My 7 year old born deaf female is arfraid to have her picture taken.

by Mardie
(Whitelaw, WI)

She can't get out of her skin or the area fast enough. She will run and hide, start shaking like it's going to kill her. This only started a couple of years ago and I have no idea why.

A laser pointer, camera even a phone camera or if you act like you are going to take her picture she freaks out. We do not have/use a laser pointer. We had one a couple of years ago when we got a cat and since her reaction to it we have never used it. We only played with the cat with the pointer, but then stopped. She has never been teased/tormented with it, when we did have it.

I don't get it. It was never a problem before. She would even sit & pose for the camera, now nothing. My Pit is my child along with our other furkids. A white Boxer who is not deaf and a cat. Can someone please tell me what I can do to ease her fear so I can start taking her picture again.
If I do get a picture of her I have to be sneaky about it and she knows it and they don't come out very well.

I want to be able to show off the beautiful dog that she is. She was very sick when this picture was taken and very fat because she was sick. She has a Thyroid problem and will have to take medicine the rest of her life. She looks great now and is back to normal as far as that goes. But I can't get her picture taken. The cat in this picture is no longer with us. He is in heaven now.

We do have a new cat that she gets a long with, but we have never used a laser pointer with him either...all though he would love it. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

M Fox

Gale's Reply:

Hi Mardie:

This sounds like the kind of fear based behavior that would respond well to classical counter conditioning. A basic primer on this method can be found in The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell.



If you decide to use this approach, I hope you'll let us know how it goes. You have a beautiful fur family. I can see why you'd want more pics!

For more information on obedience training, visit our Pit Bull Training page.

For help with behavioral problems, check out our Dog Behavior Training page.