# Rewarding or reinforcing fear



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

One of the many myths that has been debunked in dog training is the idea that we shouldn't reward or reinforce fear by (example) petting or sucking up our dogs when they are afraid. This sucking up is not necessarily going to reduce their fear , but it won't make it worse or make it happen more frequently (reinforcing ). Here are three article on it.

"Of all the myths and misconceptions that have surrounded dog behavior and training for a very long time, perhaps the most persistent is the one that claims it is possible to reinforce an animal's fear by paying attention to him or trying to reassure him."

see article by Dr. Suzanne Hetts http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=122964037729824

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=412137514073

http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/you-cant-reinforce-fear-dogs-and-thunderstorms


----------



## DonnaC (Jul 31, 2011)

Wow. This isn't in any of the training books I bought, which all told me to act casual and ignore fearful behavior--in fact, I just ignored fear of the vacuum this a.m.!


----------



## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah Donna, nothing wrong with ignoring it. It's not saying we have to do this , just that it's not going to make things worse. The best method for your vacuming case is classically conditioning to it. That's what solves the problem. As this is the best method for any sort of fear anxiety type situations.


----------

