Hi I have a 3 1/2 yr old lab that was a bit of a victim of a divorce. He came to me 4 months ago but was only used to going out in an evening or night time. Since I have had him I take him regularly into my local village but he becomes very stressed near certain shops and pulls away and then if he hears shop shutters he is petrified shaking and panting. Would clicker training help him or can anyone please help.
Re: How do I help my lab become less stressed when I take him into my village Hi and welcome to the forum what is your dogs name? Have you taught the 'look at me' cue? It is really good for times like you explain. Also, you could walk towards the shop and sit before he starts to get stressed. Reward him, then take one step closer to the shop and treat, do this slowly over several days and hopefully you will be able to get up to the shop without him becoming stressed. I'm sure some others will be along soon who will have more advice
Re: How do I help my lab become less stressed when I take him into my village You might find using counter conditioning helpful in getting your dog to overcome his nervousness. I've used it a lot with my dogs who are nervous of strangers coming near them. It really does work. Ive also trained 'look at me' like Naya has suggested. My dogs now automatically look at me if a trigger is approaching and I also have it on cue. It's very useful. Pippa has recently posted a link to an article she has written on counter conditioning on the behaviour board 'over coming fear with counter conditioning'.
Re: How do I help my lab become less stressed when I take him into my village I used Look at Me when Sam was a puppy with some success but then he isn't nervous . When we got our rescue Millie , she hadn't had any training and little socialisation , I used a different technique with her, using her passion for tennis balls as her distraction , if she is carrying one she takes no notice of any other dogs, any loud noises or anything at all really , good luck with your girl
Re: How do I help my lab become less stressed when I take him into my village Here is the link to the article Jen mentioned http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=8579.0 It's what I'd suggest too. You should definitely be able to help her to relax more around the stressful locations. Just go slowly, start with a large distance between her and the 'stress location' and use treats (or toys) that really get her attention
Re: How do I help my lab become less stressed when I take him into my village Thanks for these replies his name is Ollie and what I have found he can play out with fireworks going off but he's not on his lead, but when last night I took him out on his lead he jumped quite a bit when the fireworks went off. Mind you they were very loud for me too!
