DOG IS TERRIFIED OF ME. BEST WAY TO TRAIN FEARFUL, NERVOUS DOG.

There are many ways to train fearful dogs. I'll explain how to help your own fearful dog.

[@reginacerecer3552]

Oso is my 2 year-old, Australian Shepherd mix. He was adopted from a shelter at 8 months old and owner-surrendered (we do not know the reason). We have struggled to expose him to new surroundings, dogs, and people because of his extreme fear and anxiety. We researched to find help for him at many places but they all said they would enforce an "e-collar" method to help with his reactivity and fear. We knew that this was NOT the right thing to do and eventually we came across Joel's KZbin channel and we were sold. We believe in Joel's methods and hope that Oso will come home a happier dog. We can't wait to see more updates! Thank you for the hopeful comments 💛

[@robstaples6649]

Well done for advocating for your dog, and persisting in getting better advice and support with Oso. He seems a lovely dog and has his whole world ahead of him. Confidence is infectious, so the more you can do for him, taking Joel’s expert guidance, the better he will be. Our street dog rescue was scared of everything to start with but with time she’s starting to help other dogs nervousness in daycare settings etc.

[@carolepivarnik9316]

Thanks for giving his history. The poor doggo-wonder what he experienced before you rescued him. He is a handsome boy. So good you are willing to help him succeed…I am looking forward to seeing Joel’s progress with him! You can already see in this video Oso being more willing to look at Joel.

[@UNDERDOGMMA]

Joel is the best trainer in country, hands down. Consistent work will make major improvements, he has improved thousands of dogs and Oso will do great!

[@r.collins3588]

You picked the right person! He will do everything he can for your precious dog. I am so glad this dog found you!

[@manuelabachmeier1634]

Have you had his thyroid levels checked?

[@NativeNYerChicHK]

I so LOVE that you modify your approach and technique specific to each individual dogs needs. That’s the sign of an expert level truly invested professional. Honestly. You’re not overbearing but you’re also not backing off. You’re taking the time and care this guy needs. I’m super impressed at your ability to adapt to the ever changing situation of your work. This guy will be such a happier healthier well balanced dog for your helping him the way you did.

[@notchs0son]

@@davidgover565 He does positive enforcement, He Does it Only when he wants to encourage something specific it seems to me and That’s perfectly respectable Dogs do Treat things like that Special and just simply talking nicely is Positive enforcement if you treat it special and don’t just Do it a lot.

[@notchs0son]

@@davidgover565 I mean My dog sky She Loves Loves when I Am Putting her collar on Because I talk Special To her during it and It excites her she ways her tail and is happy to do something simple as Getting a Collar on.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

@@notchs0son What's with the weird capitalisation? At first I thought you were German, as they capitalise every noun in their language. But you're indiscriminate and utterly random. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions. If it's a code, I sure am having trouble cracking it. 🤷‍♂

[@notchs0son]

@@EvenTheDogAgrees me Myself. That’s What’s the code. I’m an algorithm for every actions I take In life.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

@@notchs0son and nobody did a code review before you got pushed to prod? 😯

[@mattiaspettersson788]

The ”learning themselves” part is very important. I used to be a search and rescue dog handler and trainer back in the mid 90s and early 2000s. My girlfriend at the time had a 2 year old Boxer that showed great potential, but he had some problems with certain surfaces. His greatest one was climbing in piles of old car tires. We started staying late after training sessions to work on this problem. We tried to force him a little at first which led to him climbing but with great insecurity. Not the result we wanted. Instead we (me and Sara) climbed up and just sat there talking to eachother with him (Sid) looking from the ground. Sid clearly wanted to be with us but was too afraid. The first session it took him half an hour to work up the guts to start climbing. His drive to be with his pack finally overshaddowed his fear. A week later he started climbing after 10-15 minutes. A couple of sessions later he followed us up as soon as we started climbing. A couple of months later Sid was the best dog in the group when it came to finding people hidden in piles of tires. His confidence in these situations was amazing. That’s what letting them learn for themselves can do.

[@spectral_moss]

I’m about to start volunteering at a local shelter, and when I toured the facility, there were many dogs like this. So despite it being a different situation, this will be very helpful information for me

[@roxannecapitani1939]

Well done to you 🙂

[@chrisjames2334]

The shelter world is where it all started for me. You’ll learn a lot.

[@spectral_moss]

Update: I’ve been going there for 2 months now almost every day, working with everything from terrified chihuahua puppies to a reactive Malinois and Dutch shepherd. This comment and my appreciation for this channel as a whole holds true.

[@EdgarFroes]

@@spectral_moss awesome, bro. I have a project where I get the scariest dog in the shelter, foster him with me and my dogs, rehab him and then send him to his forever home. Scared dogs require a lot of patience, indeed.

[@spectral_moss]

@@EdgarFroes That sounds like such a rewarding project, something I’d love to do when I’m able. Also, 5 months later, working with shelter dogs is the best decision I ever could have made.

