Scared of bridges?

tsorcus · 09-05-2007, 02:40 PM

Just wondering if anyone else's dog seems to have a problem with walking over bridges?

Jasper has no problems with water although he's wary of deep water and only goes in the shallow bits (I don't think he's convinced that he can really swim

But everytime we come to crossing a bridge over water (he has no problems with bridges over roads etc.) he shies away from the edge and nearly walks into the road.

Does anyone have any tips to counter this? His leash walking in general is getting better every day (at last!), but he's not advanced to the stage where he'll obey a command to heel when he's scared!

When I first got him he was afraid of car parks, which I thought was probably due to him being abandoned, but he got over it as he gained some confidence.

Renoman · 09-05-2007, 02:58 PM

Give him time and keep trying. If he's safely exposed to the things he's afraid of and you are patient with him, showing him he's safe, he should overcome these fears.

The biggest thing, I think, is to work on his obedience so you can get him to heal. Then, even if you take just 1 step over the bridge - you're successful. You might have to stand there for 20 minutes before taking that one step but so what? Make a huge deal out of it, praising him like mad. Next time if you only take 2 steps you're improving. Lots of praise and good boys! It's a gradual thing. You can't expect him to overcome his fears in one day.

sheltieluver · 09-05-2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renoman

Give him time and keep trying. If he's safely exposed to the things he's afraid of and you are patient with him, showing him he's safe, he should overcome these fears.

The biggest thing, I think, is to work on his obedience so you can get him to heal. Then, even if you take just 1 step over the bridge - you're successful. You might have to stand there for 20 minutes before taking that one step but so what? Make a huge deal out of it, praising him like mad. Next time if you only take 2 steps you're improving. Lots of praise and good boys! It's a gradual thing. You can't expect him to overcome his fears in one day.

Great suggestion. You may also want to bring some treats and use them while going over the bridge. Redirect his attention to something he enjoys whether it's a treat or a toy.

tsorcus · 09-05-2007, 03:30 PM

He does actually cross the bridge, he just leans away from it the whole time he's crossing! I find that if he's really distracted by something he's nervous of he doesn't pay the least attention to treats as he's not that strongly food motivated. He loves to do obedience for his dinner while ignoring it if I give it to him in his bowl, so I assume it's the attention he really loves!

I do always lead him over firmly and calmly, but we don't cross them very often as they're a little out of our way on our normal route, maybe I should make sure he crosses one daily until he improves!

Renoman · 09-05-2007, 03:37 PM

Maybe not daily, but definitely more frequently. Maybe 2 or 3 times a week until he's not at all bothered by it. Maybe it's the noise of the water going under the bridge?????

Sorry if I misunderstood. Thought he wouldn't cross at all.

tsorcus · 09-05-2007, 03:48 PM

I think it's the smell mostly, but there certainly not much logic to it, as we were crossing a little canal today and he shied away and then went down to the water by himself on the other side...

You never know, maybe he was dropped off a bridge before he was rescued - anyone who would just abandon a young dog is capable of anything...

I'm sure that he will improve with practice, as he's a good dog really, just s a little young and easily distracted...

Thank you for your advice!

Renoman · 09-05-2007, 03:53 PM

Good Luck !

Barhund Canine · 09-05-2007, 04:06 PM

Make sure you have talked to your vet about this to rule any physical or mental issues. He may be naturally fearful and find ways to deal with this option too. You didn't mention how young or how old your dog is, if he is still young he may be just a little unsure of himself. Show him confidence when he gets scared. Depending on how you react to him being scared may affect him too. If you try giving him affection and console him when he gets scared you will reinforce the fear. Stay calm and collected and when he gets anxious try stopping and letting him collect himself and investigate a little bit. Move forward when he relaxes. The less you say and less reaction from you will help him get through it better. Think of somebody that you admirer as a leader and project that confidence that you have for the one you admirer. Try not to anticpate his reactions to whatever he is afraid of, he will pick up the tension you have by anticipating. The idea of treats is a good idea but, only give him treats or praise when he does what you want. If he is acting fearful and you give him treats he will think fear is ok. I would also work on more obedience training to help build his confidence up, it will also build his confidence in you and he will look to you more often for direction. Training more will also give you the opportunity to learn his temperament better. I'm not sure what type of corrections you give but you can measure how he reacts to corrections, if he shy's away and avoids your are correcting too hard. Little to no reaction not hard enough. You can even use cue words for corrections like no, uh oh, oops. Doing something like this works well when teaching new things. It helps them think and problem solve. You can also put motivation in a dog with a leash and collar. Cueing a dog in this fashion will also build focus on you. A dog will often offer what they know like sit, stay or down, depending on what you are trying to teach. Say your are teaching down and he has done it a few times, and you add oops, no, or uh oh to the mix it will help him to understand that that is not the right command if you tell him down and he offers sit. By doing something like this will often carry over to other things. Like the fear of bridges, if he knows he is walking the way he should and he starts to show fear ( you may see the fear start well before you get to the bridge) and you use your cue word that will help to tell him to focus back on walking correctly, you also may want to add a little tug on the leash right after your cue word to get his attention. Be fair, consistent, and confident and use the techniques and methods you are confortable with. Learning timimng to give praise, treats, corrections, is one of the most important things to learn with your dog. Learning the correct time to do these is very important too. It takes time, patients, experience and learning temperament (often referred to as personality).

tsorcus · 09-05-2007, 04:53 PM

Whew Barhund Canine, that's some reply!

Jasper is just coming up to 11 months old and is actually pretty confident about most things - he's a very good natured, gentle dog and loves everyone, four legged and two, he meets.

Training is an ongoing thing, as I have him less than 5 months and his personality is still developing - he's getting better every day and we do work on it - he's an angel in the house...

The bridge thing isn't really a huge issue, I just thought it was an odd behaviour and I would like for him to be able to cross them without shying away.