Why Dogs are Afraid of Plastic Bags

While working with a client and her dog at a city park, I heard a low rumbling growl from my client’s dog that was staring into a large patch of trees. A blue plastic bag was caught within the tree’s branches, causing a whipping sound, as sheer plastic dances loudly in the wind. If your dog is afraid of plastic bags like my client’s dog, we can certainly work on changing his behavior.

Why are Dogs Afraid of Dancing Plastic Bags?

Noise can be a trigger, as we know a wind-whistling plastic bag caught in a tree is loud. Movement seems to be the most common trigger though. When a billowing plastic bag floats around your backyard, some dogs will chase it, completely ignore it or run for the hills. Sometimes, when a plastic bag is left on counters and a ceiling fan causes portions of it to rise and fall, it can freak out some dogs.

Watch your dog’s reaction when he spots a scary plastic bag and note how he reacts. Does he jump back when it makes noise or growl when it moves? This will provide a ton of information when changing his behavior. In the section below, we’ll focus on noise and movement.

How to Change Dog Behavior

When dogs look at scary things, they usually react by growling, running away, displaying fearful body language, lunging, barking and so forth. When changing this fearful dog behavior, you’re teaching your dog a different way to react. He can look at what makes him afraid safely and realize it will not hurt him. Plus, he’ll learn to ignore it and look at you instead.

You’ll need lots of super yummy treats, a clicker (or verbal marker) and a plastic grocery bag. As you’re working through the process, you’ll be shocked how fast it actually goes. With that said, trust the process and don’t move too fast.

After a few practice sessions, you’ll notice your dog will look at the plastic bag and then look right back at you. That’s because he’s been rewarded for calmly looking at the scary thing and waiting for his much deserved reward. This is a huge step! This means he understands the meaning of the clicker and is confident enough to look away from the plastic bag.

Remember, your dog is learning to willingly offer a calm behavior around something scary, which is totally different than shutting down. The difference is a happy dog holds his ears up, looks alert, moves his head from the object toward you and wags his tail. A shut down dog holds his ears back, widens his eyes, freezes, flops on the ground, looks away from the scary object, shakes, blinks and remains completely still.

Step One

While holding a crumpled plastic bag in your hand (make the bag as small as possible) and keeping your hand still, hold your hand at waist height and wait for your dog to look at the bag. If he doesn’t look at it, crumple the bag to generate a small noise. The moment your dog looks at the hand holding the bag, click (or say a verbal marker) and give your dog a treat. Practice a few more times, and then end the training session.

Remember, you’re not waving the bag around yet. You’re changing your dog’s thought process when he first sees the plastic bag. If you wave the bag now, you’ll surely scare your dog and take several steps backwards.

Step Two

If your dog easily looks at the bag in your hand, it’s time to add a cue. Hide the bag behind your back. As you’re moving the bag toward your side (so your dog can’t see it), say “look at that.” Say the cue only once and wait for your dog to look at the bag in your hand. The moment he looks at it, click and give him a treat.

Step Three

Exposing more of the plastic bag, say “look at that,” as you’re moving the hidden bag from behind your back. Click the moment your dog looks at your hand holding the plastic bag. Practice a few times when your dog easily looks at the bag.

Step Four

Loop the plastic bag handle around one finger and let the bag hang. Now, the bag will move a bit now, so move slowly at first. Continue to move the bag from behind your back while saying the cue and click the moment your dog looks at the bag.

Step Five

Ask a friend to stand about 10 feet away and practice steps 1-4 from a distance. While it seems like this will take forever, it usually takes a few minutes to walk through the steps. If your dog becomes afraid of the plastic bag, ask your friend to bundle the bag in her hand again and reward at this step. After a few practice sessions, slowly pull the bag out in small increments.

Once your dog becomes comfortable with steps 1-4, ask your friend to stand further back and hold the bag over her head while waving it slightly from side to side. Ask your dog to “look at it,” click the moment he looks at it and give him a treat.

In the Real World

Regardless where you’re at in the dog training process, move away from the plastic bag and practice “look at that.” After a few sessions (4-6 times), move on and you’ll soon notice your dog looking at something scary and then looking at you. Reward this behavior!