[@skilifavas4016]

3:20 I love that part " I'm just a dude attached to this leash aswell! I don't know where I am! " and no eye contact. Just such awesome to see this appropriate body language towards this fearful dog.

[@animal459]

I have a 7 month old foster dog that is afraid of everything. She was abused. After watching some of your videos I managed to get her to go for a 20 minute walk. Before your video I couldn’t even get her to leave the driveway. She is terrified of people, kids and dogs. We have many kids in the neighborhood and if she seen them or even heard them she would pee and cower on the ground. I got her past 2 kids in the neighborhood and a 20 minute walk is a massive improvement. Thank you.

[@jasonsheets2694]

I've been working with dogs for nearly 10 years. I love working with the fearful ones. That instance a fearful dog trusts you is so gratifying.

[@TheMinimalistTherapist]

THIS is the content I really wanted to see. My imported ex street dog has properly deep rooted fear. God knows what happened to him. When we got him he was like Oso in many ways, crossed with how Ava was, you remember her? Ex street dog who did a board and train? We've had our boy 15 months and he's 60% improved (and lead reactivity 95% improved) but the remaining 40% is so ingrained it seems reflexive, automatic, instinctual. I feel so reassured because we've taken exactly the approach Joel has here. "We're going to be kind and supportive, but we *are* going to do this". We've really adjusted our expectations for our boy too. We have got him to the point where he will enjoy a walk and he's OK around the house and garden. He's never going to be a dog that will cope with going in to coffee shops or busy towns, his hypervigilence would take days to wear off if we tried it. But we just accept he's doing the best he can and so are we, and it is what it is. We love him and do what we can to make his life happy, enriched and enjoyable by his standards. 😊

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

Yeah, it's a delicate balance between not wanting to reinforce that the fear is okay and yet also not wanting to compound the trauma even worse, sometimes.

[@walkeren]

I’m glad to see this dog getting the gentle help he needs.

[@WollongongSkyWatch]

My friend has a sheltie like this. She was scared of all dogs and all ppl because her owner played into her fears therefore consolidating them. She would jump up on the nearest table to escape my dog, but as soon as she realsied my dog was under my control and wasn't allowed to play rough or jump on her she relaxed. After a week of walking she started drinking from the public water bubbler, directly following my dog's lead. Then she started running through long grass playing 'jumping' in and out of the long grass to find a ball while my dog waits. Now she will even scent the ball out if she loses track of it, and the look of confidence on her little face is so incredible and satisfying. She is also running out into water to fetch a ball and will bound into the kids playground trampoline to get the ball. The one common demoninator behind all her fears is her owner. At every step it was always, ' oh daisy won't do that, Daisy will never do that.' But not once when Daisy did do it did the owner ever cheer her on or reward her. The other day she actually pooped in public for the very first time and even drank from a rainwater puddle! something I was encouraging and her owner always scolded her for as dirty. I cheered her on and laughed, saying she has passed her intitiations to become a dog! It has been a very big learning curve for all involved. I hope the owners, should they read this, do not take what I've said the wrong way. After your dog is back to being a dog, you will one day notice someone scoop up their tiny anxious puppy as your bigger dog approaches, and you first thought will be: big mistake.

[@christophertorrez7583]

I can do this all day doesn’t just apply to correcting the dog. It also means I am patient and I will wait for the dog to make decision to trust me. 🐕😊

[@Volvican]

Interesting that Prince seemed MUCH more wary of an anxious dog than I've seen him be with aggressive dogs.

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

Well, anxiousness can be a much more unpredictable thing, I think.

[@MB-lf8rm]

Your words here are so important. One might be tired, exhausted, don't feel like getting up and going out and taking the pup out for yet more exposure. But one must. One must make the commitment, and follow through.

[@jyjang]

Awww thanks so much for this video. My 11 month old guy is suddenly in a fear phase where he is fearful of sound, manholes and cats. He used to love car rides and now he hides under the seat covers. I will follow his journey!!!

[@BoutTime73]

I noticed when you talk softly to him he’s calmer. As soon as you switch and talk to camera the fear kicks back in because when you talk to the camera our more blunt and semi aggressive speaking. In the house as soon as you spoke to camera he responded and hunkered down. Same when you were under the umbrella, his response hit as soon as you spoke to the cam.

[@topcatwarrior]

I am looking forward to seeing more of Oso. It’s heart wrenching when a dog is so fearful that it’s interfering with the joys in the life of a dog. I have had fearful dogs in the past, patience is key and also keeping expectations realistic, so that the dog builds confidence with each step.

