As owners, we need to think one step ahead for our dogs and set our dogs up to be confident in whatever situations they might find themselves in.
At present, we are seeing an increase in people wearing face masks and on our daily walks our dogs might encounter people wearing these or perhaps scarves obscuring people’s faces – something they may never have encountered before. As a result I thought I would put together a short tutorial on how you can acclimatise and desensitise your dog to this new experience and ensure that they do not become worried or afraid when seeing these items on people’s faces.
As always, work at your dog’s pace, at distance to begin with, and reward their positive, calm and accepting behaviour so that they can make positive associations with the item or object. This will help them to ‘figure out’ the stimulus and understand that it is nothing to be worried about, building their confidence.
This principle can be applied to introducing and desensitising your dog to a range of items, not just the face mask seen in this video. Think about what your dog needs and what they might experience in a day, or need to be confident around after lockdown is over, and tailor your training to address this.
Let me know how you get on and what other items you apply the positive association training too! Much love and keep safe.
Disclaimer: All training is attempted at the owner’s risk and Adem Fehmi accepts no liability for any injuries to pets or owners sustained during training. If your dog is showing signs of a behavioural issue please seek professional advice.
