Fears (And, Trees!)

Summary:

• A fear reaction, whether in people or dogs, can be due to scary experiences in the past.
• Fear has a physical and neurochemical basis.
• People have an advantage over dogs because they can reason and reflect on past scary experiences.
• Helping dogs to trust in better outcomes can reduce fear reactions.

There are not a lot of things that “scare” me, but falling trees are one of the things that I worry about. As I write this, I am sitting in a pitch dark room at 2 am listening to the sound of roaring wind gusts outside. We just had tornado-producing storms with a lot of rain this afternoon and the ground is saturated, making it very easy for trees to topple over with one strong gust of wind.

What Causes Fear?

So what does my falling tree fear have to do with dog behavior? Well, it is important to ask the question of what produced my fear of falling trees in the first place.

For the last seven years, my husband and I have bought properties with lots of older mature trees on them and on all of these properties, we have experienced storms that caused trees to fall and threaten to damage our house and/or other outbuildings or fencing. In the last instance two years ago, we experienced a microburst that took down seven trees and nearly killed my horse. So, my point…..my fear is based on past experience.

Very often, a dog’s fear is also based on past experience. The only difference is that they cannot sit down with you and “talk it out.” My son, who was three and a half at the time of the microburst incident, talked about the microburst to anyone who would listen for six months after the event. It had been very traumatic for him! He remained terrified of storms for a good year after that, but after talking out his fears, this afternoon he sat in the basement with me and the dogs and played with toys as we rode this storm out.

A Chemical Reaction

I read a wonderful book recently called EXTREME FEAR by Jeff Wise and it beautifully illustrates what goes on in the brain chemically when we become fearful. After reading EXTREME FEAR, when I would become afraid I would ponder the chemical reactions that were happening in my brain, and because I realized it was all “normal” I actually “felt” LESS fearful!

Dogs do not have time to “ponder” a fear experience when they are in the midst of it. They immediately slip into the different fear and arousal responses of fight, flight, freeze, or fright. It is very important and helpful to understand that the chemical changes going on in your dog’s brain when they are fearful are not physical changes that the dog has control over.

As your dog’s number one advocate, it is imperative to keep your dog safe and help them to deal with their fear in a positive way. In cases of extreme fear or residual fear from a traumatic experience, calling in a professional to help with this process is key.

Punishing fearful behavior in dogs is a recipe for disaster. Attempting to get inside your dog’s head to identify where the fear is coming from, whether from past experience or recent events, will help you to empathize and give your dog the patience he/she needs to overcome those fears.

Building Trust, One Experience At A Time

The opposite to fear is trust. A day after beginning this post, I am struck with the sad reality of devastated homes about four miles from where I live, struck by a single tornado. That same tornado could have hit our property, but it didn’t.

Our trees are still intact and I have a little more trust now that we will again weather out whatever next storms come our way. I think dogs are the same in that way. Each positive experience brings with it a little more trust. And more trust leads to less fear.