Why it’s so important to advocate for your dog

Doing exposure work with your dog is extremely important to conquering and working through their fears. But, it’s important to consider whether their fears are valid or invalid and irrational. What we mean by that is if your dog is afraid of crowded public spaces, and you take them to sit undisturbed in a crowded public space for a couple of hours, you will probably be able to make some headway with that fear. You’re showing your sound there is nothing to really be afraid of. HOWEVER, if in the same scenario you allowed strangers to repeatedly approach and interact with your dog, you’re proving their fear is valid and may actually be making it WORSE. You have to advocate for your dog and build trust with them so that they know, you’re in control of the situation and you’re not going to let anything bad happen to them. And if you’re not advocating for them by saying “please don’t pet my dog, they’re training”, then you’re hurting any chances you have at actually building that trust.

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