This gallery of photos has two purposes. One is to give people who are struggling with a  fearful dog some ideas about the type of accommodations they might make to help the dog. The other is to honor the owners of the dogs in the photos and say, “Way to go!”

It can be very hard to just leave a dog alone if they need that. Our culture says we need to rush rush rush and push push push to get them close to us and make them into good little family members. We love them; why shouldn’t they love being with us? With the kindest of intentions we end up trying to lure them with food or take advantage of their compliance to bring them into situations that scare them. For people who have never had a fearful dog, this can be a whole new world, and it isn’t an easy one for the humans to live in either.

I find these photos so moving. It warms my heart that there are all these people in the world who are doing their utmost to help their dogs feel safe, to overcome their fears without force, and who are accepting inconveniences into their own lives with such grace and love for their dogs.

This page is a companion to my post: Helping a Fearful Dog Feel Safe

All photos used by permission of the owner. The owners retain rights to the photos. Thank you, each and every one of you for letting me publish these.