While still married, my ex and I adopted a stray dog. At first if the dog (ironically named Happy) was in the room when my ex removed his belt, happy dove under the bed. Eventually he stopped doing that but would shake. Finally he realized nobody would beat him with the belt--or anything else. During this period we would often put the belt on the floor. Later we would fold it and hold in both hands close to the floor. I don't know what a real pet therapist would have done, but it was what we thought of at the time.