Dealing With Dog Anxiety - What It Looks Like & What To Do

With my very noise phobic dog, I’ve found the best thing to do is praise her excessively the moment she starts to recover from a scare or if she ignores or acknowledged the sound without reaction. She is learning that just hearing the noise is a good thing and responding well. But it’s important that it needs to be cheerful and excitable praise and not like “aww hey it’s ok don’t be scared”. Ignoring it and setting an example for her doesn’t work because she is not focused on me at all when she does have a scare. If she starts pulling I get her to gently stop and make eye contact with me then I praise her and we walk away at a slow pace. I don’t want to flood her by forcing her to stay in range of the scary noise but she has to learn she can’t blindly panic and pull away. Now she’s starting to look to me for praise rather than panic and pull in fight or flight mode, and it’s doing wonders for her confidence

Atari is a Sheltie (Shetland Sheepdog). I have had three of them and spoken to a lot of other Sheltie owners. ALL of these personality traits are VERY typical for a Sheltie. If you want to get a Sheltie, expect these behaviors and this way of thinking in a Sheltie. They are sheepdogs, so they tend to stay near you, be aware of and nervous about sounds and sights that are "different," will seemingly bark at non-existent or trivial things, and be leery of other dogs. Shelties tend to take much more quickly to other Shelties than to other breeds, so if you have a Sheltie who is afraid of other dogs, start socializing by first being with other Shelties. Shelties LOVE new learning. If you want to distract them, give them a new game or toy to discover. Shelties also tend to "herd"-- sometimes children, sometimes other dogs. Not everyone understands or welcomes this. Shelties tend to NIP at buttocks or heels while "herding," but this is NOT an aggressive or fearful behavior!! It is a HERDING behavior. They do NOT intend to draw blood or bite down. They wish to nip IN THE AIR near the person, the same way they would nip at a sheep that is not staying with the herd. Again, it is NOT aggression it fear-based. Be sure to take your dog's BREED into account when addressing behaviors you wish to change.

Wow, a lot of great information. I realize that with my somewhat anxious dog, I have been doing a few things wrong. Thanks for the tips guys!

Very interesting video, there aren't as many videos on fearful dogs as there are for hyperactive or aggressive dogs. I have a fearful dog, but she doesn't flee from the situation, she shuts down or pancakes, I would love to see a video on how to deal with that.

I have a sheltie puppy who gets spooked easily. So this is very helpful thank you! As you said there are many people that want to pet her because she’s so cute.. it does make avoidance harder sometimes. Much easier when people don’t pay attention to her. Maybe I should make a sign “please ignore the dog, your attention is not wanted”? 🤔

Hey! This is SUCH a great video, SO useful and insightful. Thanks for sharing! We all try to do our best when it comes to helping our amazing pets.

This was our Sheltie and we accepted and worked with him. He was a really intelligent, amazing obedient dog and much loved for the 13 years he was with us - until cancer took him from us.

Thank you for your wonderful tips! My sheltie is pretty confident, but at times he exhibits these anxiety issues too. At 6 months, confidence and trust in me are so important. Knowing better ways to approach his worries will help us as a team. Thanks again!

This is so great. I wish McCann would post a few more videos around this topic since it's so huge and has so many different aspects. I wouldn't call our pup anxious, except in a few specific scenarios; however, she is definitely hypersensitive and easily overstimulated. It's like trait sensitivity vs state anxiety, if that makes sense and comes with so many different training challenges, especially when she's in any new scenario. Sometimes it's like she's fighting herself. She'll be desperate to play and over-excited but equally fearful of the new dog/person and be ripping around, spook-barking, and play-bowing… and then she'll freak out and hide when the other dog approaches her. Very hard to get through and help her have positive interactions that can build her confidence.

Thank you so much for this video, we adopted a 3 year old rescue dog from Spain to the UK a few weeks ago, she is VERY fearful of everything. Luckily I've already naturally been doing a lot of what you've said here, but it has reinforced that I've got some of it right and a couple of things I should pivot on. I agree, an anxious dog is a whole different ball game, not quite the experience I was expecting with a rehome, but will hopefully be very rewarding in the long run.

