How to Make Dog More Confident

Does your dog seem scared of everything? If your dog is not naturally tail-waggling and joyous, their confidence could be the main culprit. Those fearful, uncomfortable, and insecure feelings can, with the right measures, be eliminated, boosting your dog’s confidence. The best dog training services will set you on the right path as you strive to make your furry friend more confident. Traumatic events, genetics, puppy socialization, lack of confidence could stem from various concerns. Understanding the why can help you tailor an approach best suited to help the dog. As you consider how to help dogs build confidence, here are a few tricks to get you started.

Desensitizing

What triggers fear in your dog? Those predictable triggers can help build the dog’s confidence by employing a systematic desensitization approach. Repeated exposure, but ensuring the dog isn’t overwhelmed, takes the fear away. They’ll realize that the concern is not scary after all, building confidence. You can even kick the efforts a notch higher by exposing the dog to the trigger and rewarding their response as they face it with more composure, fast-tracking the dog confidence training process.

Positive training techniques

Training your dog with punitive measures affects their confidence levels. They are being obedient out of fear. Positive training allows the dog to learn new things and understand how to navigate certain concerns. With dog-friendly measures, the process will be more of a team effort, which further improves their understanding and makes it easier to make the right decisions even in those uncertain moments. Positive reinforcement builds confidence, not fear, helping your dog deal with various situations with ease.

More skills

Agility training is an excellent confidence builder for your dog. The more skills a dog learns, the more they have faith in their capabilities. They learn to navigate their surroundings in many ways, meaning those aspects that seem like gigantic obstacles will gradually feel less challenging. They can maneuver a situation in different approaches, avoiding the frustrations of feeling stuck if one solution doesn’t work. What’s more, as they can do a lot, it’ll be easier to distract them from focusing on fear triggers.

Spice it up

Are you exposing the dog to an environment where it can thrive? If the dog mostly remains indoors, the confidence level will keep deteriorating. They are used to the environment with hardly any new exciting or challenging situations. Find an environment that the dog can thrive in, such as going on a hike. Instead of sitting back home worrying and anxious, the dog will explore a new environment, curious and excited. Facing and overcoming new challenges build on a dog’s confidence. Spicing its life up can help deal with many fears, boosting their confidence.

Obedience training

Obedience training is all about developing a language with the dog. This helps build trust, which makes it easier to guide your dog when facing a fearful situation. You’ll easily pick on those cues, know if it is feeling anxious, and direct the dog, ensuring they no longer feel scared. This makes it easier to help your dog face its fears and grow more confident.

Patience is essential as you help your dog become more confident. The good news is that the process doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You can supercharge the process by hiring professional dog confidence training services, allowing you to enjoy your furry friend’s company as much as you’ve always desired.