05/24/2025
Building your dog's confidence is an invaluable puzzle piece to a healthy and tempermentally sound dog. It is never too early or too late to start, but the journey will look vastly different for each individual.
The best way to help build your dog's confidence is to expose them to the things that may be perceived as scary to them in super small amounts, slowly increasing the exposure as they show you neutrality at each step.
Say, for example, your dog is afraid of fireworks. You can start by playing the sound of fireworks on your phone at a very low volume and feeding your pup yummy treats while they listen. If they're not reacting at all, turn up the volume. If they jump back and/or startle at all, you've gone too far and need to turn down the volume. Eventually, once they're fine with your phone on full volume, you can move to the TV!
Jumping into a challenge head-on can oftentimes be too overwhelming for dogs and SENSITIZE them to the scary thing rather than desensitize. This is why it's important to break things down, step by step, and reassure them with praise and food along the way!
Currently, our buddy Franco is working on building his confidence in new places. What’s that look like for him? Car rides to public places to sit in the parking lot in his crate in the car and letting him take in all the sights and sounds while getting treats. Once he relaxes and lays down, we can either take it a step further and get out of the car for a quick potty break or go home to take that next step a different day if he wasn't quite ready for it then. After only a few times, he is more confident even going for walks in new places!
We know it’s hard to start slow and build solid foundations, but once you begin to see their confidence grow with little to no stress involved, you won’t regret taking your time!
