My abused dog fears hand signals. How can I train him to stay?

Question

Hello! My family and I adopted our red heeler last December. Do our dismay, we found out he was abused both physically and verbally by his previous owners. He is shy,but amazingly sweet and loving. And SO smart. I have been able to teach him sit,down,wait,loose leash walking,and he has amazing recall. But stay has been a challenge due to the hand signal. Dax cowers or runs in fear when I put my hand up. Can you offer any suggestions on what I can do to help him? Not only stay, but with his fear. Pet's info: Dog | Australian Cattle Dog | Male | neutered | 7 years and 2 months old | 29 lbs

Penelope Graben, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello! I'm so sorry to hear about Dax's past. I have a blue heeler myself, and even when they have had wonderful puppyhoods, they can still be very prone to anxiety due to their high energy and intelligence. I always recommend training with only positive reinforcement and no punishment, as this can exacerbate anxious and fearful behavior. A couple of body language tricks may help ease his fear while training him to stay. First, dogs see palms faced upwards are seen as more threatening than hands with palms faced downwards. When you extend your hand for the signal, try showing the top of your hand instead. I would also start training him by initially sitting or kneeling next to him, both of you facing the same direction. This is a less threatening position than directly facing and standing in front of and over him. He may always be fearful of certain stimulus- like an open palm, loud noises, or some other "scary" thing. I would recommend looking into training him to touch his nose to things (it's a great training exercise for smart breeds!) and eventually having him work up to nosing your palm for treats. I hope this is helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

My abused dog fears hand signals. How can I train him to stay?

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