Fear Interferes with Learning
Fear is not conducive to learning. In fact, studies show that if a dog is frightened, he cannot learn anything. This means no matter how much you try to comfort him or repeat the command, regardless of whether you punish him (which is not recommended), he will not be able to learn anything at that moment. The reason a scared dog can't learn anything is a chemical one. A scared dog is flooded with adrenaline-like substances that tell him to fight or flee. This is a survival mechanism that helps the dog live another day, but it does not permit learning to occur in a training sense. In order for real learning to occur, the adrenaline-producing part of the brain must be in a relaxed state.
If you want to teach your scared dog anything, you must get him out of that highly aroused and irrational state of emotion before any real learning can begin. Sometimes the only solution in that moment is to remove him from the scary situation until he calms down.
