Earlier I wrote that you "can't reinforce fear" and used a dog who is afraid of thunder as an example. For so long we have been told that we'll just make our dogs worse if we try to comfort them when they run to us in fear when the skies rumble and the rain falls. In this context, it really is doubtful that comforting your dog is going to make him worse. As I said previously, fear is designed to be aversive, and dogs who are terrified of thunder aren't going to get worse because you stroked their belly. Indeed, there is research that some interpret to mean that our petting has little effect at all: As I mentioned in a 2008 Bark column (and an alert reader posted), Dreschel & Granger (Applied Animal Beh Science, 2005) found that cortisol levels, a measure of stress, did not decrease Read More
You Can’t Reinforce Fear; Dogs and Thunderstorms
It thundered last week during a rain storm, and it reminded me how much trouble a storm can be in the life of a dog (and for those of us who love them.) Since thunder season is approaching, this seems like a good time to talk about one of the oft-repeated, and ever-so-inaccurate pieces of advice handed out to dog owners: "You mustn't pet your dog if he runs to you because he is afraid of thunder." That's just wrong. Totally and completely and utterly wrong, but it has gathered gravitas, as things often do, because it has been repeated over and over again. There are several reasons why that advice is wrong, here's one of them: Fear is designed to be aversive, that's why it is an effective way of affecting behavior and keeping animals out of trouble when they encounter something that might Read More