If you immediately turn back to him (mistake #1) begin to verbally reassure him that "It's OK' (mistake #2) and bend down to pet and comfort him (mistake #3) then you are MIRRORING him, not leading him.
I see it all the time- very kind, compassionate, loving dog owners do all the EXACT WRONG things when their dog becomes frightened.
Think about this... if the room you are sitting in right now was on fire and you were trapped, would you want a fireman to gently open the door, give you a hug and tell you "It's OK" ?!?!NO! You would want him to take charge, have a plan and lead the way OUT!
But if what you do is JOIN the dog in his feelings, you are not helping him overcome them.
By turning back to him, you have left your status of leadership. You have gone back into the fire with him.
When you feel bad for the dog, now there are 2 beings that feel bad.
If you bend down and pet him or pick him up and carry him, you are rewarding an undesirable state of mind and taking him out of the situation, rather than teaching him to process through it.
Well crap- that's exactly what you do, isn't it??? That's ok- it just means you are a nice person. But lets make you into a nice person who is a hero to their dog.
Next time let's have a different game plan. When your dog panics:
FIRST: look straight ahead at the direction you were intending to travel and KEEP GOING. (don't go back into the fire) Be sure you have a non-slip collar like a martingale, on your dog at all times, so that he has no choice but to go with you.
SECOND: breathe, move forward and cheer- not comfort- "WOOHOO Buddy, here we go!"
This is hard when you have an audience and it appears you are dragging your dog, but ignore those feelings for your dog's sake and for progress' sake.
THIRD: physically lead your dog THROUGH the fear tunnel. Get all the way out and past what frightened him and then... this is the hard part....
SHUT UP! Just stand tall and relax and DEMONSTRATE that IT IS OK. Give your dog process time to realize that HE IS FINE and that he navigated a fearful situation by following a confident leader. And then you can celebrate with a snuggle!
What happens is that each time your dog moves THROUGH and OUT OF the fear tunnel, (instead of you crawling in it with him) he learns that you are confident in bad situations and all he has to do is go with you!
I personally own a Dutch Shepherd that was handed to me at 8 months of age and told she was stupid and un-trainable- because she was completely shut down. She wouldn't even open her eyes and bolted at the slightest sound. It destroyed me to see her like that. So I put her to work- training in a variety of situations that she perceived as SCARRRRRRRY.
I'll never forget the first time I walked her past a fire hydrant and she bolted and spun and nearly dragged me to the ground.
However, a year later, that same little Dutch girl, was ranked #1 in all of World Cynosport Rally Obedience. "Stupid and Un-Trainable" became "I trust you and will do whatever you say."
You can do it too. Train yourself. Lead your dog.