[@mnrrrr723]

Finally, I see a dog as fearful as mine... And it’s really difficult(almost impossible) to walk him on the street because he pull the same as Olso and jump as well to run away. I’m getting too much expectations from trainers around me since I watched your videos. They said they cannot help him at the moment since he bites. So I’m getting ready to take dog training classes myself. I wish I could take him to you. I’m hoping my dog will have a normal happy life soon and that he will be able to play with dogs and walk on the street on loose leash. Thank you for the advices

[@littleloner1159]

I hope you're already in a little bit of a better place with him now While I'm not a dog trainer, I can still tell you it is all about empathy. It is okay to be terrified, and on your end it is okay to feel frustrated and judged by others and given all sorts of "helpful" advice thats actually bs and whatnot But don't let that stop you from working together to slowly overcome those things There is no quick, and there might not be a normal, but the way to get better can already be so incredibly rewarding.

[@angelaratzay9034]

Joel with this dog you were the "good boy" truly.

[@theresaw1117]

Love that Oso's owners came to you and did not give up on this beautiful dog! Can't wait to see how far he goes!

[@CHARLIEFOXTROT-qe7mz]

Oso is like oh no oh hell no me and Mommy have watched your show many times lol

[@annebruecks7381]

'Treats from the vacuum cleaner' 🤣

[@dinosaursaregreen4859]

My family and I once fostered a young border collie who was scared of everything. She was around 6 months old maybe a bit older. We lived in a gated neighbourhood which was basically a circle, so everyone knew everybody and this really helped. The people at the shelter told us that we could name her since she didn’t really have a name, they just called her sweetie, baby, pumpkin, things like that. So we named her Kira. (It’s kinda pronounced kee-ra since we named her when in Mexico so the i is pronounced like an English e) When I say she was scared of everything, I mean she was scared of everything. She was scared of a leaf falling down a tree. She was scared of men more than women, especially if they had a baseball cap on. There were a lot of kids in my neighborhood (I was a kid aswell) so that was nice cause there were usually always people outside. They really helped us out with Kira by just standing close to us when talking when we had Kira on a leash. Fast forward 2 months later, she was great with the kids and pretty good with men. She sometimes played soccer with the boys by just chasing the ball around, it was fun. At some point we had to visit family and couldn’t bring Kira with us so we left her at those overnight boarding houses. They were really nice, they all stopped wearing baseball caps cause Kira was really really scared of them, she even started liking one of the male employees and would run up to him. She started getting better with dogs (there was a park where people bring their dogs right outside our neighborhood) it was great, even started playing with them. She was fine with being near strangers. Only thing she didn’t really get over were the baseball caps. Sorry for the long comment lol

[@KiraSieni]

Nice name :)

[@debcarpenter8519]

Apparently someone that wore a baseball cap horribly abused her. That's so sad, but it sounds like you did an awesome job with her!

[@dinosaursaregreen4859]

@@KiraSieni thanks :)

[@dinosaursaregreen4859]

@@debcarpenter8519 ya we thought so too, she even had a little scar on her front leg :( Thank you tho, she was a good dog, ended up with a family of 5, 3 kids, and mom and dad :)

[@angelaratzay9034]

Lovely story. She did not get over the baseball .caps because you removed them telling the dog they were dangerous. Still a lovely story.

[@kathleenmatthews1218]

All I can say is Thank You!! I am so tired of seeing trainers jerk collars and forcing dogs aggressively to face their fears. You are gaining this dogs trust, you are easing his fears and making a solid, life changing moments. You are being realistic, that there will still be moments that this animal will be fearful. But you are letting him know it is ok to be a little fearful , your letting him know he can trust you and face his fears with a calm reassuring voice coaxing him. THIS is how you making a lasting change in an animal. Key word here is patience! You have that without question! I truly wish dog owners and so very many trainers would learn that correcting through force is only temporary. I’m not saying that some firmness can be beneficial but force by jerking leads, yelling, hitting, and other forms of punishments, is deceptive as it only gives a band- aid affect but not a cure. FINALLY!! Someone who knows that you can’t build Rome in a day and you can’t train a dog and break his fears and bad habits in a day as well. I have watch many trainers and breeders , and there is only one other so far that I have seen that is truly worth following. That breeder/trainer is the one that suggested watching you and how much she admires your “honest” approach to training. Thank You, Thank You!!

[@nyuen1961]

Joel I really like how you explain things. The way you handle Oso is so gentle and he’s responding to that and your patience. I have a good feeling about this.

[@kingnos2470]

I don’t have a good feeling bout this, must bee trained off leash first…

[@armandhammer2235]

@@kingnos2470 Then run around and try to catch him?

[@armandhammer2235]

Joel is 100% correct. Dogs are motivated by 3 things: things they get rewarded for, things that aren't pleasurable and things that are fun. Joel wants to find something the dog finds pleasurable or fun. 👍

[@kingnos2470]

What no!!

[@armandhammer2235]

@@kingnos2470 How so?

