Working with Fearful Dogs in Your Pet Care Business

A great pet care business will have a plan for working with fearful dogs. Nervous and fearful dogs will visit your pet care center and the good news is most adjust to the environment quickly. However, for the dogs that need a little extra time and help adjusting it is important that you create an environment and management plan that sets them up for success.

Debbie Oliver, CPDT-KSA has developed a specialty of working with fearful dogs at her canine activity center in Texas. She joined us recently to share tips for setting up an environment that helps dogs feel safe and in control of deciding when they are ready to greet and interact with other dogs. 

With fearful dogs the slower you go the faster you will get there. 

This means it is critical to go at the dog’s pace based on their body language and behavior. You should also set this work up as a special program and charge more than your normal daycare visit. This can be hard for pet parents to understand so Debbie also shares ideas on how to communicate your plan to them. You don’t need a certified dog trainer to help the moderately fearful dogs make this adjustment.

You’ll definitely want to watch our full video as we closed with ideas on how you can add revenue streams helping dogs become comfortable with husbandry jobs. Whether it is crate training, nail trimming, putting on a harness or accepting a comb you will love the demo on letting the dog choose. Riz and Debbie demonstrate a quick exercise on choosing to be combed, and again, you don’t need professional trainers to do these exercises. 

There will always be dogs that exhibit fears so there is a great opportunity for professional pet care providers to help them adjust at their pace and choice. Your business can also profit as you help fearful Fido grow in confidence, a win/win worth celebrating!