Quote:
Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight
She's been around them lots before--used to be totally cool with them, then got skittish. Like she'll gradually warm up to them. Tonight, she did eventually pet Brownie on her leg while she was half-asleep in my lap (dog was fine with it). So I'm hoping it's just a process.
Dog is currently whining pitifully in her crate (I did take her out to pee one last time, just in case, so it's not that). Tried spritzing her with water as foster does, but didn't work. H just went down and spritzed her a bunch. I think she's (dog's) just scared and am trying to comfort her, but I'm apparently doing it wrong (by trying to talk to dog in calming voice), because H is annoyed at me ("She can't speak English!").
So basically, currently have D freaking out in bed and dog freaking out in crate 2 floors away. I went to comfort D, but she requested Daddy. Hopefully we'll all get to sleep at some point...
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I don't think it matters that dogs can't speak English. I can tell by my dog's behavior and posture that he feels less anxious when I talk to him in happy, calm, reassuring tones when he is frightened (usually because he is being loudly barked at by another dog or we're in a crowded place). He likes to know that I'm there and I'm not upset, so he doesn't need to be either.
My wife tried spritzing our dog for misbehavior (chewing on something) exactly once. He stopped chewing but was so freaked out that he would barely look at her for a month. No negative reinforcement here now, not even yelling. We reinforce the positive behaviors and ignore or redirect the negative ones. Way less stressful for all involved.