Meet Zazu The Miniture Dachshund.

Zazu is nervous about a lot of things like random noises, people, dogs, and bikes. When he gets nervous his survival instincts kick in and he barks when he doesn't know how to respond.

When working with a startle response it's important to not only create positive association operantly but also introduce a way for interrupting his automatic response of barking before it starts. Then we can submit a new alternative behaviour for when he's startled. In the meantime we're working on teaching him to settle so we can introduce triggers at a level he's comfortable with. With practice, people or noises in the home will predict chicken so we can change his emotional response, then increase difficulty or reduce distance.

His owners did really well picking up when to use each method, and by the end, Zazu was starting to relax with Denise moving around. He's got a lot of work to do but I have no doubt his devoted owners will help get him there.

If this case sounds like your dog and you are having a similar issue, or a different issue entirely, book a FREE assessment call with us by clicking HERE.