The Science of Helping Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dogs

Source: Gilberto Reyes/Pexels.

Having been interested for many decades in "all things dog," and demystifying what they're doing and why, whenever I learn that dog expert and Psychology Today writer Dr. Zazie Todd has written an essay or a book on dogs I can't wait to get my paws and eyes on it. This was especially so when I received a copy of her new highly acclaimed book Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, an invaluable guide based on the latest science and the use of positive reinforcement for the many people who live with a dog who shows signs of fear, anxiety, or reactivity, including biting, food guarding, shyness, or aggressive barking. Here's what Zazie had to say about her landmark book.

Marc Bekoff: Why did you write Bark!?

Zazie Todd: I wrote Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog to bring hope to people who are struggling with their dog’s issues. When a dog is fearful or anxious, the dog is having a hard time—but often their people are having a hard time too because they don’t know how to resolve the issue. And you feel bad if your dog is barking and lunging at people, or running away to hide.

Bark! is based on the latest science and it’s full of practical tips and expert advice so that people know what to do—and equally important, what to avoid! It follows nicely from my previous book, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy, but while that book included tips for all aspects of a dog’s life, Bark! focuses on dealing with fears and anxieties.

Source: Greystone Books/with permission.

MB: How does your latest book relate to your background and general areas of interest?

ZT: It was fun writing this book because it draws on both my background in psychology and my dog training experience. It’s a long time since I taught students about classical conditioning so it was interesting to catch up on what’s new in the research.

And there’s nothing quite like working with a fearful dog—that moment when you realize that you’ve earned their trust is really special. But there are a lot of techniques that are important when helping a fearful dog, so I wanted to distill down the science into practical, easy-to-follow tips that will help dog guardians.

MB: Who do you hope to reach?

ZT: I hope to reach anyone whose dog is anxious or fearful. That’s actually a surprising number of people, because a lot of dogs have issues with fears and anxieties—72.5 percent, according to one study. I especially wrote Bark! for those people who are at their wit’s end, because that’s a hard spot to be in and there’s a lot that can be done to help, but the book will help people whose dog’s issues are relatively minor too.

It will also be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about dog training, because there are clear descriptions of how to do different kinds of training. In particular, because dog training is not regulated, a lot of people end up getting bad advice and using training methods that might be harmful to their dogs.

The book helps people to understand why it’s so important to use kind, humane training methods, and why aversive methods like shock and prong collars can be so bad for dogs and the dog-human bond. Essentially, Bark! will help people understand why it’s so important to be kind to dogs.

MB: What are some of the major topics you consider?

ZT: The book starts with a broad look at what contributes to fear and anxiety in dogs, which includes genetic factors, lack of socialization of puppies, bad experiences, and medical issues. That’s important to know, because sometimes, even if the dog guardian has done everything right, they can still end up with a fearful dog. There’s also a consideration of the role of pain and medical issues (such as itchy skin, dental disease, etc.) on behavior issues in dogs, something that we now know a lot more about.

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And another main theme is that having a dog with behavior issues is hard, sometimes really hard. You may have to let go of some of the dreams you had for your dog, such as sitting on busy patios or going to the dog park every day—but the book has lots of suggestions for other activities you can do instead, that your dog might appreciate more.

MB: How does your book differ from others that are concerned with some of the same general topics?

ZT: It’s a new look at how to help fearful dogs. It starts from general principles at the beginning and then relates them to specific issues such as fear of loud noises, fear of strangers, or reactivity to unknown dogs.

The most important thing with a fearful dog is to help them feel safe, even if their fears make no sense to you. So the book is full of examples, as well as quotes from experts in different fields such as dog trainers and veterinarians. And just like in Wag, there are lots of stories about my own pets, too.

MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about anxious, fearful, and reactive dogs they will become better at helping them to feel safe?

ZT: The thing is that once you become skilled at reading dogs’ body language, you notice signs of fear and anxiety everywhere, including in videos on the internet that you might have previously found "cute." I hope that as people learn more, they will give dogs more choices (such as whether or not to be petted or to take part in training), and respect the choices that dogs make. In a way, that continues a theme from Wag, but when a dog is fearful or anxious it’s even more important to give them some control over their environment and to respect the choices they make, so long as it’s safe to do so.