COOL, CALM COOKIE PUPPY?
DOES YOUR DOG NEVER CALM DOWN OR SWITCH OFF?
Is your dog always highly charged?
Does he or she react to many things by barking, pulling on lead, lunging, growling?
Does he constantly follow you around, unable to settle on his own?
Dogs show aggression and suspicion when they are anxious or afraid. Being in a state of permanent anxiety is not good for your dog's health. He will be filled with adrenalin and cortisol and many dogs in this state are unable to switch off and calm themselves down.
Training and socialisation from puppy hood helps most dogs get used to the world that they live in.
Unfortunately, many lockdown puppies and rescue dogs have missed out on this vital stage of
development, and many owners are faced with an adolescent or adult
dog that barks, snaps, growls and lunges.
Often these dogs are worse when on a lead because they feel restricted.
Dogs who are always on edge, can't relax and respond with fear and suspicion are termed "Reactive"
Reactivity can be really hard to deal with. Reactive dogs have poor impulse control and are generally running on higher levels of adrenalin.
This level of anxiety and excitement can be exhausting for both dog and owner. Just like humans, dogs can experience “Red mist” or “fight or flight” This is when your dog is physically unable to hear you, or respond to shouts, treats or toys until the adrenalin has subsided.
The diagram below explains the emotional states a dog experiences. I share this with all my owners because it helps to explain why their dog behaves the way it does at any given time and why dogs in a highly charged state completely ignore their owner's instructions!
Anxious – When our dogs are anxious, they are not comfortable, they are flooded with adrenalin and cortisol, and can quickly move into Afraid.
Afraid – When your dog is fearful he can’t listen to you or follow instructions. A good test is to see if your dog can take a treat or a toy. If he can't he is too wound up to pay attention to you. The same is true for humans
Red Lining – A dog who is in the red zone has tripped over the edge. He can no longer hear you or respond to you, or notice other things around him. His "Thinking brain" has shut down and he will need time and reassurance once away from whatever has alarmed him to come back down. Many dogs are unable to bring themselves back down after a trip to the red zone - it requires their adrenalin and cortisol levels to lower considerably.
HOW TO HELP YOUR REACTIVE DOG
The Doggie Stress Scale
This is the next thing I share with my owners - The way to help a reactive dog is to get your dog to generally be more relaxed, so
that when "Triggers" are encountered, there is further for the dog to travel up
the doggie stress scale before he has a melt down.
A trigger can literally be anything that the dog has either had a bad experience with, or something that they have not encountered previously. It is often:
Other dogs
People with beards, hats, walking sticks, limps....
Bikes
Prams
Cars
Cats
The list goes on and on......
As your dog has repeated meltdowns it just reinforces the fear, anxiety and aggression. When as owners we shout, or drag the dog away and have an alarmed reaction ourselves, the dog feels that its own response is perfectly reasonable, after all, just look at how the owner reacts!
Look at the doggie stress scale below and decide where your dog is on the scale right now.
Helping your dog to relax, and generally live his life on a lower stress level starts with impulse control exercises and also making sure he has plenty of mental and physical exercise.
Contact a Behaviourist if you need help with how to do this.
Avoid
all triggers (For now)
Your job as an owner from this point is to keep your dog far
enough away from its triggers for your training to take place. If you’re so
close to a trigger that your dog won’t take a treat or is already
barking/lunging/etc, you are too close. For the next few weeks (Or longer) you
need to avoid all situations that trigger your dog.
Know
the signs of anxiety and aggression
It’s important to recognise the subtle signs a dog may give
when it is anxious, to avoid getting hyped up and for owners to create a calm home and spaces for the dog to relax. Look out for signs such as lip licking, yawning and blinking as early indicators that your dog is not calm and relaxed.
Stay
Calm
Owners also need to stay calm when they spot a trigger and
avoid sending a "Warning" message to their dog through their own body language or
tightening the lead. Dogs will pick up
on this straight away.
When all the above steps are in place, and you and your dog have avoided triggers for a few weeks; You have been working on your dog being more relaxed in your home and garden. He is generally calmer, and showing less signs of anxiety in a familiar environment with people he knows well.
Then you are both ready to try to encounter some triggers!
Here is a basic strategy for encountering triggers – which should always be done at a distance. It’s important to know your dog’s “Distance threshold” for various triggers, and stop at the point where you dog can still respond to you. Your dog may react better to triggers such as a bike when it is possible to keep it still and low down, this is not as easy with triggers such as animals or children.
Have your dog off lead, say, “Find it!” and throw some soft, smelly treats on the ground near to his trigger. If your dog wants to go and investigate the trigger allow him to do so, ignore any barking or growling that he may do, your job is to stay completely calm. If your dog looks at you, this is his request for leadership and guidance. Your job is to say well done and give him a treat. Allow your dog to get nearer and nearer to the trigger, with plenty of treats placed on and around the trigger. If your dog can't take the treat, he is too near to the trigger - you need to go back a bit and try again.
Practice this over a few days with the trigger gradually moving into different places and positions until your dog is relaxed in its presence.
For Outside Triggers
Perform an Emergency U-Turn. Start practicing this inside. Put your dog on lead. Walk a few steps, then say “About turn!” “Oops” or “This way” Then turn around. Give your dog treats as she follows you. You can use this when you’re on a walk and see another dog or person. Give your cue and turn and walk away. Make sure you’re giving lots of treats for this, and don’t only do it when you see another dog – do it randomly as well, many many times, this will make sure that your dog is always watching YOU and focussing on YOU, and therefore less focussed on what is going on around him. Some dogs don't want a treat but like a quick back scratch - the idea is to get your dog regularly running back to you for a quick check in. This disrupts his focus but you have to practice and practice this so that the check in is an automatic response by the dog. This works well with an extender lead so that the dog can have quite a long lead and you can practice calling him from a distance.
Don’t leave
things to chance. Cross the street, plan your escape route, walk with
your dog on the side away from triggers. Teach your dog a whiplash U-turn..
Know what is in front of and behind you and where your exits are.
Main
learning points:
Your dog will react
to YOU and will take cues from your reactions, so make sure you are always calm
and in charge.
Your dog will react more on a lead – and if he feels restricted
by you or the lead is tight
Your aim is to keep a loose lead at all times
Let your dog dictate the pace and gradually with practice
and rewards for calm behaviour you should be able to move closer to a trigger.
Many dogs are far less reactive OFF lead because they feel
that they have control of the situation, however we often need to have our dog
on a lead, so it’s important to practice with both.
Many owners feel that their dogs are protective of them and their home, we need to reassure our dogs that we are in charge. We do this with a calm attitude and making sure that the dog is well trained with clear rules and boundaries in the home – In a dog’s world, the person who controls the food and resources is the person in charge. Once the dog works out that it’s the owner who is in charge, many dogs are able to relax and stop being “On Duty”.
That's all for today folks! I really hope you enjoy the blog and find the information useful. Please forgive any "clunkiness" social media is a big learning curve for me!
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Email: lynnejones004@gmail.com
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