Cita
Posted : 10/29/2008 2:45:31 PM
My dog is very, very sensitive (neurotic, really) and can be very easily frightened. He also will bite if forcibly removed from somewhere he's "hiding" - to him, everything seems very "life or death" in a way. He's not biting to be mean, he's biting because he feels like if he doesn't take a stand NOW, it will be the END of him. You know what I mean? Imagine a friend of yours is literally trying to drag you onto, say, a rollercoaster, or something else that you're extremely frightened of and/or upset by. Imagine the panic and fear you would be feeling, and how all logical, rational thought might kind of go out the window. Maybe you would scream. Maybe you would cry. Whatever. Point is, you wouldn't be thinking straight, right?
So imagine your dog is in the same frame of mind when he's hiding under the furniture. To you it's no big deal, after all you're just asking him to [go in the crate, have a bath, hold still to be brushed, whatever], right? But to him, it's a total moment of desperation.
With that in mind, I've found the best approach (with my particular dog, at least) is to just defuse the sitaution. Don't make it a conflict anymore. If he goes to hide under the furniture, don't try to drag him out, or even continue to "bribe" him. (Sometimes just your body language of approaching his hiding place and reaching towards him, even if it's with food in your hand, can be enough to frighten a dog further and escalate the situation. Even though that's totally not what you meant to do!) So just relax. Sit down on the ground, don't face the dog, just sit quietly for a second, and then (while still not facing or looking at the dog) call him to you. My little guy responds best to me patting the ground beside me. Then just wait, and relax. Avoid making it a conflict situation. When your dog finally does come out, praise him gently (don't be too loud or enthusiastic, because again you might scare him accidentally), maybe offer him a light scratch or a treat depending on what he likes, and then just walk away. What you want to aim for is for him "coming out of hiding" to be a non-issue.
In other words, you don't want to reinforce the "hiding" by making him feel like he has something to hide from, you know what I mean?
I've found typically in these situations it isn't so much about being "alpha" or having "discipline" or anything like that. What it usually boils down to is the dog being frightened (for whatever reason, often through no conscious fault of the human) and the human not recognizing or knowing how to dissipate that fear.
For my little guy (who's a real handful - I totally empathize), I find that thinking of him as a very small human child helps give me the patience and understanding I need to work with him successfully. I think of myself more as a "parent" to him than even a "leader" or "alpha," and it helps me be much more gentle and empathetic when he's having an "issue" (even though I often feel like screaming and scruffing him by the neck in frustration instead! but that of course would be totally wrong on many levels, so I have to work hard to keep my patience!).
Hope me sharing my experiences was at least a little bit helpful :)