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As humans, we mistakenly think that if our companion is frightened by something, they just need to be exposed enough to it and realize that nothing bad is happening to them. As a result, they will learn that the stimulus is no longer scary. Although well-intentioned, this way of thinking can have many harmful effects. This phenomenon is called flooding, and it essentially means inundating the learner with stimuli that cause a strong negative emotional response in the hopes that they will adapt.
Here is an example :
Let’s say your dog is quite afraid of unfamiliar people. You know that people who try to befriend your puppy are not trying to harm him. In fact, every time a familiar person within his surroundings says hello to him, they pet him and he enjoys it, then he will surely begin to realize that since strangers pet him too and petting feels good for him. the part of people he likes, strangers are not. bad and maybe he likes them too? Yet he continues to cower and avoid them.
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The first thing we need to do is examine your dog’s perception. Instead of your dog being scared of a stranger and then realizing the stranger is doing something that makes him feel good, what’s probably happening is your dog is scared of the person and now that scary person is. touches, which is more direct and intense and therefore even scarier than before. They don’t like it. When creating associations, it is important to know that the first thing that happens becomes an indicator of the second thing. For example, we pick up the leash, then the dog goes for a walk. If your dog loves walks, he learns that the leash = SUPER EXCITING THINGS! But if your dog doesn’t like walks, what does the leash predict? If a strong enough emotional response occurs, such as fear, their learning center has difficulty making connections because it is too busy trying to fight, flee, freeze, or fidget. Assuming that a dog will learn to like a scary person if he gets petted because he likes to be petted by people he likes is like saying that because you were once seen hugging someone dear in his arms, you love hugs from anyone at any time. It means someone you don’t like gives you a hug and it instantly turns into best friend status, right?
We also inadvertently teach this dog that scary people don’t give him space to feel safe.
Safety means your dog is physically safe from danger. Your dog in this situation is actually safe. No one is really going to hurt him. Safety is your dog feels on. If your dog shows signs of anxiety, stress or fear, he doesn’t feel safe. From their point of view, They are not.
Think of something that scares you that others don’t. I say this because many people have what society considers to be an irrational fear. It could be spiders, snakes, rats, heights, tight spaces, needles, or any number of other things. Even though human beings have the cognitive capacity to understand that their fear response may not be justified or reasonable, that does not change the panic, distress, or terror that being forced to do so would cause. to face these things. Fear, at its core, is a biological necessity for survival. Of all these things I just listed as common irrational fears, some of them are also things that can technically cause you real harm if the stars align. But statistically, this is unlikely to be the case in most reasonable situations. If you’re faced with a perceived threat, your brain doesn’t have time to decide whether it’s worth reacting strongly to it. In a truly dangerous situation, you may not be able to afford a few seconds or minutes of deliberation, so your mind leans toward the side of caution.
You could hold me down and put tarantulas on me and no amount of reasoning that I’m safe will change my fear. You could give me all the statistics you want. You could do this a hundred times and I would never be hurt by them. But this method will never make me feel safe with spiders on me. I might eventually learn that I can’t change the outcome of this flood and stop. Maybe I’ll stop struggling or screaming or pleading and someone might think that means I’m not afraid anymore. Unfortunately, being in a shutdown state is even more tragic because it means I’m trying to cope by shutting myself down emotionally as a means of self-preservation.
Suppression can lead to some pretty terrible emotional trauma and even cause behavioral consequences such as an explosive recurrence of unwanted responses or much larger problems such as generalized anxiety or intensified problems with stress, fear or aggression.
So the moral is that floods don’t put out fires, but they can create them. This doesn’t actually help your companion learn to face their fears or discomfort in a healthy way, which leads to better emotional health.
There are things you can do to respond to your pet’s fear responses, whether it’s a cat, dog, bird, or any other animal. If your companion shows fear or anxiety when faced with certain stimuli (which may result in avoidance, aggression, or other things), first protect his emotional health and avoid putting him in situations that will put them in a state of stress, then contact a qualified behavior consultant who can help you put a plan in place to get them on the right path to better behavioral health.