Stress manifests itself in many ways: aggressive displays, reactivity while on walks (lunging, barking, growling), shut down (often mistaken for relaxation), manic/out of control behaviors (often mistaken for trying to play or the dog not getting enough exercise), behaviors often referred to as “dominant.”
Stress impairs the ability to learn. Behavior modification programs are not as effective when dogs are stressed.
Stressed dogs are not trying to give us a hard time or dominate us. The dogs are simply trying to cope, and they do not know how to function. The expressed behaviors often lead people to resort to the use of aversive training devices such as prong or shock collars, shake cans, throw chains, etc. Though the visible behaviors may ease up for a bit, the stress is building. When happens when the stress becomes too much for the dog to manage? Think of it as a time bomb with a long timer. Instead of carefully working to diffuse it, I break the timer. The bomb is still going to blow, I just have no way of knowing when.
In reality, the dogs need to decompress, relax, and feel safer. Once dogs have a chance to spend time recovering, relaxing, and feeling safer, learning can begin.
What needs to be done and to what extent will be determined on your individual situation. I have worked with dogs that have needed several months of extreme decompression. Others simply a little tweaking to their environment.
How long should you work on decompression?
I recommend at least 4 weeks. Some dogs may need less, others may need more. If you have multiple dogs, I recommend decompressing all of them.
What should happen during decompression?
- Your dog should not leave the property for anything except a veterinary appointment.
- Stop the use of all aversive training methods including yelling.
- Learn the subtleties of dog communication.
- No visitors during decompression.
- Reduce your dog’s confusion.
- Manage access to other pets in the house.
- All people living in the house must respect the dog’s emotions and follow protocol.
- Provide a safe, quiet place in your home for your dog.
- Play games that are calmer and not repetitive.
- Prevent your dog from barking at windows, running along the fence and barking at things on the other side, etc.
Now let’s break these down.
Your dog should not leave the property for anything except a veterinary appointment.
If you have a fenced yard, this is easy to do. Even if the yard is small, you can meet a dog’s needs in the yard. The goal here is to avoid situations where your dog is stressed. Though you may assume your dog likes dog parks or day care, your dog may be giving stress signals. If your dog is barking and lunging at things while on walks, your dog is stressed. If you do not have a yard, then you MUST find quiet areas to walk your dog. This needs to be an area where you can avoid people, dogs, and general commotion. This will mean getting your dog to your vehicle as quickly as possible and driving.
Stop the use of all aversive training methods including yelling.
Science has repeatedly shown that methods using pain (shock, prong, choke chains), fear (showing your dog who is “Alpha”), and outdated dominance theories make the emotions causing the behaviors you see to worsen. These methods suppress the dog’s body language while increasing stress. I cannot get a dog to trust me if I am using methods that cause pain and fear. Also, the dog may associate what they see with something bad happening, therefore, the dog becomes more reactive towards things.
If your family tends to be naturally loud and yells back and forth, please stop this as well. Loud households can be stressing and aversive for many dogs.
Learn the subtleties of dog communication.
Long before a dog is vocalizing, lunging, trying to bite, your dog most likely has given many stress signals. We need to respond at the early signs of stress. The more we allow stress to build, the harder it will be for the dog to maintain and for us to work.
Some of the subtle signals to look for are:
Stiffness – either pausing briefly, a prolonged hard stare, or maintaining a stiff posture while moving.
Dog is “lined up” – You can draw a line from the head, across the back, to the tail – there are no curves in the body language.
Ears pitched forward or pinned back – in drop eared dogs look at the base of the ear.Hyper-vigilance –
Looking around nervously like a cheerleader in a slasher film.
Whale Eye – whites of eye showing sometimes with “side eye” – head turned away, but eye directed towards something.
Panting when not hot or trying to cool down.
Looking away/avoiding gaze
Moving away from something.
Leaning away from something.
Crouching down – dogs trying to make themselves look smaller, often tail tucked.
Up on toes, whole body stiffened and leaning forward, tail raised above the horizontal line.
Piloerection – Hair at the back of the neck standing up – may continue down the spine to the tail.
Vocalizing – whining, growling, barking.
Yawning when not tired.
Tongue flick/lip lick
Refusing to take food – even high value things.
No visitors during decompression
Even if the guest is someone the dog knows, the excitement of a guest before the dog is calmer and has begun to learn better greetings, can be stressing. Many guests want to enthusiastically greet a dog which can undo behaviors. If a dog is confused about greetings and gets overwhelmed, the dog is stressed.
If your dog is not comfortable with people in the house, then having guests at this point is not going to help the dog feel safe.
If you MUST have someone in the house like a repair person, then safely confine your dog well away from where the person will be working. Give the dog a food stuffed toy or a good chew to work on, turn on a radio to soft talking or soft music (or use a white noise machine), and close the door.
There can be no unannounced people coming to the door. This means if neighborhood children like to come to ask a child to play, they need to call or text, and your child meets them outside. Delivery people are a different topic. Many are not ringing doorbells or knocking when making a delivery. However, if yours do, leave a note on the door asking them not to. If you live in an area where there are door to door solicitors put up a “no soliciting” sign to hopefully reduce their numbers.
Reduce your dog’s confusion
Confusion brings out a lot of undesired behaviors. Not because the dog wants to give you a hard time, rather the dog is having a hard time and does not know what to do. Be clear and concise with your expectations.
