September Newsletter: Totaling the Stress Points

Some stress is unavoidable, but too much stress or
unresolved stress can be damaging and dangerous.

The alarm didn’t go off.  The shirt you were going to wear is stained.  The cat threw up.  There’s only enough coffee left to make half a cup.  The kids need lunch money, but you only have a twenty.  There’s a leaf blower going outside.  The cell-phone wasn’t recharged.  The toast is burning.  The land-line phone rings.

“WHAT?” you say when you pick up the phone, just to stop it from ringing.

It’s rare that there’s only one stressor that takes us to our breaking point.  It’s usually the accumulation of many small stressors combined that make us “snap”.  The same can happen with our dogs.  Unless there is a health issue or traumatic event, most behavior changes occur when the dog is overwhelmed.

Stress happens when there is a conflict between a familiar or desired situation and the current situation.  If a shirt out of the closet is usually clean, but the one pulled out is stained, stress is created.  If the stain can be removed or another clean shirt is available, the status quo has returned and the stress fades.  If a dog is fed at 6 p.m. every day and at 6:15 the dog still hasn’t been fed, stress is created.  Feed the dog and the stress diminishes.  But if the stressful situation doesn’t return to “normal,” the stress remains.  Additional unresolved stress builds, resulting in a variety of undesirable behaviors, such as snapping, growling or barking at other dogs, guests, strangers, and sometimes even family members.

We might not always know what is causing our dogs stress and some things that stress our dogs may seem innocuous to us.  Because of this, it’s important to identify stress signals before the breaking point is reached.  If we can identify that our dogs are stressed, we can start looking for ways to reduce the stress.

Some stress symptoms are physical.  A common symptom is panting.  Dogs also pant to cool themselves during warm weather or after exercise.  But, if the dog pants every time you return home or, the dog starts panting before you leave, for example, that is stress. Another common sign is lip licking, similar to the “dry mouth” sensation people get when they are nervous.  Restlessness is another sign.  If the dog has difficulty settling, it is stressed.  Some dogs will drop or pin back their ears.  Some dogs develop sweaty paws. Some dogs suddenly start losing their hair.  Whining can happen at higher stress levels.

Normal behaviors done at inappropriate times are also signs of stress.  Stressed dogs will yawn, scratch, or sniff, all normal behaviors if the dog is tired, has fleas, or finds something interesting on the floor.  But if the dog is supposed to be doing something else and abruptly stops, then starts one of the displacement behaviors, that is a sign of stress.  Imagine scratching your head as you’re trying to think of an answer on a difficult test.  Drinking, urinating/defecating, and eating can also be signs of stress if done suddenly or obsessively (remember all the trips to the bathroom and drinking fountain at your first dance?).

Lick granuloma or lick wound

In addition, what some people think of as “spiteful” behaviors can be expressions of stress.  This can include demand and repetitive barking, shadowing (following people everywhere), ripping up furniture, digging, going through trash, and “loss” of house training habits.  Granulomas (sores on the paws or hip) can appear from obsessive licking, a dog taking a soothing behavior to the extreme.  Separation anxiety, although rarer than previously thought, is another sign of stress.

Once we discover our dog is stressed, the next challenge is to help our dog relax.  We need to find the stressor and ideally remove or stop the cause of stress.  But, that can’t always happen, at which point there are three possible solutions:  habituation, desensitization, or training a coping behavior.  Habituation, the dog ‘getting used to” a situation, can happen if the stress is perceived as non-threatening.  The loss of a household member, like a death or a child leaving for college, can be very stressful, but by keeping to the routine, many dogs will adjust to the change.  Desensitization is training the dog that a perceived threat, such as a vacuum cleaner, is not actually dangerous.   Although the “threat” might seem irrational, emotional reactions, like fear, aren’t based on “rationality” and are therefore difficult to overcome.  Training a coping behavior can help build confidence, and with more confidence, fear and stress diminish.  For example, dogs that stress about strangers in the house, can be taught to go to their crate when guests arrive.  People and animals become calmer when they have control over their environment and when they know what to do when in a stressful situation.   

Rest and relaxation are important for dogs and people

Keeping our dogs relaxed is important for their mental and physical health.  Comfortable dogs  keep us from becoming stressed as well.  If you know a stressful time will be approaching, prepare your dog.  Try to keep as closely to the familiar routine as possible.  Increase exercise, particularly in the morning if you’re going to be away for the day.  If there is going to be construction on your house or a neighbor’s, see if day care is available.  Finally, if your dog is stressed, but you don’t know the cause, or don’t know how to diminish the stress, call a private trainer. Just knowing help is on the way can make life calmer.