The Dog Charmer by Tom Shelby

How To Handle a Chicken Dog

Dog Charmer Tom,

My name’s Ryan. I’m a Marine. I served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was the champion boxer in my division for three years running and I skydive for fun. I’ve got a 3-year-old boxer who I adopted from a shelter at age 1. He’s killing my image! His name is “Macho” and I’m thinking of changing it. He’s afraid of everything, I mean, everything! If I raise my voice, he’ll pee. A friend scared Macho when he dropped his phone and two weeks later Macho still avoids him like the plague. The other day, Macho went airborne when I startled him with a loud sneeze. What’s your advice, Dog Charmer?

Ryan

Ryan,

First, let me thank you for being one of the “good guys” by adopting a dog. Second, trust me when I tell you it’s a heck of a lot easier taking the dog that looks in the mirror and see’s the word God instead of Dog, and convincing him that there may be a God, but it’s you, not him! A lot easier than taking the “chicken butt” and making him braver, giving him confidence. There’s a fine line between supporting him to help deal with his fear, and inadvertently rewarding the fear response, making things worse.

Telling the 4-year-old child who’s afraid to approach the caged growling lion in the zoo that “it’s ok, he can’t hurt you from the cage” is fine. But telling the dog that startles at everything, “it’s ok,” and praising him, can make things worse by “rewarding” the fear response. Trying to avoid everything that scares him makes things worse. The goblin that frightens him needs to be confronted! Confronted at a distance that Macho can handle.

I worked with a German shepherd in Manhattan that was a total chicken butt. We came around a corner and midway up the block was a construction crew, with one of the guys drilling. It took me close to an hour, cajoling with pieces of chicken and timing the praise in conjunction with any progress, any non-forced forward movement. The dog owner, an older, dog-savvy lady, actually teared up when we three were standing on the curb by the guy while he was drilling. She said, “What a lesson! I always avoided everything that scared him!”

Ryan, keep socializing Macho, expose him to as much of the world as you can—”at his pace.” Your goal is for Macho’s attitude to be, “Been there, done that, seen that, no big deal!”

Good luck—and be patient.

Dog Charmer Tom