Being predictable can help. Pattern Games are based on ones created by Leslie McDevitt in Control Unleashed. There are many pattern games that can help build routine and predictability. A few pattern games you can do are:
Counting
First make sure your dog associates the word “treat” with food coming. Take 10 – 15 high value treats (small pieces) and say the word “treat” in a happy but calm tone. Give a treat after the word. Repeat until all treats are done. Take a break and repeat. Do this several times. Now start counting. You will count out loud and say “treat”, give the dog a treat.
One – treat (repeat 5 times)
One, Two – Treat (repeat five times)
One, Two, Three – Treat (repeat five times)
Now go back to One – Treat.
Look Down – Look Up
With your dog in front of you, place a treat on the ground. When your dog looks back up at you, repeat.
Back and Forth
Start with your dog in front of you. Toss or roll a treat to your right. Not far. Just a few inches to start. When your dog gets the treat and looks back at you, roll a treat a few inches to your left. The act of looking at you gets the next treat rolled.
Scatter
Take a handful of treats, kibble, etc., say the word “scatter” and scatter the food for your dog to pick up.
Give Me A Break
Take a chair you can easily move. Walk a few feet away and place a treat on the ground.
While the dog is eating the treat, go back to the chair and sit.
When the dog comes to you, walk a few feet away and put down another treat.
Repeat the process.
After a bit, remove the chair and begin standing in the spot. Repeat the process but now you are standing.
Manage access to other pets in the house
The more you learn about the subtleties of body language the more you may see how other pets add to the stress. Decompression protocols may include strict separation and no visuals between your pets for a few weeks and gradual reintroduction following a careful protocol.
Depending on your individual home, you may have to get creative with rotating dogs between rooms. Using things like baby gates, privacy screens, closed doors, make sure all visuals are avoided. Rotate walks and playing in the yard. Do not allow dogs to be close to each other’s crates or areas used to separate dogs.
All people in the house must respect the dog’s emotions and follow protocol
It does not take much to increase the stress level in some dogs. Whatever protocols you have put in place are there for a reason. If your family refuses to follow the plan, this will not help the dog. Sometimes it is hard to get the family doing what needs to be done, but it is not an option. When guests are able to visit, the same goes for them. Do not give into the assumption that “Just this once” will be OK.
Observe your dog’s body language when interacting with family members. The moment you observe low level stress signals, you must intervene.
Provide a safe, quiet place in your home
Dogs are not den animals as humans define den animals. Even wild dogs rarely use dens. The difference between a crate and a den is a dog can leave a den at will. A crate can be a scary trap for dogs who are not comfortable in one. I like all my personal dogs to feel safe and calm in a crate. I have had my dogs go into their home crates on their own to hang out and rest. They use crates at dog events and in hotels. It is important they feel safe and are not annoyed by people or other animals when crated.
In you home, a crate in a quiet area, a back room, or even a portable exercise pen set up in an out of the way location of the house will all work. The rule of this safe place is when the dog is there, no one is allowed to bother the dog.
Play games that are calmer and not repetitive
Before I continue, repetitive games are not the same as pattern games. Pattern games are part of a behavior modification process. I am talking about high arousal games like fetch. Fetch is repetitive and can lead to over-arousal in dogs. Dogs that are over-aroused my look like they are having fun when in reality they are not. Some ball-obsessed dogs become so focused on the game they forget everything else. They will play until they are either exhausted or injure themselves. Some dogs will ignore injuries. Many people like using flashlight beams or pet-lasers for their dogs to get chasing. These are frustrating as the dog never gets the end – the catch.
Activities where a dog gets to walk, and sniff can help with decompression. An easy activity is sniffing. This can be done in different ways. The easiest one is hiding kibble for your dog to find. In the beginning when your dog is staying on your property, place things in your yard that your dog can go sniff. Do not use essential oils as many can be toxic to dogs or very strong for their sensitive noses. You can put drops of vanilla extract in your yard. Hide freeze dried foods in places. My dogs love various freeze-dried meats: salmon, shrimp, minnows (often sold as cat treats), liver, and chicken. If you make yourself a tuna sandwich, save some of the juice. Place some drops in your yard. You can even get odors use to train tracking and hunting dogs
When you are able to leave your yard or if you live in an apartment or condo with no yard at all, take your dog to a very quiet location away from people and other dogs, put your dog in a 15 – 20-foot leash and allow your dog to range around and sniff. Do not use a retracting leash for this. These leashes are not as safe and remain taught. The feeling of a constantly tight leash is not relaxing.
Avoid food releasing toys that are frustrating. Opt for toys that are easier to manipulate. West Paw Toppl toys are one of the easiest toys. Put kibble or other treats in the cup, cover with canned food and freeze over night. Dogs spend time working through the frozen top and get to the loose kibble. You can make this toy easier by not freezing. There are various bones you can stuff with wet food, treats, and other things.
Prevent your dog from barking at windows, running along the fence and barking at things on the other side, etc.
This will mean things careful monitoring of your dog when outside, “white noise” machines, covering windows with opaque film or curtains, etc. If your dog is stressed about things outside, decompression inside will be harder.
Final Thoughts
When it is decided your dog is ready for reintroduction into the world, remember this needs to be done slowly. Start with out of the way areas with few to no people around. Allow your dog to sniff and poke about, do some of the pattern games, work on making being in the world positive. Do not fall back into old habits. If you fail to keep recognizing the need for the ability to relax, you may end up finding yourself and your dog back where you started with a stressed dog.
This may be reproduced or shared with credit to Karen Peak, West Wind Dog Training. www.WestWindDogTraining.com
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