Nervousness in dogs

Nervous puppy?

It is often said that “nervous dogs are made by nervous people,” which rather makes it sound as if the owner is entirely responsible for any nervousness in his or her animal.  This, of course, is not strictly true.  Certainly if an owner is nervous, either by nature or on a specific occasion, his dog may well be jittery too.  On the other hand, highly nervous animals can be found among the most stable of families.

It would be more accurate to say that bad-tempered people make nervous dogs.  If an owner is cross with any member of the family, the dog will often become terribly worried that anything he may do, or may not do, might add to his owner’s displeasure.  And if the owner is constantly upset, perhaps at the world in general, the dog will be constantly on edge.

In a great many cases nervousness in dogs is the result of inbreeding and hereditary traits, in which case you really are up against something.  It is wise to avoid such animals.

Some nervousness in little puppies is to be expected.  If the adult dog barks and the puppy dives under the bed, that is just what he should be doing.  With encouragement and experience and size the puppy will grow in confidence, until he feels big enough to stand with the adults.

It must be realised that a degree of nervousness is necessary in a dog to make a guard of him.  This is easier to understand if we can understand why he barks in the first place.  Except for the occasional loner, a dog thinks in terms of his or her pack, to which there is often intense loyalty.  You and your family are, or should be, the “pack”.  (If the dog doesn’t think you are worthy she may form a pack with neighbouring dogs instead.)  You, as owner and trainer, are the pack leader.

When something worries the dog, he barks a warning to his pack.  The pack reacts.  It is up to the leader to show the members what is considered worth such a warning, and what to do about it.  If this principle is ignored the dog may quickly get into the habit of barking at anything and everything, just for the heck of it.  He is then of no more value as a reliable guard than an alarm system that is activated by every passing breeze.

The dog who is not worried about anything – the friendly one who loves everyone and imagines everyone feels the same, or the placid one who won’t bother to rouse himself unless personally threatened – will not be much good as a guard.  Against this is the highly nervous dog who, instead of barking, whines and hides away.  This is not much good from our point of view but an alert pack leader would take it as a warning anyway.

In all cases of nervousness there are several things one can do:

Trust is everything: Leroy and Sam

 1.  If possible, delve into the dog’s past and find out what she has been through.  There may have been some accident, some mishandling, some thoughtless action or abuse that could be the root cause of her nervousness and which can be overcome with care and thoughtfulness.

2.  Deworm him.  Round and hook worm yield to one type of medicine, tapeworm to another.  Your vet will advise you.

3.  See that his diet is right.  In simple terms, a growing dog must have muscle meat (which includes heart) as the major portion of the diet.  Proprietary pet foods, sadza (mealie meal), vegetables, scraps etc, form the lesser portion.  Once he has finished growing these portions can be reversed, with meat being the lesser.  After the puppy stage, extra milk, beaten raw egg, vitamin and mineral additives are beneficial but not absolutely necessary if the main diet is sound.

4.  Do not give the dog white bread.  White flour in any quantity causes hysteria in dogs.

5.  Add a bit more fat to the diet.  Do this gradually, experimenting, and don’t overdo it.  Sometimes this is all that is needed to overcome mild nervousness.

6.  Administer calcium.  In a readily absorbed form calcium is a nerve food as well as possessing the better-known properties benefiting bones, teeth, gums, and the circulatory and digestive systems.  All these dietary attentions simply build up the dog’s sense of strength and well-being, and therefore a feeling of self-confidence in the face of possible threats.

7.  Build up the dog’s confidence generally.  While it may not always prove possible to overcome long-standing nervousness in a mature dog, with a younger animal love and thoughtful handling can achieve wonders.  Calmly reassure him and encourage him as you would a frightened child.  In short, trust is crucial.  Be predictable and consistent in your commands and discipline at all times, and much nervousness will melt away.

8.  Try to isolate at least one of his fears.  Then subject him to small, gradually increasing "doses" of it until he gains an “immunity”.  If, for instance, he is afraid of loud bangs, such as gunfire or fireworks, subject him to small bangs far away.  Gradually, over a period of time, increase the intensity of the noise, remaining at each level until he is comfortable with it.  When a reasonable intensity has been reached, the next step is to gradually bring him closer.

            It helps if he is allowed to examine the source of the noise immediately afterwards – the unloaded gun, the popped paper bag or balloon – while you give a muted imitation of the bang.  This is the same principle used by a mother when her toddler is startled by a loud noise; she picks him up to reassure him, points out the source if she can and exclaims lightly, “Bang!  Big bang!”  Only with a dog your imitation would have to be better – less verbal – than that!

Perhaps the dog is afraid of other dogs.  If so, take him to where he can see and hear others, at a safe distance so that he doesn’t feel threatened.  When he feels all right about that, take him closer.  Eventually select nice-natured individuals of the opposite sex to meet, and go on from there.  Local kennels are ideal for this kind of training.

How do you get him to the kennels when he is afraid of the car?  Let’s tackle that one.

            Park the car near the house, put his regular blanket on the seat, toss in a book for you and a handful of biscuits for him and briskly, without fuss or pleading, pop him in the car before he knows what is happening.  Get in with him, leaving a door or two open, give him the biscuits, reassure him and sit with him a while.  Relax.  Read your book, as if lounging in the car is a normal, pleasant thing to do.

            When you have done this several times and he is quite happy about it, start the engine but don’t go anywhere.  The next step is to drive to your gate and back, just a few yards.  Next, drive to somewhere nearby where he can get out for a romp.  Give him a tidbit when you get home again.

            If, in the middle of all this, you have to get him to the vet, try to use someone else’s car while you hold and reassure him, so that he isn’t, at this delicate stage, put off getting into your own car again.  Take up the lesson in your car without delay.

Storm coming - try knitting...

 Fear of thunder is a common problem and you can’t always rely on storms to keep their distance until your dog gets used to them.  Every young animal, wild or domestic, experiencing his first noisy thunderstorms, is afraid.  The attitude of the mother will show him that she too has heard the noise but that it is nothing to worry about.  This is his only guidance until he finds out for himself that the mother was right.  A sensitive puppy without this guidance may grow up afraid.

            About the only hope we have of overcoming this fear, even in a grown dog, is to try to duplicate this attitude of the mother.  You can hold a puppy in your arms, comfort and calm him, play with him.  A grown dog is more difficult.  If he dives under the bed don’t haul him out.  Rather sit down near him on the floor, do your nails, knit, smoke a pipe, chat to him, hum a tune – anything casual.  And when it is all over, sit on a moment longer, then get up lazily and let him come out in is own sweet time.

If you acquire a puppy, why wait to see if he will be nervous or not?  During those first few noisy storms I sit with all my young animals – kitten, puppy, jackal, civet, fawn, mongoose, bushbaby, whatever, and have no problems later.  In fact, with a new puppy I implement all the ideas I have suggested here, and others on similar lines, as a routine part of bringing her up.  It is well worth it.  We try to prepare our children to meet and manage life’s inevitable problems.  Why not our animals too?