Desensitization to...being stepped on?

Maybe this is a silly question, but do you think you can desensitize a dog to being stepped on? I am sporting a nice bruise on my leg from Tucker biting me this morning after I dropped my feet on him. Since the summer began my dad has been bit at least four times, I've gotten it twice and my mom has been bit twice as well. He doesn't break the skin but he still bites hard, it hurts pretty bad. He always immediately "apologizes" with appeasement signals and whatnot, he's not just being a grumpy jerk, he is having a knee jerk reaction.

With the warm weather Tucker likes laying on the wood floor instead of the carpet or couch. In our living room we have a sectional couch and a large area rug in front of it with a coffee table on the rug. Between the rug and couch is a strip of the wood floor and this is where Tucker chooses to lay most of the time. When we are on the couch we generally have our feet on the coffee table and when we go to get up we drop our feet down and they land right on that area of wood...and often the dog who we don't see there. We try to remember to check but sometimes you just forget. I'm not talking about painful stuff here, I don't expect a dog to ignore pain. Me and my mom are always barefoot and we're not actually standing up on him, our feet just land on him. I think we startle him more than anything. He has been stepped on hard in the past by my dad while he's wearing boots where he's actually been standing on his tail or leg and not been aware of it (can't feel it through the boots) until Tucker's yelping and biting him. So I think he's developed a fear and is anticipating that it's going to be a lot worse than it actually is. We've stepped on his trailing tail fur a lot so I trimmed down his tail so it doesn't drag, but that doesn't solve the more common issue of dropping our feet on him.


We had people over for the 4th, they were all people Tucker knew so he was able to be loose. He was sitting on everyone's laps and being a very good boy, it was so nice to see him being a normal, friendly little dog instead of trying to attack people. Despite this I was a nervous wreck the whole time, constantly watching where people were walking because god forbid they bump into him while he was lying down. On the one hand it was so nice that we could have people over and have him lay around like a normal dog, on the other hand I feel like I should have put him away because if someone's foot touches him he might bite them.


So I'd like to work on it if it's even possible. Anyone ever tried changing something like this or think it can be done?

Sure you can, if you're looking to desensitize him to something that's not painful....you're basically teaching him to accept you moving your feet towards him or touching him the same way you'd desensitize a dog to brushing or something.

In the meantime though, it's going to be vital you guys don't accidentally step on him. If it's really too hard to remember to put your feet down slowly/ask him to move first with the coffee table, you may want to block him off from laying in that spot except during training.

Just do what you'd do for anything else...click and treat for lifting your foot up, hovering it over him, moving towards him, maybe start for brushing him with your foot without lifting it off the ground, and so on. If he looks uncomfortable or startled, go back.

Alright, we'll get to work then. It's funny I was having a really hard time getting him to hold a sit or down stay if I moved behind him. I could walk away, jump around, stand beside him, etc. but if I moved behind him or tried walking in a circle around him he'd immediately jump up, lick his lips and turn to face me. I finally realized it's because he thinks I'm going to step on his tail, the poor thing.

While working on this, could you move the rug or couch to cover that strip of wood? That might be the easiest way to make sure he doesn't lie there!

Relaxation Protocol did amazing things for Brisbane's fear of people moving near him while he's resting. I'm planning on working paw touching into the routine since he's still not comfortable enough to stay prone when I start handling him. I know Tucker is similarly worried about the world in general, so the protocol might give you a way to help him chill out in general.

I can't move the couch but could probably move the rug if I can get my mom to agree to it, that's a good idea.

I've heard of the relaxation protocol but have never actually read it until now. It sounds pretty awesome, I might have to give that a try.

I'm pretty sure there is a section in "Click to Calm" that discusses working on a dog NOT reacting when you move in to his space/step near him? I'd have to look it up, but I remember it really helping when I was dealing with Chloe's issues.