My two-year-old Lhasa gets anxious and scared with every noise in the house, even if its a food processor churning or a hair dryer. He barks sometimes and other times he hides. How do we control this?
Early socialisation during his puppy period would have prevented such issues. Identify situations and environments that your dog will need to be comfortable. You are basically aiming at preparing your dog for all eventualities, so that whenever he encounters anyone or anything new, he will greet it with inquisitiveness rather than fear or aggression. Expose your dog to all sights and sounds gradually and allow him to explore and learn for himselffor example, switch on the food processer in another room to avoid startling him by a sudden loud noise and let him go to find it. Ensure that when he finds it, it is rewarding rather than threatening. You can simply do this by placing a piece of food next to the food processer. If your dog is quite shy and frightened, you can start off by having a snack next to the switched off food processer and then work your way towards your dog tolerating it when it is switched on. Seeking professional trainer would also help.
Question by – Purnima Sharma, Gurgaon