[@laurabaker8113]

Thank you for this fearful dog video, Joel. My dog and I need it. I see there is a balance of allowing some retreat and then purposely bringing a dog in closer. I have a 6 year old boy named Wolfi who has lived his entire life in a kennel in Croatia. They were kind to him but had no resources for walking. Everything was new when I got him December 27, 2021. Jumping up on me was the first thing to stop, thank goodness. Progress, otherwise is in slow successive steps. Lots of love and patience. He actually leaves the kitchen now independently to cuddle with me in the living room on his new bed. I have slowly lured him out of the apartment, into the elevator and out the main door with treats on good days. Other days or at night I have to move him with a harness to get him out. He’s 49 kilos. Nature calls but he rather stay in the kitchen. He does like my other rescue dog Bunny from Rumania. He has stopped a low growling at my cats. He’s really quite gentle. I’ll have to learn by trial and error. Today I actually saw he was ok to smell a “foreign” 😂 dog’s butt. I should have stopped with that but wanted more and he got really scared. He almost pulled me over running behind me. Please make more videos on fearful dogs. He’s good on the leash. He really pulls, however, the closer we get to home. Leash pop does not seem to work. Odd thing is he is better off leash because he wants to be close to me. I’m doing a reverse leash drop to leading him on the leash with some treats. By the way, I am an American ex Pat living in Austria. If you come to Europe, we would love to be first on your travel agenda. Warm wishes, Laura

[@Daniela-vo4hi]

Looking forward to seeing this guy's progress.

[@andrealemburg8545]

Hiya, I find your compassion for dogs like Oso absolutely moving. You are a very good and understanding trainer. I wish there more people like you around.

[@bitterrsweet1616]

my 5 year old dog that we've had since a puppy is even more fearful than the dog in this video. she hates unfamiliar buildings, strangers, dogs, loud noises, everything. she took over two years to get used to my grandmother, who is very petite and soft spoken and also mildly afraid of dogs. this video is very helpful

[@lovesees4320]

He so wants to be with his People Dispite his overwhelming fear of the floor Bless him He Loves them so❤️ 🕊️🕊️🕊️

[@c.cooper9549]

Very interested to see his progress. Fear is one of the hardest things to conquer. Keep us posted!

[@user-eo5mc4jx2x]

Oh, and to all the PT only trainers/ supporters who always say that Joel is too aggressive with dogs - this video shows that he us plenty gentle enough if the situation/dogs need it. Plenty gentle enough is the key word here. Some dogs/situations need a little more persuasion. ( And some need to be brought down a notch or two by Prince the beast! LoL!) Great job, Joel! Good video explaining how to handle extremely fearful dogs! Greetings from Dallas TX.

[@aliassvemir5733]

A couple of months ago we bought a 4 month old red nose amstaff who we discovered was abnormally petrified of dogs even other puppies. So scared that she'd wee herself, cry like a banshee and tremble uncontrollably. I checked out some of your other videos on fearful dogs and did exactly what you said, slow desensitisation (but not to slow). Within a month we were able to go to the dog park (we have a great dog park in our town with very few incidents of aggression) and she now has plenty of friends to play with. She's still a little freaked out by overly enthusiastic greetings from boisterous dogs, but gets over it pretty quickly. I can't thank you enough Joel for all the knowledge you share with us.

[@leahattwood7242]

He did so well even in this first session. I really hope that Joel can help Oso. All the best!

[@sundancer9324]

Another brilliant video will be watching this one very closely 👍🏻

[@MishaMishaSoprano]

Thank you so much for this! I'm currently dealing with two terrified fosters from a hoarder. Breaks my heart. They deserve so much better, and I will do what I can to help them, so they are ready for adoption one day. This gives me some techniques to start with.

[@bostonmommy8698]

Great video can't wait to see how he does. A fearful dog is so hard to train. Thank you for sharing

[@amandabenson1793]

This was very informative- thank you! I adopted a rescue dog a few months ago who lives between the freeze and flee stages of fear. It is definitely tricky to judge when to respect her fear and when to push her a little bit so it is helpful to see how you and others try to manage that. It’s hard to find videos about dogs as fearful as mine and this guy is pretty close!

[@adrianadelia6957]

What an amazing job you have done with him in just that one session! Amazing!

[@jeremy8171]

You definitely know your stuff! I love this, can’t wait to see the progress!

[@pejoly2]

So happy to see Oso progressing. It is hard to give a struggling dog the time it needs to work through problems. I find most people reward the behavior they don't want, but think they are doing the right thing. Joel's words of wisdom on helping this dog are well received.

