Independence, confidence and sociability are all qualities we should strive for our pets to be from the moment we bring them home. But how do we teach our dogs these things? How do we get them to engage, be active and ok by themselves from time to time?
1. Positive exposure
It is never too early to subject puppies as young as 3 days old to mild forms of stress, (such as handling a puppy from 3 days old) as it has been proven to improve their ability to handle stress later in life (Schoon and Berntsen, 2011). This is another important reason when buying a puppy initially is to choose a breeder who has a lot of experience and understanding of puppy development.
Reward based training is one way to keep dogs feeling safe for example using play, praise, and food rewards.
Socialisation from puppyhood into adulthood; exposure to new or different environments throughout their life will also help to keep building confidence and feelings of safety (Cattet, 2013).
2. Create an optimist
To maintain emotional stability and homeostasis, give your dog something to look forward to. Surprising your dog with extra goodness is known as positive contrast. ‘The appearance of an unexpected reward makes such a difference to the behaviour of the animal’ similar to emotional ‘elation in humans’ (Boissy, et al, 2007, p.385). For example, if a dog goes for a walk and they usually get rewarded with dry biscuits, but instead is offer cooked chicken breast, the dog will be in a better mood (Boissy, et al, 2007).
3. Dinner never from a bowl
Dogs have been scavengers for millennia and it is completely natural for them to want to forage and hunt for their food. A great way to combine giving them a healthy diet and allow them to exhibit instinct is to use their food in games.
Add at least 10% fresh foods a day to improve overall health (Habib and Becker, 2021)
Hide their food around their crate
Scatter feed in a grassy areas
Use a sniff matt when indoors
Use an activity toy, such as a tip toy will provide an engaging activity for the dogs to enjoy
Providing a chew or a lick matt can alleviate stress and build a positive association to the new area
By allowing the dog to sniff out their food and work out how to get to the food, it will provide an engaging activity for the dog to use their natural instincts and abilities. Interactive toys and games can build a sense of achievement and confidence in a dog. Scent games can reduce boredom in the home too. When dogs are provided with appropriate enriching environment this will help their overall wellbeing and emotional stability.
4. Gateway to their world
You are the gate keeper to the world and what experiences the dog has or does not have. Obviously not every element can be controlled (there is always someone who will be yelling at your 'he only wants to say hello, he is friendly) but owners can try to create a joyful environment filled with positive experiences for their pooches. Most importantly of all, dogs’ need to feel safe to be able to interact with their environment, play and be sociable.
What you can do;
minimise the chance of things your dog does not like happening to them. Such as getting rushed by an off lead dog. To minimise this go to on lead places only ie pavements, promenades and onlead parks
provide a chill out zone; includes a calm space with a relaxing atmosphere (playing classical music) such as a bed or separate crates for multidog households
advocating for your dog; it is your responsibility to not let anything bad happen to your dog, and for your dog to know you have their back! You can do this by advocating for their space and in other ways, such as asking someone to recall their dog. Another example, is if you are standing chatting with someone and their dog starts barking in your dogs face, it is completely unreasonable for your dog to endure this. Take a few steps back or simply teach your dog a move on que (i.e. "let's go") and get the dog out of the uncomfortable situation.
5. Best Friends
The dog human relationship is a social one. Dogs are fundamentally social creatures and should have company. This need is acknowledged in the Animal Welfare Act, Article 9 (DEFRA, 2017) and the advice is dogs should not be left alone for long periods of time. This social need dogs’ have should be fulfilled by appropriately playing and engaging with people.
What you can do;
to manage canine emotions you should manage your emotions first. Remain calm (Notari, 2023) when experiencing something distressing such as suddenly hearing a loud emergency vehicle. Remember dogs sense our emotions and can differentiate between positive and negative ones (Huber et al, 2017). One suggested way to do this may be for you to complete a ‘short mindfulness activity’ (Grigg, et al, 2022, p.14) before going on the dog walk to maintain calm, especially if the owner knows their dog is reactive.
If the dog is triggered, the owner has the responsibility to make that dog feel safe again. Often this means hanging out for a few minuets in a quite area till the dog is calm and able to carry on the walk.
6. You got to move it, move it
Exercise not only release the feeling good hormone, endorphins, it also enables the dog to let out any frustrations in a beneficial way. Exercise is usually a social interaction, as a human will take the dog out for a walk. The act of walking or running with a dog will be a bonding experience for both parties. ‘Ideally, your dog will look to you to feel safe’ (Bekoff, 2022). When on an adventure with a dog the human needs to keep the dog safe and build a relationship of trust and compliance which is why it is important to make the experience the dog has outside as enjoyable as possible.
When emotional experiences are not optimal...
Bad experiences
Even a well mannered dog may begin to feel frustrated or disappointed (Boissy, et al, 2007) when they used to receiving food rewards for sitting or heeling, but the owner stopped doing thing. The dog is experience what is known as negative contrast and the once well mannered dog will probably no longer want to participate in the task. Moral of the story, pay your dog for doing a good job, you would not like it if your boss said to you are so good at your job now, I am not going to pay you anymore. You'd also say stuff this...
Abuse
Abusive environments and physical punishment leaves physical and ‘emotional scars’ (Bekoff, 2022). When training dogs, it is important to use reward-based training. If aversive methods are used, then dogs are likely to either shut down or become anxious and aggressive. Dogs do not enjoy being aggressive (Panksepp and Biven, 2012) and would only use it as a last resort when all other methods have failed to work.
Puppies
No stimulation for puppies can damage emotional growth because stress related pathways in the brain are unable to develop properly, resulting in a dog that finds it hard to make social attachments or cope with domestic life.
