# Fear



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

here's a snippet on an article I wrote on fear ...
It is not possible to reinforce an animal's fear by paying attention to him or trying to reassure him. see article by Dr. Suzanne Hetts Myth of reinforcing fear | Fearful Dogs

Also a word from Jean Donaldson taken from her 10 Myths About Dogs Myth number 6. If you pat your dog while he is afraid, you are rewarding the fear
Fear is an emotional state-a reaction to the presence or anticipation of something highly
aversive. It is not an attempt at manipulation. If terrorists enter a bank and order
everybody down on the floor, the people will exhibit fearful behavior.
If I then give a bank customer on the floor a compliment, 20 bucks, or chocolates, is
this going to make them more afraid of terrorists next time? It is stunningly narcissistic
to imagine that a dog's fearful behavior is somehow directed at us (along with his
enthusiastic door-dashing).

That being said , doing these sort of things do not solve the problem either. Even though he is not afraid of thunder, this article gives an idea of the type of counter conditioning involved in noise related fears. It's by Dr. Patricia O'Connnell ... Thunderstorms can be scary for dogs with anxiety | Patricia McConnell | McConnell Publishing Inc.


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