By: Joel Allen
Hello folks! How is everyone holding up? (I know I keep asking that since all this started with the quarantine.) Well, we have been through an interesting time. Watching history unfold before our very eyes can be stressful, and by saying that, how many of us have dogs? Are they not watching our every move? They sense when we are stressed and sometimes our dogs will act out, and then before we realize it, we up the ante and get upset with our family canine member for their actions. These are times when they do something we think they should know better than doing. And sometimes they do know better, but we punish them when, in actuality, we should be blaming ourselves. I know, twisted psychology here, but you’ll know it’s true after thinking about it. Here is an experiment: Try just randomly taking a picture of your dogs when they think no one is watching, and I bet that in some cases, they will be watching our every move when they think we are not looking. It’s just an idea that could be very enlightening or make your dog look like a stalker, LOL.
Stress comes in many forms and most of it is caused by what we do and say. So what can cause stress in our dogs? It could be a crowded house with a lot going on. It could be people coming and going during a cookout. Someone moving in with the family. The dog may find these new additions threatening to their usual way of life or over stimulating. Changes can have a positive or negative effect depending on how we allow the change to affect our lives.
Let’s talk about crowded situations where the dog does not know everyone that is coming into the house. In this case, I have seen where the family thinks they are preventing a situation from occurring by sending the dog into another room or crating them. That is a good idea but it can do more harm than good because the dog loses a social tool by being removed from people. They can hear the noise going on where people are laughing and talking. In these cases, I have seen the dog actually become anti-social toward anyone not in the immediate family, and future harmful incidents have been known to happen. What I would do in these situations is introduce the dog or dogs to the other people and animals (if there are any) and monitor their responses. I would also watch the people or animals involved because sometimes they can be the reason for your dog acting out. As I witness my dog getting along with everyone and a few rules set down for all to follow, I would ease up a little. Remember, our dogs can tell when we are stressed, and they will look for the bad person causing us distress if they perceive a threat.
Another stress that can cause problems is how we act when we come into the house. Are we going to bust into the front door and call out in our baby voice, “Hey, babies! How are y’all doing?!” Sometimes that can cause a fight because the leader of your pack (which should be you, just saying) wants all of your attention and will jump on the other one it’s jealous of. Things will snowball from there because all will get involved, and it will not end pretty. Or will we take a deep breath before opening the door and remember not to overstimulate everyone by calmly walking into our home greeting all with love and patience? It’s your choice — chaos and mayhem or peace and tranquility. I even have a sign on my door that says, “Do not knock! Call my cell phone.” I should buy that sign that says, “Do not knock on my door! If you do, then things will get real fast!”
Sometimes, we can be the reason for stress, as I have clearly pointed out. When Zues was alive, he was my Number 2, though he thought he was in charge; and when I would become irritated with another dog in my household, he would try and correct them too. He was so in tune with me that when another person or animal upset me, he would become overbearing toward them. In some cases, it was funny; but I was careful how I influenced him with others.
Right now, many of us are stressed out because we have “cabin fever” and it seems like it’s taking forever to get everything opened back up. And again, I must point out that our dogs can sense this in us. So, let us try to de-escalate their stress. Start taking time out for your dogs and increase your walks with them. Keep them focused on positive outcomes. What we do for them will also help us de-stress. Play fetch with them, even if it’s you who has to retrieve the ball. Y’all be careful and good out there.
By: Joel Allen
