I have been training my lab, Bella for about a month using the techniques in the Basic Obedience DVD. Bella is very nervous and seems to pick up on things in the environment that I can't even see. She will bush up quickly if she feels uneasy, and I am not sure what to do. So, how do you all suggest I help her calm down?

The best thing you can do for a nervous dog is to be a fair, predictable and confident leader to your dog. You must be obsessed in training this dog to succede at what ever you do and this togeather will build confidence.

I don't know if you are talking about the tendency that some dogs have (especilally when young) to pick something out in the distance (that you don't see) and puff up/bark or growl at it. I am quite sure you could get all kinds of stories out of folks on this page about that experience.

This often happens with new things in an environment. For example you walk past the same house every day and then one day they put up a Santa cut out on the front lawn. You approach said house and the dog goes nuts!

Those are good opportunities because you can tell what the dog is responding to and you know it does not pose a threat. I try to react the same way with confidence when things like this happen. "check it out" is what I say with confidence, I encourage him to approach the object and sniff it and generally check it out. When he was young I would have to lure him to some scary things with treats, but know he is confident enough to trust me. Once he has checked out the offending object and generally looks embarrased for making a fuss about a peice of plywood, he will get heavy praise and treat if I have one (often as a pup, almost never now).

This could be a plastic bag stuck in a tree, a boat bumper floating in the water, a rock or stump in the woods. If you can figure out that it is what the dog is responding to and it is safe, think of a way to approach it and deal with it. I can now tell my dog to "check it out" off leash no problem as well.

Now sometimes a dog will bark, react to something that is not safe to "check out". Another dog, a person that you will not be able to "check out" or an item on private property or that could be dangerous. For these cases I have a different phrase. "no big deal". With consistancy and trust, my dog has learned that if he reacts to something, he will generally look at me (leader) to see how I react. I simply stay calm and say "no big deal". I then praise/treat him for not barking and calming down. Kinda like saying to my dog "thanks for the warning, but I am not really worried about that".

I hope this is what you were asking about Project confidence, be predictable, be a good leader. This will improve your dog's confidence. Age will help too combined with the other things I mentioned.

Just what has worked for me...

Hi Rick,

How old is Bella?

I have a "nervous nelly", my 5 year old German Shepherd. Grace has always been a highly excitable, easily worried, etc.

What helped us a lot is tons and tons of obedience training...she has done regular obedience, rally-o and agility. All have helped to increase our bond (which at this point our bond is truly amazing!), along with her confidence and she is truly a go anywhere, do anything dog now.

If you have the basic obedience DVD, then you are on the right track. It is an excellent resource! It will help you in the learning phase of training and when she is ready for some distraction training, consider attending a good training class.

Also, this may be something you already know, but do not accidently encourage nervous behavior by comforting her while she is in this state of mind. I have found it best to continue on and work on re-focusing her attention on yourself.

Good Luck!

Thanks!

Bella is 11 months old, and I think the previous owner didn't take the dog out too often, so I am sure she is reacting to new experiences.

With regard to our bond, I noticed an immediate difference after going through groundwork. The basic obedience training is also building the bond between us. I just love it when she looks into my eyes awaiting command!

 Quote: Melissa Hoyer

Also, this may be something you already know, but do not accidently encourage nervous behavior by comforting her while she is in this state of mind.

I wish I could remember where, but I once read about a seminar where the speaker took a very nervous/irratic dog out in front of an audience. The dog got nervous, and the lady just used a long staff to stroke the dog's fur back down and she put the dog's body back in a comfortable state. Supposedly, this calmed the dog down, but I have heard twice in this forum about not petting the dog while it is nervous.