This is one of the most helpful and powerful sentences I have read.
When George's reactivity and fear were increasing, I didn't really know what I was doing.
Whilst I had stopped going to very busy areas and cafes etc, I was persevering with the daily walks (twice a day!). I hadn't implemented any management at home.
I read that the very first thing I needed to do was to stop scaring my dog. It was quite a powerful statement for me. Along with "no walk is better than a stressful walk".
I don't think I had realised how much he was struggling and how I was continuing to put him in situations which scare him.
I imagined myself being in a constant state of fear and how horrible and debilitating that would be. How impossible it would be to learn new skills in that state.
So we cut back on walks (completely for a while, and now mostly at Sniffspots), implemented better management at home, upped the enrichment activities, and focused on calm at home.
Unfortunately I can't completely avoid putting George in situations which might scare him. He has to go to daycare 3 days a week and whilst he does well there, outside of our house and drop-off/pick-up can be scary. Like all dogs, he has to go to the groomer and the vet. I do my best to manage it (trying to avoid the neighbours, parking around the corner at daycare, booking the groomer at quiet times) but George still finds it scary.
So we need to build in extra decompression time and calming enrichment to help support George to cope.
We're continuing to tweak the medication to provide support for the unavoidable scary times
The same applies for separation anxiety and ensuring he remains below threshold.
I will continue to do my very best to stop scaring my dog.