Book Review: Bark! by Zazie Todd
The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog
If your dog pants in the car, shakes at the vet, panics during fireworks, acts aggressively toward other dogs or strangers, or guards their food, you need to read Zazie Todd’s Bark! All of these and other behaviors covered in Bark! stem from a dog’s fear and anxiety. In Bark! she interprets these behaviors and brilliantly explains humane ways to help dogs manage and change them.
Because Todd is a companion animal psychologist, her book is based on the most current animal behavior science, which she delivers in clear, understandable, and actionable prose. Her love of troubled dogs and their frustrated owners shines through on every page. Throughout the book, Todd connects with readers by sharing her personal struggles and successes helping her own fearful dogs and cat.
In the first seven chapters, Todd explains why dogs can become anxious and afraid, how those fears lead to problematic behaviors, why punishment only makes things worse, and how to use positive approaches to help your dog. She also reviews common myths about these behaviors and how to address them. For example, it used to be thought that dogs exhibiting aggressive behavior needed to be dominated - they shouldn’t be permitted on couches or beds so that the owner maintained their leadership or Alpha status. Thankfully, Todd says science has debunked that myth, explaining that actually letting dogs choose where they sleep and to be close to their human reduces their stress. And reducing stress is key to eliminating unwanted behavior.
She devotes a chapter each to the fear of people and other dogs, fear of loud noises, fear of the vet, fear of being alone, and fear of losing their food or toys. In each of these chapters, she delivers proven comforting and counter conditioning strategies that work.
In the chapter on fear of other dogs, Todd recommends bringing treats on walks and as soon your dog sees the scary stimulus (e.g. another dog) start giving your dog treats like it’s an “open bar” and stop giving them when the stimulus has passed. In time, she says, your dog will associate the scary stimulus with yummy treats and may even come to like that formerly scary thing. This is an example of counter conditioning. Over the past week, I’ve started bringing treats on walks with my dog Basil, who is afraid of other dogs, and she’s already paying more attention to me when other dogs pass us.
Todd’s book covers the concept of the Three D’s: distance, duration, and distractions. Distance is how far a dog needs to be from the thing they fear to feel safe, duration is how long they can tolerate being exposed to the fearful stimulus, and distractions are the things that can take their focus away from you, which makes training harder. Being aware of these three D’s is an important starting point. Overcoming fears takes time. Todd encourages pet parents to be patient as results won’t happen overnight. Tracking incremental changes in distance and duration is a great way to measure progress and gain reassurance. If your dog can comfortably get even a foot closer to the fearful stimulus than they could before, that’s progress.
In Bark! Todd does an excellent job of reframing problematic or aggressive behaviors and emphasizing the importance of prioritizing a dog’s emotional needs. She stresses that dogs aren’t being bad when they exhibit unwanted behaviors. Those behaviors mean the dog is fearful and needs your help. And she provides practical tips to do just that, such as giving the dog a safe space to which they can choose to retreat where no one will bother them, avoiding vet waiting rooms and instead seeing if your vet will let you wait for your appointment in the car with your dog, and providing them with consistent exercise and enrichment activities.
Bark! delivers a roadmap pet parents can follow to help alleviate their dog’s fears. But because not all fears can be completely eliminated, Todd also outlines techniques to help pet parents manage those fears. With the dog’s emotional wellbeing in mind, she says that in some cases it might be best simply to avoid exposing the dog to the thing they fear. This might mean not leaving them alone for longer than they can tolerate or not introducing them to other people or dogs. And it might also mean asking a vet to prescribe medication for their anxiety.
Todd explains that in certain cases, anxiety medications can take the edge off a dog’s fears enough to enable them to engage in and benefit from counter conditioning training techniques. She also encourages all pet parents to work with their vets to make sure the problematic behavior is not being caused by pain. When problematic behaviors arise seemingly out of nowhere, pain from arthritis or illness could be to blame.
She also encourages pet parents to work with professional trainers, who will be able to assess a dog’s behavior and develop a personalized training program. In one of the last chapters, she even shares advice on how to find the right trainer for your pet and breaks down the different certifications trainers and veterinarians can obtain.
Not only does Bark! provide great information to help pet parents better understand and humanely address problematic behaviors, but also it offers support to pet parents who feel frustrated and even disappointed in their dog’s behavior. It is a must-read for anyone struggling with a fearful or anxious dog. And as it’s the holiday season, Bark! makes a great gift for dog lovers.
Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog
Disclosure:
Neither Jen Ericson nor Pet Care Pointers receives any compensation, commission, or benefit from sales or promotion of this book.