have now just reinforced that response to fireworks. The fireworks happened, they FLED and when we got to them, we rewarded the fleeing response.

Are you still with me?


When the dog is eight months old and fireworks go off again... What's most likely going to happen?


In all of this, the dog has never learned to deal with the stress.


- Fireworks start going off.

- The dog isn't leashed or tethered and it's not in a confined area like a crate, kennel or pen.

- It doesn't understand what is happening.

- It is trying to save itself by running away.

- We are unknowingly rewarding their fear response.


These responses are NOT going to change or get better as they get older if we continue to let it happen. It is NOT something they "grow out of" they actually grow IN to it. It will become the normal response and this will bleed over into other situations and stimulus and can cripple a dog with anxiety and fear for it's life.


It might seem to make sense or seem compassionate for us to tell them it's okay and pet them. If our intention is help them and our goal is for them to not be afraid of fireworks, that's NOT how we should be treating a dog in this situation.


Some people think it's the opposite where you can correct the fear out of the dog...


That is also wrong. And that's not my approach as some people would jump to believe or assume based on what I've said so far.


When you try to correct the dog out of a fearful mindset, you've actually reinforced or validated the fear because now fireworks mean they not only have to worry about the fireworks but also they have to worry about YOU because correcting them at this point hurts our trust. We are not helping them build self confidence or trust in you. It has the opposite affect, they are MORE fearful of fireworks and us as we have damaged their trust in us. It's just a stress and fear lasagna.


Fireworks

Fear

Correction

More Fear

More Fireworks

More Fear

Correction

More Fear


That's not a healthy lasagna.


Let's break down the dogs perspective.


For twelve weeks of its life, NOTHING like this has ever happened. In all likelihood it can't see the fireworks and I think it's pretty easy to understand how the dog feels threatened and is trying to save itself by running away from the loud noise.


*Additionally, a dog, maybe your dog, vocalizes someway in response to a fearful stimulus in combination with one of these other responses. Barking and growling are distance increasing sound, meaning dogs use this as a tool to make things move away from it. Whining is a distance decreasing sound- when a dog wants something*


Let's step back and ask ourselves:

What is going to happen to the dog if we just sat there while the fireworks went off?


The fireworks aren't being shot directly at you and the dog, there isn't actually any threat or danger but we can't communicate that verbally to them. Any verbal language to a dog, especially one so young in that mindset/situation, it's ALL nonsense. If we want to build understanding, confidence and trust, the dog is going to have to deal with the fireworks and we are going to have to be a leader.


Here's a very general idea of what I might do, it is not an answer or instructions.


Before the fireworks and before I bring the dog out, I'm going to get some of the dogs daily food and maybe some high value like cut up hot dogs. Then get my elevated surface (mesh dog cot, a coffee table, end table, old wooden spool) in a good position. If I'm feeling extra clever, I'll drill a hole in the table and run a leash/ tether through the hole, leaving just enough the dog can reach the edge of it the table with it's nose. Then I'm going to set up one or two chairs in close proximity (roughly 1-2 feet away). Now I'll get the dog, place them on the elevated surface and attach the leash. After that, I'll pick the leash up from underneath and sit down. The training stage is now set.

Before getting the dog, let me answer some questions you may have.


"Why the elevated table?"

This creates a clear picture of what we want and are asking of the dog. It is very obvious to us and the dog when they are on it. Much more clear than just the ground or putting a towel or something down.


"Why drill the hole and tether it?"

Running the leash underneath, I'll the same length the entire time and any pressure applied to the dog, they applied it themselves and eliminates potential for me to mess it up by giving a poorly timed, unfair correction.


"Is that necessary?"

No and I understand it is extra work but for the above stated answer, is worth it in my opinion.


"Why bring food out? I thought you don't want to reward fear?"

Correct. We aren't going to reward the fear. Stay with me.


"Is doing all this before brining the dog out necessary?"

In my opinion, yes, absolutely. If we have an idea of when and where fireworks are happening, why wouldn't we be ready beforehand? Are you doing to go out and do all that work when they already started? With the dog? Without? How long is that going to take? What's happening with the dog in that time? I always want to maximize training


When the fireworks start to go off and the dog wants to flee, there are two barriers preventing that.

1) Being up on the table

2) Leash and collar


When the fireworks start and the dog starts to freak out, I'm not going to say or do anything. I'm going to try and keep my movement to a minimum. I lead by example and remain calm, I do not acknowledge the fireworks or the dogs response.

I won't react with excitement to try and convince the dog it doesn't need to be afraid and "fireworks are fun."

I won't respond with anger and validate their fear and break trust to try and change the dogs response.


The dog has to accept and change it's response by itself. I'm going to move myself and potentially the leash in a way that keeps the dog on the table, but I am not correcting or thrashing the dog around to get it to remain there. I'm just going to stay there like a post in the ground. Even if the dog comes off the table, I won't correct that, I'll simply put it back up on the table without saying anything.

Remaining calm and neutral.


I will use food only AFTER I have seen their mindset shift from trying to escape to accepting and calming down (no visible or audible signs of stress)

Then we can change the dog's mindset that when a firework goes off and they stay calm, I reward. We're forming a new association. This loud scary sound isn't all that scary and it actually means I get food.


"Why wouldn't you correct it for coming off the table?"


The dog is twelve weeks old and is in the middle of having a fearful (and totally normal) response to a stimulus/ experience it has never encountered before. They don't know what the fireworks are and that they don't need to be afraid. They also don't know that staying up on the table is what I want so in my opinion, it is unfair to correct them if they come off the table. Additionally, I have had the dog for up to five weeks at this point and haven't established enough trust or understanding yet in the relationship. Overall, corrections are counter productive to working through fear.


As the fireworks continue, you will start to see the dog visibly calm down. By not allowing it to flee, not reinforcing the fear with praise or food and by not correcting (validating the fear) freaking out myself whether I yell and scream to tell it to be calm (think about the irony there).


This is stress inoculation. The dog will come out of the fear on its own when it realizes:

- It can't flee

- It can't fight

- Fireworks aren't a threat, they aren't going to die.


Literally NOTHING bad will happen when fireworks go off. Any pressure or correction that may occur, they did to themselves.


Since I have been calm and fair, I've built trust between us. This is a building block and this trust will bleed into other aspects and situations in the future that help me work them through their fear.


This takes time and patience and the ONLY timeline is the dog's timeline.


There's always more to dog behavior than some blog post and explaining a scenario so this isn't a copy and paste solution, that's not Real Life Canines style.

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