One for the (Red) Dog Whisperer, if I may.
Someone I know has bought a new ironing board. Her 18 month old golden retriever is scared to death of it. He cowers, his hairs stand up on end and he won't walk past it.
She has tried leaving it. She had tried putting treats near it. She has tried covering it and he still knows it's there. Both she and her husband have tried to get him to see it's just an ironing board and they're doing the same thing as they'd done previously in ironing, just with a new board.
He is not frightened of anything else. No other changes (diet, routine)
They're both now concerned about ironing in front of the dog, as he'll get upset and it'll upset the kids.
I said I knew a chap who might know what to do...
(In before "Get a new ironing board", "Get the old ironing board back", "Get a new dog")
Dogs learn by association. i.e soapy water doesn't taste nice, and people making angry noises are liable to kick you up the arse etc. They also have an inherited/instinctive fear of certain things like say, snakes, fire, high places....
As a general rule this all works fine, but occasionally, the dog gets it wrong.
Example. Fido is chasing a rabbit. He jumps a fence and lands in the middle of the road. His owner shouts "Fido, nooo..." but Fido is hit by a car which breaks two of his legs.
Fortunately, Fido survives and with any luck he will associate broken legs with moving cars, but, and here's the thing, he might just associate broken legs them with rabbits or fences or his owner shouting "Fido, nooo...."
Dogs can be taught to overcome their fears, we do it all the time. Gun dogs allow firearms to be discharged directly above their heads, search and rescue dogs parachute from helicopters and police dogs run towards people who make angry noises.
How do we do this? We do it by reassuring the dog that it won't hurt or, if it does hurt, it's still OK.
My dog poppy doesn't shed hair so she needs to be trimmed every couple of months. She was 11 months old when I got her and she had only ever been trimmed using scissors. I wanted to use electric clippers but she was terrified of them and would run a mile (or try to if she was on the lead) as soon as I switched them on. There was absolutely no chance of me actually touching her with them.
So, I took her 100 yards away across the field and got Mrs red to turn the clippers on, then I walked her towards them until she noticed them and reacted at about 50 yards. I spoke to her calmly and wheeled gently away. Eventually we approached again and got a yard or two closer. After a few days of 20 minute 'lessons' we were standing next to Mrs Red while she was holding the clippers. Over the next couple of days Mrs Red passed the clippers to me and I slowly brought them closer to Poppy until she would allow them to touch her.
This will work exactly the same with the ironing board. There will be a distance at which the dog will tolerate the the board and it will be possible to reduce it, even if it is only by a small amount each day.
People only fail at this task because they are not patient enough and try to force the dog too close too soon.
Good luck.
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