[@loribrasseur4562]

It seems like Oso could use the opportunity to gain some confidence. He’s just so worried about everything. Looking forward to his progress! ☺️☺️

[@denisemurray149]

THIS is what I’ve been hoping for from Joel. I have a 9 month old female golden retriever that we got at 13 weeks. She was from a litter of 11 and living with another litter of 10 two weeks prior. Breeder was injured between litters and therefore couldn’t socialize all those pups. She is afraid of so many things, except people and dogs. Loves meeting strangers and dogs. We have not been able to just leash her and walk down the driveway and go for a walk. She pulls in reverse until she stands on her hind legs and spins around and hops like a rabbit to get back to the house. We’ve tried a regular collar and different harnesses. When she gets scared, she has the strength of a full grown giant breed dog. Just bought a gentle leader, hoping it will help, but it’s going to take her a long time to accept it before we see if it helps. She loves walking on long leash on a short hike though. She is healthy, smart, and is finally trusting of us. Through the touch command, and a lot of treats as rewards, she is beginning to take chances like touching inanimate things that she fears. But we have to lift her into the car and she shakes from head to toe the whole time she’s in it. She whines a lot when she’s nervous. I could go on and on. So YES, we want and need to see how you handle this dog. Any help at all from someone like you is welcome. We did try a behaviorist. But it would have taken her years to teach us the techniques we need. She spent her first 2 sessions, spread apart by 2 months having us learn body language and our pup’s threshold. This is our 4th golden. I think we’ve learned body language before this. She never even saw our pup. This was all our homework for 2 months, 2 zooms and $400 later, our pup was no better off and 2 months of ingrained fears, though we were working on desensitization in our own way. We need Joel! Looking forward to learning from you.

[@jasonclark5856]

I'd like to see where happy excitement would come into play because I've seen how much Australian Shepherds prefer excitement over other things. I honestly believe he was probably beaten. All negative energy thrown at him...would just love to see how positive energy would work with this guy. Fearful situations are tough. Loved the video.

[@GirLee316]

Slow and steady wins the race! Great job with Oso. I look forward to seeing more videos on his progress. Even in this video he is getting better with you and the office floor.

[@Themasterchef83383]

Can't wait to see the progress on this dog to pick up some tips .. I have a border collie who's the same afraid of her own shadow and especially flooring that we have in the living room.. We've had her since she was 9 weeks old and she's always been a nervous dog.. She's 4 years now and has come on leaps and bounds but still gets nervous - with encouragement she comes out of her shell . A crate away from the kids has really helped her when she's had enough she will go to her "safe space" till she's ready to come out again.

[@thewhitedragonoracle]

This has confirmed what I instinctively do with my Australian Dingo. Thanks Joel for your wisdom. Dingos are not dogs so alot of training videos dont apply but Ive been watching you for awhile and have applied and adjusted loose leash with miner correction, sit and stay when others walk by, and distraction when cats are near. Other dogs has been the challenge so im trialling sit and lay down when other dogs are across the street. Usually we just change direction but thats not always possible. Slow, quiet voice, and loose leash. Thats all 💛

[@carina9629]

Where on earth did you get a dingo from and why do you have one? How’s taking care of one? I assume their energy is through the roof?

[@oliviagrahammake-upservice7480]

@@carina9629 here in Australia, some states allow ownership, but they are definitely not dogs and a lot of people have no idea how to handle them. I've known several people who have dingoes, they are very similar to coyotes actually.

[@Ireailes]

I just rescued a dingo too!! She is very nervous around new things and tries to run away from people on walks.

[@EwLifeGross]

@@Ireailes Wow you are the third person I've heard of owning a dingo/dingo mix. Very cool imo!

[@brittbernatchez1909]

Your videos are absolutely brilliant! It is so refreshing to see a trainer who uses dog psychology to rehabilitate these dogs. Keep it coming!

[@caroledillanekrajeski5235]

Excellent video! I have a ‘foster failure’ who was born feral and was a lot like Oso when I brought him home at 4 months old. It took a lot of patience and gentle training to get him to the point where he didn’t run from people. He will never be a friendly dog with strangers, but he is no longer totally terrified of everyone. He has accepted our extended family and is content to observe the folks he doesn’t know well from the safety of his open crate. The key to working with him was his absolute love of other dogs. Family and close friends bring their dogs to play with Jax.

[@Firefox-hw3co]

Awwww look how confident he starts getting. You are amazing!!! Wow

[@TheSmilebit]

Thank you so much for doing a video like this, I have a dog who is scared around people (especially guys), he does good around other dogs at the dog park but when more people show up he starts checking out even with the dogs. This video has shown me I might be pushing him to fast with to much but I definitely feel more confident in what I'm doing to get him out and facing his fears. He's over two years old and is an Australian Shepherd and I've had him since he was 3 months old. Please keep up the videos, they have been a tremendous help with my dogs and myself in how I handle them.

[@ondrejjanoska660]

I have 5 years old dog … very very similar to Oso … adopted him from shelter …. Took him almost 4 months to let me touch him …. Now 4 years later he is the best dog in the world…no need for a leach …. Such a character 😊

[@Molly-ty2ue]

Subscribed! I’ve been watching so many of your videos without realizing I wasn’t subscribed. I just love your process, explanation, demeanor, everything! Thank you for making accessible content for all dog owners!

