Jolly Talk.

Meet Bella!

Bella is a two-year-old Yorkie/Jack Russell cross who had lived with two other families before moving in with her current owners. In her newest home she was so fearful of strangers and loud noises that it had resulted in her owners completely abstaining from actual walks. Bella would panic and pull violently towards the house on a regular walk. She even began barking at the construction going on at the neighbors. She was simply terrified of the world outside of the house.

When dogs are subjected to a lot of inconsistency, they often lack a sense of security with their surroundings. Desensitizing a dog from things that seem scary is a way to help acclimate them to big changes. Bella's owners were asked to bring Bella outside to a section of the neighborhood that felt tolerable to her and just sit. As Bella began to get anxious and nervous her owner's were instructed to use what we call Jolly Talk.

Jolly Talk is basically using a calm but confident tone to say things to your dog like "It's fine, Buddy" or "Relax." Using Jolly Talk with random treats helped Bella to build a positive association with the outside world. When desensitizing a dog you must be very careful not to push the dog over threshold. This mean that you want to start out with something simple and work on that until your dog no longer shows signs of fear or nervousness rather than get your poor pooch in over their heads.

For more information on Jolly Talk, visit Zen Dog Training Online.