03/02/2023
Desensitizing a dog takes more than just exposure.
When we desensitize dogs to "strange" things, we do not simply expose them to the weird and wonderful things like noisy plastic tarps flying through the air, or loud bangs straight off the cuff.
What we watch for is the dogs behavior, natural reaction and tell tale signs which a well trained professional will know to look out for.
In the following video, we have a Boerboel Puppy named Chilli meeting a cow. They were kept separated by the fence as we wanted to assess Chilli's natural reaction. At first she goes to sniff the "big dog's" rear end. This being a normal friendly, nonthreatening way to meet new dogs. But the cow does not comply. This confuses Chilli.
Thus the bark saying "Hey I am here!"
When the cow takes no notice, Chilli has a wonderful reaction where she does what every dog should do - look to the owner/trainer for a cue on how to handle the situation.
She then stays between owner and strange creature to ensure protection - because she knows her owner/trainer is her "Safe place". But she does not hide!
Then, naturally she looks very happy with herself when she comes back to report that she chased the big scary strange creature away.
Having analyzed this behavior in Chilli, we now know that she knows her owner/trainer is her source of information. She will be taught that she does not need to bark at strange things. She will also be taught that strange things are not to be feared as your owner/trainer can be trusted not to put her in harms way.
