The other day I was in a meeting at LPCHS with a Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix who is currently staying there. Chris Nelson commented that the dog didn’t like people in glasses, which got me thinking. These days designer glasses are all the rage. So many of us, myself included, have glasses that contrast to the rest of our faces, rather than blending in. Soooo wouldn’t it make sense that some dogs are going to make an association with them?

If a dog associates people in hats, sunglasses, even boots and skin tones, why wouldn’t they associate something like everyday glasses? Especially when those glasses probably look a lot more like goggles to them then reading glasses.

Dogs make associations quickly. If you pick up their food bowl they quickly learn it’s time to eat. If you open the closet that contains their leash, chances are they’re going to consider it walk time. Just like cats running into the kitchen every time the can opener goes off (even though cat food lids have had pop tops forever!!) These are associations – and they’re often the way we change problem behavior in dogs.

If a dog like Boris, the Chessie in the shelter doesn’t like people in glasses, chances are he had a bad experience with an individual who wears glasses. So it becomes our job to change his association with people in glasses from one of concern or fear to one of happiness or at least calmness. We do this by giving him one positive experience after another with people in glasses.

The change happens gradually, and can be tricky when the dog is living in the shelter and being walked by many different volunteers, many of which don’t understand his concern or what to do when it appears. But it happens. I believe teaching a dog that they don’t have to fear something is one of the most beneficial things we can do for our best friends

And remember, every dog is different. Many dogs don’t make strong associations to things like this while others do….we can judge them or we can fix it and help them adapt to the everyday world 🙂