[@kichieskrew4425]

I am so glad I found this video. I am working with a foster puppy who was born to a backyard dog, is a parvo survivor and she is fearful. Her biggest fear is new humans, and she is vocally reactive to them. Everything else about her is amazing, she is smart, sweet and actually pretty mellow. The extreme barking has made it hard to find an adopter for her. After watching this I feel I am on the right track with her and just need to be patient. Luckily, she is very animal social and has done great with dogs of various ages and size. Thank you.

[@adityasingh3647]

One of my dogs is same like him , I am trying to take him to markets and morning walks ,he is progressing but I think this kind of deep fear removal takes a lot of time,you need to have patience. You gave a Very necessary information and reassured that I am going in the right path ❤️❤️❤️

[@pmlm1571]

Oso is so scared. My dog runs from fluttering curtains, open doors at night, frying and/or stove fan. She used to run when I coughed/sneezed when I first got her, but she's over that. She is super reactive to dogs, but wants to meet them or hit them, she doesn't know which. I will follow Oso's career with interest!!! Thanks Joel.

[@sarahrichardson3692]

Thank you so much for sharing this video, I have an 18m old Standard Poodle (got him at 8m old) with severe fear of everything and phobias of people. The one issue I have had with KZbin videos is that they often show extremely reactive dogs and my dog isn’t, he has not shown any even subtle signs of aggression. He has a very strong flight response and not a fight response. I have been working my backside off training him, his obedience and manners are phenomenal and I think this is why he has never developed reactivity. I have taught him that the second he is anxious or unsure he sits, it’s now an automatic reaction. We had fire works go off unexpectedly in our street a few weeks ago, he was off lead (off lead has been good for his confidence), most dogs would experience that and freak out, his first instinct was to bolt which he started to do, then a split second later he sat down and looked at me. If someone comes to the door then he will bark once, find me, and then sit next to me. One of the first things we did was introduce him to dogs and that has helped so much with his confidence. We go out frequently, he has absolutely no issues in the country side, but has fears of people and suburbia. It takes meeting someone literally about 20-30 times before he is comfortable with them. In the last 2 weeks he has finally started accepting treats out of our front door! HUGE progress, used to be that the second the door opened he was over-threshold. He has been on meds for about 6 months in order to help with the training, I couldn’t imagine doing it with out that. Training him has been the most difficult but rewarding thing I have ever done.

[@margodphd]

Beautifully done. I work with scared dogs at shelters,dogs that have almost zero good interactions with people,dogs that are pair or group bonded who suffer terribly when they loose their prison mates. I spend most of my time on the ground, allowing dogs to explore me without moving. If they are afraid of voices, I hum and sing almost constantly, prying then with food. But... without more firm "pushes" , like gently and slowly pulling them into me, some dogs would never have a breakthrough. It is, as you have shown, a delicate balance that ought to be tailored to individual pup. Learning how to read dog's body language and calming signals is paramount for working with fearful dogs. It takes incredible patience but it's so, so rewarding. Know that not all fearful dogs have been abused, some simply lack socialisation and some just are that way, much more fearful and delicate by nature. In shelters, with dogs you can't take to another environment, putting additional things, starting with toys, into their environment is a good strategy to softly expose them to new things.

[@cathyjohnson8748]

Great video! My labradoodle started exhibiting fear at approximately 5 months. Started him at daycare with a fantastic dog handler, which helped immensely. Also, started taking him to new things and areas. Do so much better, but still needs a bit of work

[@bethschell5476]

Joel- You’ve had many excellent videos but this is top notch! I volunteer at shelter in the Chicago suburbs. We see this a lot.... excellent job! Thank you for your patience!

[@5tephanieOS]

more videos like this pls!! this is SUPER helpful! I hate seeing videos where the dogs are perfectly balanced. this is exactly what i was searching for :)

[@gingerwilliams2092]

after watching a couple of minutes i believe your compassion & love for this dog. The Original Dog Whisperer has intuition and a connection with his animals that brings out the best in them in a short time.

[@MrKbtor2]

I really enjoy this channel. The dedication to figuring out a problem and trying to solve it for another living creature.

[@jasonsheets2694]

I like how he touched on when to force them and when to back off. Its really important to be able to read a dog and figure out the best approach. I also didn't think Oso would bite. He was constantly trying to retreat. I shared his trepidation about being in such a vulnerable position. I've been there too. It's a delicate situation. If you move too fast, talk too loud, it could end up no good.

[@theWolfyugo]

I DONT SKIP ADS. JOEL & family these are awesome. 💎 that will last.

[@User7688.--_]

I don’t either!

[@terrigelbaum8066]

Once again ,you validate my love and trust in you as the worlds best dog guy.

[@Aprilme2]

Joel, this is one of the best videos I've seen with a nervous dog. I also use a similar technique when working with fearful dogs.