Food
When dogs do not get the right nutrition when young they can lack the ability to grow properly, to develop their brains and other organs which will affect training abilities later in life.
Dogs who get overfed may lead to obesity and get associated issues such as joint issues and diabetes. Dogs may also develop issues around food and become scavengers on walks to find the nutrition they are missing (in grass, dirt or excrement for instance) or possessive. When dogs live together, to manage their environment there should be enough resources (e.g. toys, beds, food and water bowls) to reduce the need to be competitive and inhouse fighting.
Left Out
Being left alone for hours at a time, day in day out will impact the dog with feelings of loneliness, isolation, and sadness. Dogs need social connections, if they do not receive this, they can be lonely and feel isolated which can affect their behaviour. A lack of emotional fulfilment in dogs can lead to depression, feelings of loneliness and stress. Dogs may begin to lick themselves excessively, bark a lot, pee or poo inside the home, or chew furniture (RSPCA, 2022). The problem behaviours can escalate to ‘separation anxiety, …fear of strangers… compulsive behaviours’ (for instance chasing reflections or licking the air), jumping up and over excitement ‘nipping, attention seeking behaviour’ (Gottfried, 2021) such as barking for attention, staring, or digging.
Environment
Feelings of safety are super important for dogs, if this is not achieved then they can become fearful or aggressive.
Dogs also need relaxed moments of rest during the day, if they do not have these than they can become very aroused. These dogs may find it harder to relax and being in a heightened state will impact their physical and mental health.
Tip: When training it is important to introduce the ability for a dog to be calm and settle to regulate a normal nervous system.
Not going out
Dogs who do not get enough exercise can become very unhappy, their behaviour may become destructive and hyperactive in the home. Furthermore, “The more restricted the animal’s world, the more he’ll be likely to feel anxious when small changes occur in his environment” (K9 First Responders, 2015). In other words, if they are not given the ability to go outside and explore, subtle changes in their environment can cause them to become anxious and fearful. Training would then need to be carried out to counter contention the dog to triggers and desensitise them to new things.
A note on emotions
‘Dogs are adaptable, but they are not immune to emotional scars.’ (Scott Stauffer in Bekoff, 2022). Mental scars could be more destructive to a dog’s welfare and subsequent behaviours due to most people not knowing they are there in the first place or not understanding the impact these feelings can have on behaviour later, such as dogs who are scared and start to show signs of aggression.
References
Boissy, A., Manteuffel, G., Jensen, M.B., Moe, R.O., Spruijt, B., Keeling, L.J., Winckler, C., Forkman, B., Dimitrov, I., Langbein, J. and Bakken, M., 2007. Assessment of positive emotions in animals to improve their welfare. Physiology & behavior, 92(3), pp.375-397.
Bekoff, M. (2022) Dog Training Requires Respecting the Deep Emotional Lives of Dogs; Exploring the affective dog behavior approach. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/animal-emotions/202202/dog-training-requires-respecting-the-deep-emotional-lives-dogs. (Accessed: 15/11/2023).
Cattet, J. 2023. 10 effective ways to help our dogs feel safe. Available at: https://blog.smartanimaltraining.com/2013/06/28/10-effective-ways-to-help-our-dogs-feel-safe/ (Accessed 31/01/2024)
DEFRA (2017) Code of practice for the welfare of Dogs. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ac78152ed915d76a04b2da6/pb13333-cop-dogs-091204.pdf (Accessed: 31/01/2024)
Gottfried, R. 2021. How ignoring our dog’s emotional needs creates behaviour problems. Available at: https://www.holisticdogtraining.org/blog/nljk1s0xlimqye7c01vptxbneuq46v (Accessed: 31/01/2024)
Grigg, E.K., Liu, S., Dempsey, D.G., Wong, K., Bain, M., Sollers, J.J., Haddock, R., Kogan, L.R., Barnhard, J.A., Tringali, A.A. and Thigpen, A.P., 2022. Assessing the Relationship Between Emotional States of Dogs and Their Human Handlers, Using Simultaneous Behavioral and Cardiac Measures. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, p.897287.
Habib, R and Becker, K. (2021) The Forever Dog: A New Science Blueprint for Raising Healthy and Happy Canine Companions. 1st end. Thorsons. Lancashire, England.
Huber, A., Barber, A.L., Faragó, T., Müller, C.A. and Huber, L., 2017. Investigating emotional contagion in dogs (Canis familiaris) to emotional sounds of humans and conspecifics. Animal Cognition, 20, pp.703-715.
K9 First Responders, 2015. How K9FR do it? Available at: https://k9fr.org/2015/08/30/how-k9fr-dogs-do-it/#:~:text=2%20%3E%20Taking%20the%20dog%20out,changes%20occur%20in%20his%20environment. (Accessed: 31/01/2024)
Notari, L (2023) I am feeling very anxious, will this affect my dog too? Available at:
https://www.rspca.org.uk/-/i-am-feeling-very-anxious-will-this-affect-my-dog-too-c2-a0 (Accessed:17/11/2023)
Panksepp, J. and Biven, L. (2012) The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology). 1st ed. New York. W. W. Norton & Company
RSPCA, 2022. How to support your pet’s emotional wellbeing. Available at: https://www.rspcapetinsurance.org.au/pet-care/health-and-wellbeing/emotional-wellbeing-of-pets Accessed: 31/01/2024
Schoon, A. and Berntsen, T.G., 2011. Evaluating the effect of early neurological stimulation on the development and training of mine detection dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 6(2), pp.150-157.
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