{"id":7868,"date":"2022-03-08T09:57:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T09:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tails.com\/blog\/?p=7868"},"modified":"2022-03-30T11:42:40","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T10:42:40","slug":"lets-talk-about-stress-in-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tails.com\/blog\/lets-talk-about-stress-in-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s talk about: stress in dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Carolyn Menteith is a behaviourist at tails.com with over 25 years of experience working with and training dogs<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life can be tough for our dogs. We expect so much from them – in fact being a family dog is the hardest job we ever ask a dog to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While working dogs usually live with experienced owners, in a purpose-designed environment, and get a daily outlet for all the things they have been bred, sometimes over hundreds of years, to do, a companion dog has a much tougher brief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are expected to live in a home as part of a family, not make a mess, not chew things they are not supposed to, love everyone (including the cat!), enjoy being handled and even cuddled, not steal food, put up with noise, chaos and the busy environments we live in, be happy to go everywhere with us when we want them to – and equally happy to be left alone when we don’t want their company, not jump up, bark, bite\u2026 in fact not do all the things that make them \u2026 a dog!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That so many dogs manage this is a testament to just how amazing our canine companions are – and just how adaptable – but not all manage it so seamlessly and that is where we start to see behaviour problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behaviour problems in dogs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now let\u2019s do a quick debunk here. Behaviour problems are not problems for the dog – even though what is causing the behaviour is. They are just a dog behaving like a dog in a situation they find stressful, in order to try and make themselves feel better, or to make the stressful thing stop or go away. This is a behaviour problem for their owner or family – not the dog\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some behaviour problems are obvious – because they are dramatic. Biting, destruction, howling, reactivity\u2026 everyone recognises those but they are the canine equivalent of shouting at the top of your voice. A last attempt to be heard when all else has failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we want to prevent behaviour problems in our dogs – and just make sure they stay healthy, happy and fulfilled in their lives with us – we need to hear what they are saying before they have no choice but to shout. This means that we have to become experts at identifying stress in our dogs – and dealing with that before it escalates into a more serious issue. Thankfully, with a little bit of knowledge of \u201cDog as a Foreign Language\u201d, that becomes easy to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dog body language – the great communicator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dogs do not communicate verbally like we do but they do use a whole range of body language cues that, when we know what we are looking for, start to become obvious. Watching and reading your dog\u2019s body language quickly starts to become addictive – and you start to develop a symbiotic relationship where you both listening to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are plenty of body language cues that indicate our dogs are feeling stressed. Some are very subtle – and are just early warning signs that the dog is finding a situation potentially worrying. Others are more obvious – but with skill and practice, you will understand your dog long before they have to \u2018raise their voice\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n