[@littledogRonnie]

Poor Oso... It's hard to imagine why he would be so afraid of certain flooring. I wonder what he sees through those eyes. His reaction was almost as if he couldn't see a floor and thought he may fall through it. And he seemed better when lying down on it, as though it anchored him.

[@JayofallTrades]

The first few seconds is exactly how my dog reacted in obedience class today. Really informative video thank you

[@Smashthemadness]

The first few seconds of this video are what I disagree with! Never tell a dog “You’re ok” as an attempt to reassure them. Say nothing- or use a message distinctly different than how you “normally” communicate. Personally, I use “Easy” in a low & slow tone. Capture when they’ve stopped avoiding and reinforce with “good”. If you’re in an obedience class with a reactive dog, make sure you always end on a high note! If you have a breakthrough/ improvement- stop the session. Give Jackpot reward. “Baiting” aka bribing with treats should be avoided when in fearful state. Said technique is more useful in your home, when not asking them to do anything. Just affiliating yourself with positive/ pleasant experiences only. As shown in video, when they’re scared- they don’t care about treats. Just focus on creating experiences of nothing bad happening.

[@estherburke4079]

This is helpful for relating to some irrationally fearful people in my life too.., i.e., that it's a fine line between accommodating their fear, and challenging their irrational fear. Helpful on more than one level. Thank you!

[@andiet3313]

Another great tutorial. I look forward to seeing his progress.

[@roxannecapitani1939]

You're great Joel, you adapt your training based on the dog so nicely. Going from firm to soft is not as easy as you make it look. Excellent video, thank you.

[@MB-lf8rm]

It's a terrible thing to be in such a situation, prevented from to using the tool Nature gave him: fight or flight. But Nature gave him another tool: adapt. Adapt, and then, overcome. If he can adapt to the situation, he can overcome his fear.

[@allisonlevy616]

Thanks for being patient with him and finding what motivates him nice work.

[@dlmsarge8329]

Like with almost all injuries in life, time is a wonderful healer. The healing power of time can be miraculous.

[@allybulloch8335]

Wow, great video and very helpful. Oso was a little better in such a short time. I hope you continue to update us on his progress. Thanks!

[@juliekiddell5687]

Love this video thanks. Watching this has surprised me as a cognitive therapist I actually use similar desensitisation techniques, no leash obviously 😂 your job is so much tougher as I can simply ask my clients, what actually do you like, what does make you feel better…it’s trial and error working with your dog, building up that relationship. That’s for the learning. We should be getting our rescue dog soon, will keep watching 😀

[@drogon2988]

Fantastic video. Poor guy. I really hope he improves. I can't wait to see an update!

[@jakiro_]

A challenge for sure! Very interesting to see how you progress with this guy.

[@vas4739]

Wow! I don’t have a dog but he certainly looks like a sweetheart! I pray you have MUCH success in helping this dear soul find his world is not out to hurt him.

[@jenniferrothschild4329]

Joel you’re amazing. Thank you!!!

[@IskalkaQuest2010]

Very interesting. Looking forward to seeing how things work out with this dog. Hopefully, more videos on your work with him.

[@ruthdederich3622]

Bless you so much. Thanks, thank you, thank you.

[@KingsMom831]

Great job Joel! One thing that has worked well for me working with dogs similar to this is to get lower to the ground and often to face away from them so that they are looking at the back of me. Also, to completely ignore them. Obviously, this has to be evaluated on a case by case basis and not every dog would respond well to this. I love watching you work with new dogs. You make it look so easy and people who have never worked with dogs don’t realize it’s actually much harder, if you don’t have years of experience. Obviously, this is how you get better, working with more dogs, especially unfamiliar dogs.

[@vikingdogmanship]

I agree, I sometimes lay down on the ground with my belly up 🤣 (I probably look nuts, but i dont care:) It communicates trust, then take it slowly from there. It have work it many. Also pressure and release training Not moving away from pressure but moving into realise.

[@KingsMom831]

@@vikingdogmanship exactly! Spoken like a true horse person 😁🐴

[@underworldbean3942]

Amazing comment, and I totally agree! (This is a long comment, my apologies!) The case by case thing is also true, a few days ago there was a couple walking a beautiful bulldog mix and I walked up and asked if I could pet it. The dog seemed fine (it’s body was relaxed, tail wagging loose, ears relaxed) and the couple seemed very happy that I asked to pet the dog. They said “Oh yes! She does jump a little though”. I lowered my self to the ground and didn’t make eye contact with the dog and stuck one hand in the general direction of the dog. (If a dog doesn’t approach me at this point, or sniffs my hand and walks away, I will NOT pet it or pursue it.) The dog walked up to me, tail wagging and sniffed my hand and rubbed up against my legs. I started to pet it and something flipped in the dogs brain. This short, stubby bulldog mix jumped from the ground to my face and bit my head. Luckily I had just a normal ball cap on and it barely missed my eye and ripped my hat off and got some of my hair as well. Its chin hit my nose so hard that my eyes/nose started watering and my nose is bruised now. I apologized to the owners because I am the one who asked to pet their dog and I must have done something wrong. What do you think I did wrong in this situation? The owners didn’t seem surprised or even worried that their dog just tried to scalp me, they didn’t even apologized till I was walking away. I’m just genuinely confused as to what I did wrong because I don’t want it to happen again.