I have watched many, many McCann videos and this has been one of the best! Recognising signs of distress and seeing how a great trainer works through them - or around them - is just fantastic.

This applies a lot to my more fearful, anxious Sheltie. Thanks for making this video. I’ve learned a lot of this over the 5 years we’ve been together, she was my first dog and it’s been hard but very rewarding and we are quite bonded.

This was so helpful. Thank you! We picked the more “laid back” calm puppy due to having an autistic child and wanting a calmer dog for his sake. She has been amazing with our family but spooks more easily than other dogs I’ve had. She’s still only 11 weeks and we’ve had her for one week, so I’m so glad I saw this video while we are early in our training journey.

Thank you Christine and Steve. This video came at the perfect time. My newly adopted dog Zelda is EXACTLY like Atari, "shy", easily spooked, lacking confidence around other dogs and humans. She doesn't bark, now I know that her sign of being spooked is to run, sniff the ground, and become hyper focused on the object of fear. Now when she encounters something new (a bike, a runner, another dog) I get her attention before we get too close, get her in the sit position and treat her, and just be very calm and hang out for a bit so she can get used to the new object. The progress is slow but observable. So far she has gotten over her fear of trash cans, fire hydrants, and doing her business in the park! I will watch this video again and try to use these techniques on Zelda. Thank you.

Thanks so much for this video! Very informaive! I would say that we have a naturally outgoing dog, but at 7 months old she became suddenly anxious and this manifested as redirected aggression. Even outgoing dogs can turn corners! I have been working with her A LOT on games and exercises that build her trust for me and these have also reinforced my leadership for her. She has settled a lot. Still, at 8 months old, there is a lot of ongoing work to be done. Your videos may not address every dog and every permutation of stress, but, with a thoughtful owner, they help a lot with ideas for proper direction. So much about success with your dog is about building a solid trust relationship with them. Thanks, again!

This is the best video I've seen re canine anxiety!! Thank you so much. I have (almost 2 years) an older dog (12?) rescued from a huge hoard (300?) that is extremely anxious. I've always felt that I had to adjust to a new dog before I could expect the dog to adjust to me. Without benefit of your knowledge, I came to a semblance of the requirements you discuss for my dog over the almost 2 years I've had him. My tiny house, my fenced yard, my car, and I are his safe places. My dog-loving neighbors recognize that also and respect his issues. Being older, he needs a little longer to realize who else has become safe: my brother, my daughter, certain neighbors. When I got him, he had a major dental issue that even my first vet didn't recognize soon enough. Correcting that issue at great expense started an ophthalmic issue (transient glaucoma) that we're still resolving. This poor guy has had his world turned upside down. I've also finally found a frozen raw food he loves. So at 83 I can say you can teach 2 old dogs new tricks. And with this video, you're giving me the determination to keep doing what works and give him the time and space he needs - and to work a little more diligently on some things. Again, my most sincere thanks!!!

I have a young Labrador who used to enjoy car rides, but eventually started showing signs of anxiety such as heavy breathing and excessive drooling. There was even a time when he vomited in the car and seemed quite embarrassed by it. To address this issue, I began feeding him well in advance of our journeys, which appeared to make a difference. With time, he has grown more relaxed during car rides and often falls asleep within approximately five minutes. I've also found that adjusting the car's temperature using the AC or slightly opening a window has had a positive effect. In the past, I had a Springer Spaniel who always loved going for car rides, regardless of when he had eaten. He would stay awake throughout the trip, enjoying the scenery. To ensure a smoother experience, I recommend avoiding feeding your dog less than two hours before the trip. Additionally, it's important to be mindful of the temperature conditions.

This video has taught me a lot. I was making a lot of these mistakes thinking I'm doing the best for my rescued GSD. I'm going to begin putting these training tips in place so she has the best life. Thanks again!

I have thoroughly enjoyed and learnt a lot from the great and helpful suggestion to the those who have asked you for advice in the comments column. Thank you for being so generous.

Thank you for all the tips!! This was so helpful, we just brought home a little 6 month old puppy with us and we’re surprised with how nervous and shy he has been. We will focus on trust! :)