Tis the season. Sunday we had some pretty strong storms come through. One of Roscoe's issues is noise phobia, which includes thunderstorms. He is also afraid of some power tool noises. We tried benzo's (Xanax/Valium) and while they did work for his phobia, it made him all pumped up and crazy! It was like he was on speed, he was bouncing off the walls, making us all crazy. That's how we found out it could help him for trial anxiety.
I tried the "Storm Defender" jacket. A thin aluminum membrane cape he could wear, theory being it defused the electricity so often associated with thunder storms. It seemed to help, but he hates wearing clothing and ended up just going to his crate to hide. So, not sure if the anti-static properties helped him or he was just bummed out having to wear something and went to sulk? At least he wasn't panting and drooling and pogo-sticking around the house with anxiety. Since I started to feel kind of mean putting the cape on him during storms I started to simply sit with him, snuggled in my lap, comforting him until the storms pass. Honestly, that seems to be the best thing for him. Stops his shaking and panting and seems to comfort him. When he hears thunder, he runs to find me and we sit together waiting for it to pass.
Does this comforting reward him for his fear? I think not, no matter what professional trainers disagree with me. I don't think you can reward fear. Fear is not rewardable, we reward behavior, we try to change emotions. I don't think because I comfort him during storms that it makes him more afraid. I am not asking him to behave differently. I think I simply comfort him. Fear is an emotion and if I can change his emotions during storms to make him feel more comfortable, I think that's a good thing. I am not asking him to change his behavior or nor am I rewarding him for being fearful, I am trying to change his emotion and make him feel better until a storm passes. How can that be bad?
I tried the "Storm Defender" jacket. A thin aluminum membrane cape he could wear, theory being it defused the electricity so often associated with thunder storms. It seemed to help, but he hates wearing clothing and ended up just going to his crate to hide. So, not sure if the anti-static properties helped him or he was just bummed out having to wear something and went to sulk? At least he wasn't panting and drooling and pogo-sticking around the house with anxiety. Since I started to feel kind of mean putting the cape on him during storms I started to simply sit with him, snuggled in my lap, comforting him until the storms pass. Honestly, that seems to be the best thing for him. Stops his shaking and panting and seems to comfort him. When he hears thunder, he runs to find me and we sit together waiting for it to pass.
Does this comforting reward him for his fear? I think not, no matter what professional trainers disagree with me. I don't think you can reward fear. Fear is not rewardable, we reward behavior, we try to change emotions. I don't think because I comfort him during storms that it makes him more afraid. I am not asking him to behave differently. I think I simply comfort him. Fear is an emotion and if I can change his emotions during storms to make him feel more comfortable, I think that's a good thing. I am not asking him to change his behavior or nor am I rewarding him for being fearful, I am trying to change his emotion and make him feel better until a storm passes. How can that be bad?
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