How To Perform An Exorcism On A Dog

Science popularisation commodity about fear assailment
By Laure-Anne Visele, written Jan 2013.

Dog desensitization vs. exorcism

Does Rover — normally an angel — plough into the devil incarnate at the mere sight of a jogger (or another domestic dog)? Maybe a little exorcism is in club. Either that, or… a spot of "Systematic Desensitization and Counter-Conditioning" (aka "D&C").

D&C is THE ritual for fear-aggressive dogs. Information technology delivers dramatic results (at to the lowest degree as dramatic as the cute Catholic trick), AND information technology'due south less messy. What's not to dear?

If yous're interested in a petty groundwork, you've come to the right place. If yous're not that much into theory, leap alee to the D&C programme.

Why? Either demonic possession or…

When wondering why a domestic dog does annihilation, there are four ways to skin the cat: the four questions of ethology.

1. What office does it serve?

99% of canis familiaris aggression really is 'defensive threatening' — a way to continue altitude with something scary.

2. What controls information technology?

Fear/anxiety and reward/penalization, tin can combine into a nasty motivational cocktail:

First fourth dimension: Rover feels a picayune fear.
Next fourth dimension: Rover anticipates thefear (i.e. feelsanxiety) around joggers. The anxiety intensifies the fear when the jogger approaches. Rover reacts threateningly, which isrewarded by the jogger keeping his altitude.
Next time: Increasingly fearful/broken-hearted Rover behaves increasingly excessively. So much so that you need topunish him (sometimes preemptively) each time a jogger comes most.

So, now joggers (or other dogs, or whatever) = anxiety,fear ANDpunishment for Rover. Oh, and he's learnt thatlunging worked.

Get through the circle enough times, and information technology could escalate into a lawsuit and a broken centre. Either that, or yous make up one's mind to merely walk Rover at 2am, blasphemous the day yous got a domestic dog. Time to break that vicious bike, no?

iii. How did it start?

I take a shelter dog, then I also imagine tales of past corruption to explain his present behaviour. But, truth be told, nearly times, fright is just a question of:

Temperament: He'due south only a scrap of a wuss; and/or
Under-habituation: He didn't run across enough joggers equally a pup; and/or
Trauma (sober version): He may just take been unpleasantly startled by a jogger at a sensitive age; and/or
Trauma (Dickensian version): Evil, tall, mean, alcoholic men (in tracksuits and jogging shoes) used to shell him up when he lived on the streets to try to make a fur coat out of him.

four. What is the evolutionary reward of doing it?

Many species (ourselves included) suffer from afear biaswhen facing something unfamiliar. It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective:false positives are inconvenient, false negatives are lethal. Guess who'll live to tell the tale: Rambo or Dilbert?

How does D&C work?

Get a hold of about ane pint of holy water. Make certain it's the existent stuff, heed, not tap water. Then sprinkle … OK, OK, only yanking your concatenation.

D&C, as my astute readers volition no doubt have gathered, is a two-fold principle involving (drum-roll)…

1/ Counter-conditioning

Every fourth dimension the unfamiliar thing crops up, we reward the dog.

two/ Systematic Desensitization

Starting at a low level, nosotros gradually re-betrayal the canis familiaris to whatever used to scare the Bejeesus out of him. Only this time nosotros teach him that the stimulus is irrelevant/neutral/routine/boring/you get the gist: NOT scary.

When I say that we offset at a 'low level', am not kidding around here. The central idea is to Non breach the domestic dog's comfort zone. Our goal? (Gradually)reduce his personal space, non invade it.

Prognosis

Getting solid improvements can accept a few days to… a lifetime, depending on how profound the disfavor got, and how many things the dog fears.

Risk cess needs to weigh in too. Fearfulness-reactive chihuahua puppies are abrasive, but adult-sized Labradors? And what if a disabled, very young or elderly person could exist affected?

If you lot feel your canis familiaris's behaviour is putting you, your family, or the public at risk, please contact a qualified behaviour consultant for advice.

If you feel yous can tackle this yourself, time to get started.