Confidence
...
Some
dogs are born with confidence. They accept new surroundings,
people, and situations with aplomb and react, if not
positively to change, at least without anxiety. Unfortunately,
bold
and fearless do not describe most Akitas. As puppies,
they are very careful and quite cautious. Few I've seen
are
ever reckless. Akitas generally look before they leap.
I think of this breed as being born forty and then getting
older. Except when hunting or fighting, they are
rarely risk- takers. They seem stodgy and resistent
to change, a tendency that can cement itself in the older dog. Anything
that
tells them their caution is justified reinforces the reaction. Consequently,
unsocialized, unexposed dogs frequently are anxious when put in unfamiliar
circumstances. The dog's anxiety level is proportionate
to the number of strange things in the
environment and their magnitude. In the worst case, the dog may have a
panic attack.
Building confidence is very important to those of use who
are showing and should be important to pet owners as we;.
A self- assured dog can go to the veterinarian, stay at the
boarding kennel, accompany the family on a campout and even
pack some of their equipment, go to dog shows, and compete
in obedience trials. His poise in the face of new situations
is based in part on inherited traits and in part on the ability
to handle stress.
Managing Stress
Puppies encounter stress and learn to deal with it from
the moment they are born. To enhance this ability,
puppies
must encounter manageable stress and must deal
with it on their own. From the outset, you should
pick up each
puppy and handle it. At first, this will be
when you weigh them after birth. In addition to putting
them on the scale,
you should hold the puppy, stroke it, and talk
to it. They cannot hear you, but they can feel the
vibrations from
your speech. Individual handling should increase
in amount and duration as the puppy grows. Walk about
the house with
it. Different rooms have different smells,
temperatures, and sounds.
This
should continue when the puppies' eyes and ears are open.
Individually, each can
be put on the floor and allowed to walk about
and explore outside
the litter box and without the security of mom and siblings.
You will have to monitor the puppy's reactions.
He can easily get into trouble. He can be
mildly fearful but should be able to allay those fears in a short
time. Any stressful situation he encounters
should be mild enough for him to overcome.
In so doing, the dog is learning not only to handle the
particular situation he encounters, he is learning to learn.
That is, he is developing a set of mental tools that allow
him to evaluate and react suitably to new situations. The
more successful he is at this, the more confident he will
become.
To help this process along, the puppy needs to gain experience.
He must be taken out into a world larger than his whelping
box. As he grows, this world should expand from the back
yard to the front, then to the neighborhood, then to training
classes, shows, and other areas where large numbers of dogs
and/or people gather. Here, he will learn to take cues from
you and other humans and dogs.
The world is full of many things frightening to youngsters
who lack the experience to evaluate whether something strange
presents a real threat. To determine whether fear and perhaps
flight are justified, the youngster will look to his mother,
his siblings, and to you.
Discouraging Fear Responses
So, what do you do when the dog gets into trouble? It
can happen anywhere. I've had puppies and young dogs
go bananas
over a mailbox or garbage sack.
One of the worst panic attacks I've ever had was
when one of my Shepherds encountered
a bronze statue in a neighbor's
front yard. She walked up and sniffed it, then freaked
out.
Back to my veterinarian's advice,
abject terror can only last for
so long. An animal has only so
much adrenaline, and as the supply
decreases, the panic
does too. Until this happens, reason is not the animal's
strong point, but once adrenaline
is depleted, the animal calms considerably.
Your best course
is to do nothing until the dog's flight response begins
to shut down. You can talk to the
dog, but make sure you are not
sympathetic. The tone to strike
is as if someone has told you a mildly amusing joke.
If someone else is with
you, you can both talk in a normal tone until the dog
calms down.
Throughout,
keep the dog as close to the
problem as possible. In severe panic attacks, you may have
to back off, then reapproach.
Tell the dog in a no-nonsense
voice, "This is nothing
to be afraid of. Look," then
touch the object yourself or
walk up to it. Let the dog
see you're not afraid. Eventually,
the dog will approach it. Then
you can praise him and tell him
he's very brave. As young
dogs and puppies deal successfully
with fears, they will become
generally less fearful. Each
time they conquer a problem,
they gain confidence in their
abilities and in you.
Obedience
Training
Very few Akitas are actually "spooky." Instead,
they are cautious and careful. When these characteristics
are coupled with a lack of confidence, the
dog can become very unhappy when he is in a
strange situation. For these
dogs, obedience training is a godsend. Confident
dogs can reach into their bag of tricks and
find a way to deal with
the unusual. The structure provided by obedience
training gives the less confident dog a prescribed
method for handing
stressful situations. As he handles them, his
confidence in his abilities increases, and
he becomes less anxious.