[@vikingdogmanship]

@@underworldbean3942 could be a young adolescent dog? The owners might not understand the importance of teaching a dog how to be polite and "play" nice and fair. They might be used to this dogs sudden movements and ruff behaviours, and even encourage it at home. He could also be aloud to steal things like hats, hair ties, socks etc from owners. I see there are trends on tiktok, and people think it's funny... until the dog does it to the wrong person.... I honestly dont know why this dog attacked you. It could also have pain somewhere, or bad genetics. usually it can be a combination. I take in dogs for training and rehoming, this one dog kept jumping up biting people in the jacket arm. I Offcourse asked the owners the obvious... they had let him from he was a puppy, bite their jacket sleeves for fun... It was a herding dog. And when they get obsessed with a learned behaviour like that, it takes time to fix, and a strong and aware dog owner. Regardless I find it strange the owners didn't excuse that their dog almoust bit you. I'm so sorry that happend to you.

[@underworldbean3942]

@@vikingdogmanship I understand what you mean. I believe the owners were in some form of denial as to how dangerous that kind of play is with strangers. The dog may be perfectly fine and play like that with its owners but like you said, if it happens to the wrong person it could go wrong very fast. Based on the owners reactions, I do unfortunately believe that dog will intentionally/unintentionally hurt someone very bad during its life. I am grateful that I got away with only minor bruising. Thank you for your response!

[@shawnalynn8566]

So much technique to take to work! Practices that I had begun and see you teaching. Just encouraged to know I'm walking in the right direction!

[@jenniferrothschild4329]

YOU ARE AMAZING. Thank you Joel!!!!

[@joannecolclough823]

I so want to see him get better so sad to see trust you will get there

[@mariajeannotte5088]

So fascinating, you can see this poor baby is terrorized. I love how you work with him.

[@lourobin2728]

As the saying goes “Face your fears”. He is in good hands to get over his fears.

[@sweetpotato7702]

Another great video. Looking forward to see his process.

[@user-eo5mc4jx2x]

Great video, Joel! Your videos are getting better and better. You are explaining things in a much clearer way these days. Keep up the good work. Lots of ppl can really benefit from this training, myself included! Greetings from Dallas TX! 😊👍

[@rachburn2219]

Just wanted to give you another thumbs up 💯👍😁🐕 Always enjoy seeing you read each dog as it's own individual personality and then making their own personalised program 👍👍👍

[@bruslinagarcia8680]

Thanks so much for all your videos, love the information you share with us!!

[@rupalidesai81]

The video helped m a lot my rescue is also very fearful of everything and everyone. I have been working with her for one year to desensitize her of sounds,people,places,rides and it is a very slow progress. Thank you

[@dbk7591]

Love your videos. So glad I found you and subscribed. I already have learned so much and been reminded of much from past training. I would like to ask questions but I think I already know what you would answer. I have so many neighbors with little dogs (like a dozen or more with 8 pound dogs or smaller) that just let their dogs pull and bark and lunge. I have to be so much better because my dogs, which I always walk separately, are 50 and 30 pounds. I just get so frustrated sometimes. You are so patient! I will keep watching and learning!

[@chowbaby63]

I got my rescue boy as a puppy and it's been good knowing some history of his fear. He and 2 siblings that were a week old were found in a trailer with 80 adult Chows. They all had this genetic fear. I got my boy at about 9 weeks old and rescue friends fostered several adults that are exactly like my boy. Absolutely terrified of everything. I had 3 seniors when I brought this puppy home and when the last one passed away he fell apart. He never got his confidence back. He's now 8 years old and unfortunately he's not much better no matter how much I work with him. He's still afraid of my husband who was here when I brought him home. So thank you for the fearful videos. I relate on every level. I feel sad I haven't been able to make much progress in 8 years.

[@blakecleavenger]

Appreciate this video. I adopted a Korean Jindo that was rescued from the markets there and it has been a real struggle trying to get over his fears. He still has full body tremors when he leaves the house. I've been working trying to build his confidence and I'll be trying some of your tactis shown here. Breaks my heart he can't relax and be a dog.

[@aliciaohara8794]

There's some life lessons for people who suffer from anxiety in this video too.

[@TheLeonard185]

He’s so sensitive to your change of tone when chilling with him versus talking to us -- your viewers -- . You are going be such a good thing for this babyboi : I can’t wait . I would say good luck but you don’t need it : he’s gunna be ur best friend in a week . Good stuff ✅

[@shannon2228]

You have so much patience LOL thank you for that