Conditioning a dog around skateboards

Dear Cathy: My eightyear-old, 80-pound boxer/ pit mix reacts horribly to skateboards. A recent column of yours addressed methods of stopping dog fighting. One example was spraying citronella. Might that work to calm a dog from overreacting to a skateboard? — Elaine, Long Beach, New York

Dear Elaine: Citronella spray won’t work in this situation and will only make him more fearful when he hears or sees skateboards, depending on what triggers his response. I don’t know under what circumstance he is encountering skateboarders, but I assume there is no way to keep him away from skateboards altogether.

If that’s not possible, then he needs to be conditioned to the sound and sight of skateboards and skateboarders. Run a YouTube video of people skateboarding for him. Start on mute and increase the volume to gauge his response. If he reacts to the sound, turn the volume down and inch it back up watching his comfort level. If he reacts to seeing them, even on mute, then move him away from the video to a place where he can still see it but calms down. Always give him treats for maintaining a relaxed state.

The next step is to sit outside so he can observe skateboarders from a distance. Again, give him treats for maintaining a relaxed state. Reduce the distance between him and the skateboarders over time. If he reacts, pull back until he returns to a relaxed state.

If the problem is people skateboarding on the sidewalk where you walk him, then this can be harder to condition because the trigger is linked to the surprise of someone bearing down on him, and not the skateboard. If this is his reason for overreacting, it is sometimes easier to limit his exposure to the trigger, which means walking him at times when he is less likely to encounter a skateboard.

Be patient. Conditioning can take many weeks to do.