Bravery Boxes
Anxious dogs don’t always have clear ways to tell us how they’re feeling. Some might freeze up, some might growl or bark and lunge, and others might try to run away. That’s where Bravery Boxes come in—they give dogs a natural, more appropriate outlet: sniffing. It may seem simple, but sniffing helps dogs calm down, focus, and take in the world at their own pace.
By giving them a low-pressure, engaging activity, we take the spotlight off whatever might be stressing them out—whether it’s a visitor in the home, a stranger walking by, bikes and skateboards zooming past, or a dog walking down the street.
You may have already heard about Box Feeding, where a dog is rewarded for putting their head in a box. This is different. The Box Feeding game is great for many things but relies on an operant behaviour. The dog choses to do a thing in order to earn food. Bravery Boxes are all about teaching the dog to feel calm around scary or exciting things and encouraging /reinforcing natural displacement behaviours that can be transferred to the real world once the box is removed.
Sniffing is a natural way for dogs to cope with stress, but not all dogs feel safe enough to use it as a signal that they need space. That’s something we can teach them: sniffing can work as a polite way to say “I need a moment.”
Bravery Boxes are one of my go-to activities for dogs who need a little extra support—whether they’re dealing with low confidence, reactivity, sound sensitivity, nervousness around strangers, discomfort with body handling, high prey drive, or just need more physical and mental stimulation.
It’s simple, effective, and most importantly, it helps your dog feel safe enough to be themselves.
Real Life Applications
Once your dog is comfortable playing with Bravery Boxes at home, you can start using them out in the world to help your dog feel more at ease in new or challenging situations. The beauty of this game is that it taps into your dog’s natural instinct to sniff—a powerful displacement behavior that helps reduce stress.
Dog Reactivity
Rebel and her human aren't ready to go for walks near dogs yet, so she is using Bravery Boxes in the car near a dog park! Rebel also uses bravery Boxes when she goes to the vet.
Stranger Danger In The Home
Nina is anxious about strangers in her home. She's too anxious to sit on her bed or practice tricks with human. However, she CAN sniff out treats in her Bravery Box.
Once the initial excitement of a person coming in is over (and we have techniques to help with that), a Bravery Box can help the dog transition to relaxing.
Every time the dog looks at the person in a worried or protective way, we drop more treats into the box. Our dog controls when the treats happen!
Puppies and Shy Dogs
Bravery Boxes are a great way to socialize your puppy or to build confidence in anxious or shy dogs. They aren't just for dogs who have bigger behaviour challenges.
The key to building confidence is to not help your dog. If the challenge you present is too hard, give your dog a treat for trying, and make the challenge easier. In order to build RESILIENCE and CONFIDENCE, it's very important that they do this themselves =)
See It In Action
Here's Clark, a shy puppy playing with a Bravery Box. Notice how the box moves, which worries him a little, but he conquers that fear, mainly because he is in control of the movement.
Here is Riker learning to navigate a box with flaps:
Echo and Arlo are working on boxes that help with sound sensitivity:
And another ... just because =)
So grab your Bravery Boxes and have fun—your dog will thank you for it!
