I’m often amazed at how great dogs do even though we put them in some pretty scary situations (at least situations that are scary for them). Consider if you lived in a world where everyone was double and triple your size – taking out all the other differences and just looking at this piece, think of how intimidating it would be.

One of the things you can do to make your dog feel more comfortable is to give them a “woobie” something they can latch onto whenever they’re afraid, uncomfortable or in any other way stressed. Some dogs do this naturally with a tennis ball, others with a stuffed animal. But if you have a dog who gets stressed but doesn’t like to engage with their mouth, trying bringing something of yours, a shirt you wore or a pair of socks, something that smells like you to help them anchor.

Dogs have great noses, so let them use them to soothe themselves when they’re stressed by giving them something that smells like they’re favorite thing: you J