Helping Your Dog Recover After A Crisis

'Yesterday 16 dogs were stolen in a dog-walkers van. It must have been a terrifying ordeal and I can't even begin to imagine if this happened to me, or any one dog in our care. Now the recovery must occur, both for the dog's and their caregivers. 

To help, here are some suggestions to help your dog regain his balance and confidence (I use 'him' for ease of reading but your dog may be a 'her'):

• Your dog may start following you everywhere and be more anxious when you are out of sight. If your dog knows how to settle and stay, give him the command. Then, move away, not too far, allowing him to see you. After 10-30 seconds, provide positive praise, and a treat. If he tolerates it well, do this a few times moving further and further away. If he gets anxious, reduce the space between you until his confidence returns. This may take hours or days. Do not rush, allowing the pace to be set by his tolerance and anxiety level before increasing the distance.  Next, begin to have short absences out of sight (5-10 seconds) again at a pace the dog can manage, and increase to 30 minutes. If his confidence does not rebound, consider a full Separation Anxiety Plan with a Canine Behaviourist.
• Your dog may be frightened and anxious to be placed in a van or vehicle.  It is critical that until your dog has overcome this fear that he NOT be left alone in a vehicle, even with another dog.  Begin to overcome his fear by opening up all doors on the family vehicle where all the good comforting smells are. Place special, high-value treats on the seats. Allow your dog to jump in when he is ready to get the treat, unless very small and then gently place him on the seat. Once the dog is enjoying the treat, sit in the car with him with all the doors remaining open. Do this exercise for approximately 5-days without attempting to close the doors or drive anywhere.  By the fifth day of jumping in the car and getting treats, he should feel the car is an amazing place, and you can close the doors, and eventually take your dog for a drive.
• Little dogs may have fear of being enclosed with bigger dogs at this stage or manifest a noise sensitivity to barking or simply be more reactive. This is harder to overcome if you are planning to put your dog through the same experience with the same dog-walker, and with a similar number of dogs. Note; Sixteen seems like a lot in one van but hopefully, they were all restrained in a harness to a seat belt and not stepping on one another.  If you can manage to do group walks locally without having your dog transported, it may be an ideal first step. A longer support plan may be needed if these psychological symptoms are showing.

Sparky Smith is a Certified Behaviour Consultant and Associate Director of the International School for Canine Psychology and Behaviour in Canada. Sparky services clients in Canada via remote video conferencing.  She can be reached at sparky@executivepetservices.ca or (705)788-7688.