THE DOGKIND BLOG

Dog care, self care. Love life with your dog.

Should you tether a fearful dog to you? Jul 10, 2025

You adopted or are fostering a dog who is timid, and a bit afraid of you. If you search online and on social media, you'll sometimes see the advice to tether the dog to you with a leash, so they have ...

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Will your fearful dog get used to the leash? Jun 27, 2025

Is your dog afraid of their leash?  Have you heard that they'll get used to it, if you leave the leash attached to them? 

This is common advice, but unfortunately it isn't good advice. In this video, I...

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Is it bad to "coddle" your fearful dog? Jun 18, 2025

Have you heard that "coddling" or babying your fearful dog will make them worse?  Or that in order to become more confident, your sensitive dog has to face their fears? Wondering if it's true? 

If you'...

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Why isn't my nervous dog getting better? May 28, 2025

Does it seem like your fearful, shy, or anxious dog is stuck in their training? Not making progress, or maybe one step forward, two steps back?  

Does your dog seem less than enthusiastic about trainin...

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How to help my dog cope with changes? (Fear of novelty) May 21, 2025

Is your dog anxious in new place? Scared if you change something around the house? Struggle with any alterations to their routine? 

Fear of change and novelty are very common in sensitive, fearful, a...

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More choices for a more confident dog May 08, 2025

Does it sometimes feel like it's always one step forward, 2 steps back in your fearful dog's confidence-building journey? 

When you have an extremely sensitive, skittish, or anxious dog, it's SO easy...

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How do I teach my fearful dog to eat treats? May 01, 2025

You've probably read that training your fearful or anxious dog with treats is a good way to build their confidence and teach them new behaviors.  But what do you do if your dog won't eat treats consis...

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How can I make my fearful dog happier? Apr 24, 2025

Do you wish you could find ways to help your anxious, skittish, or scared dog feel happier? When you have a severely fearful or chronically anxious dog, it can be difficult to pin down how exactly you...

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Should I feed my fearful dog by hand? Apr 10, 2025

Have you been advised to feed your sensitive, anxious pup by hand, in order to strengthen your bond? I hear this a lot from adopters of very shy or shut-down dogs. They've received this advice on soci...

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How do you train your dog to be more confident? Apr 02, 2025

Wouldn't it be wonderful if your shy pup started to enjoy exploring new locations, and had more enrichment activities they loved to do at home?  These are goals of many of my students who want to buil...

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Avoid disappointing your sensitive dog Mar 12, 2025

It's such a wonderful feeling when your fearful dog finally starts to work happily with you in training sessions.  But now that they're enjoying training, how do you end a training session without dis...

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Help your dog be more comfortable with new people Mar 05, 2025

Is your dog anxious around new people?  You're not alone. Most of the people I work with have fearful dogs who aren't comfortable around strangers. It can be a difficult problem to tackle, especially ...

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