Training Your Emotional Support Dog to Deal With Crowds in Confined Spaces
Training Your Emotional Support Dog to Deal With Crowds in Confined Spaces
If you have recently become the proud owner of an emotional support dog, you may be getting excited as you think about everything you can do with your new companion. Perhaps you’re even thinking about traveling with your dog, and you’re wondering what you can do to make sure you’re both ready for the trip. Adjusting to crowded and confined spaces with lots of hustle and bustle like airplanes can be challenging for dogs.
Getting ready to travel with your emotional support dog can be a time-consuming process, which is why Exercise Thought has assembled some tips and resources to make sure your emotional support dog is prepared when you’re boarding the plane!
Teach Basic Commands
You may want to head out and explore the world with your emotional support dog by your side right away, but first, you need to ensure that your dog has mastered certain basic commands. This is especially important if you plan to take your dog on an airplane. For instance, your dog should already know what to do when you tell them to sit, stay, or lie down. If you have a small dog, you will also need to work on crate training.
If you’re worried that your dog will not listen when you state one of these key commands, it means that you two will need to spend a bit more time practicing together before you take any long trips! Try to spend a little time working on these commands each day. To facilitate better training, do what you can to optimize your home for positivity – that means no shouting (even when they make messes) and no clutter, since that will impact your pet, as well. Keep your training sessions relatively short so that your dog does not lose interest or get too tired.
Adapting to Loud Noises
Before you book any plane tickets, you will need to spend some time helping your dog get used to loud noises. Many dogs are easily startled by loud noises, but emotional support animals must be trained to ignore them without reacting.
So, how can you acclimate your dog to loud noises? It all starts with exposure. But don’t worry, this does not have to be frightening for your dog! Wag Walking suggests either playing recordings of loud noises and slowly increasing the volume each time you play them for your dog, or distracting your dog by playing during thunderstorms so that they learn that these sounds are nothing to fear. Over time, your dog will slowly get used to these noises, and they won’t jump when they hear a sound that might cause other dogs to get scared.
Getting Comfortable With Crowds
If you will be bringing your dog into a crowded space like an airplane, you will need to spend some time helping them get comfortable with crowds first. Luckily, this is relatively easy to do - and it can be a lot of fun for both of you!
Take your dog to public, outdoor events where pets are welcomed and they will have the opportunity to interact with lots of new people. Stay close by your dog’s side and keep them on their best behavior - for instance, if they try to jump on a stranger, this is an opportunity to teach them to settle down! Dog Trainer College also states that even if you’re a bit overwhelmed, do your best to project a calm attitude. Your dog can pick up on your emotions, so if you’re nervous, they might start feeling (and acting) a bit agitated too!
Focus on Positive Reinforcement
Throughout all of your training sessions, you want to focus on a training method known as “positive reinforcement.” This means that you should not fall back on punishment when your dog does something wrong. Instead, you want to focus on simply rewarding your dog when they listen to you and do something right, and ignoring them when they make a mistake or don’t quite grasp what you’re asking them to do.
You’ll definitely want to keep some treats or pieces of dog food on hand for this process! If you implement positive reinforcement, your dog will associate training and listening with earning treats, which is the best way to motivate your pet.
Minimize Stress During Travel
Keeping stress levels down for both you and your pet is important. Pets pick up on our emotions, meaning your stress can have a big impact on your pet, as well. Proper planning and safety measures can make a huge difference in making things go smoothly, especially if you're traveling.
There’s nothing more stressful during a trip than to be a victim of a robbery or not have access to funds, especially when traveling abroad to locales like Rio or Cancun. That’s why it is so important to have a plan in place to keep your valuables and money safe during your time away. Carry as little cash as possible, and if you hit a snag, keep in mind there are low-cost ways to receive funds from the US. Affordable and reliable money transfer services that cost little or nothing allows you to get funds to you fast and conveniently.
Having an emotional support dog can make a huge difference in your quality of life. With an emotional support dog, you may find that you have the courage to try new things. However, properly training an emotional support dog can certainly take a lot of time and effort, especially if you want to take them on an airplane or into other confined and crowded spaces. But by following these tips, your dog will be ready for all of your adventures, and the two of you will make amazing new memories together!
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Written by Linda Chase