What makes George feel safe?

For some dogs, it’s a small, cosy area — or even between your legs on a walk.

DogKind (specialists in very fearful dogs) recommend creating a safe space for your dog, and they have some great tips on how to do this.

George doesn’t do well being confined (see Confinement Anxiety and Leash Reactivity).

That said, I still keep a ‘safe space’ in the living room — his travel crate — which he mostly ignores, but it’s there if he needs it.

It might be different for him because he lives in a pretty quiet household with just me. There are no children or other dogs to take a break from.

I’m still trying to work out what other factors make George feel safe.

A small space doesn’t work. He struggles with “middle” (presumably because it feels a bit confining).

Space and distance obviously help, although they’re not always possible.

I think he also needs to see and process the trigger. For a long time, I focused on moving him away from triggers as quickly as possible.

But, just as he needs to investigate noises, I think if he can see a trigger (from a good distance), he can process it and feels a bit safer.

It has to be quite far away, though. If the trigger is near, all bets are off — he’s going to shout at it to make it go away.

If he’s not over-threshold and just feeling a bit unsure, he seeks me out for comfort, which I’m grateful for.

If he’s stressed by a noise at home and I say, “I’ll check it out,” he usually calms.

If he’s over-threshold, cuddles and calming words won’t work. But if he’s just starting to get anxious, they do.

We’re trying a Thundershirt — I’ve heard good things.

He likes to be around me at all times. Hyper-attachment has its challenges, but I’m glad he feels safer around me and seeks me out. Many owners of fearful dogs have to work really hard to get to that point.

George’s most stressful areas — which we can’t avoid — are outside the house: the shared car park and daycare drop-off/pick-up.

I’m doing everything I can to make those spaces feel safer for George.

Outside the house, we aim for quiet times, and I carry a spoon covered in peanut butter. Sometimes George is too over-threshold to care, but I think it’s slowly (very slowly) teaching him that good things happen in that space.

At daycare, we park around the corner and wait for the coast to be clear. We’ve had varying success with playing pattern games.

Although George doesn’t have an obvious safe space like a crate or den, I try to make his life feel as safe as I possibly can.