Fear of the dark is one of the most common fears in young children. Although it is not very common in dogs, they can also suffer from it. They refuse to move in a hallway or room without light, they don’t want to walk when you take them out for a walk at night and they freeze up or try desperately to go home…
Dogs can have many fears. Nyctophobia is the fear of the dark or of the night and can be very unpleasant for a dog. This may be due to various factors, which will determine the way to proceed to alleviate the fear of your best furry friend and thus provide him with the best well-being.
The fear of the dark is especially recurrent in puppies or elderly dogs. In the first case, they feel vulnerable because they have not been familiar with the lack of light in their socialization period. In the second, it can indicate a loss of vision, so it is necessary to go to the vet as soon as possible.
It can also be due to a traumatic experience that occurred in a moment of darkness, which causes your dog to associate the lack of light with something negative. Or even if you are afraid of the dark, your dog can sense it, so you would be passing it on unconsciously.
Once it is ruled out that it is a vision loss problem, the dog must be helped to lose that sensitivity and fear of lack of light. For this, it is imperative to proceed with patience. If we force him, we can make the situation worse.
The work to overcome the fear of the dark must begin at home, a safe environment for your dog. Try playing games with tunnels –whether bought or hanging dark blankets from some furniture–, encouraging the dog to cross them or enter that recess with treats.
You can also turn off the main lights in a room and illuminate it with an auxiliary lamp. Urge your dog into the room with treats, petting, and words of encouragement. Once inside, spend some time playing with that dim light. As you see that this slight darkness is no longer a problem, reduce the light in that room further.
Once the fear of the dark inside the house is overcome, it’s time to go outside. She begins by taking walks at dusk, when the natural light is diminishing but it is not night yet. He tries to include games that entertain him, instead of just walking. Be sure to encourage your pet with treats and showing affection.
As you see progress, delay that walk further and further until you can do it at night. In this sense, you should continue to encourage him through positive reinforcement. It will also help a lot to put a reflective collar on him, so he feels safer and it’s easier for you to find him if he runs away and gets disoriented.
