The Speeding Dog

Posted on Nov 15 in The Small Dog-Human Bondby Jeff K.Print

“Hiiiiiiiiyiiiiyiii, puppeeeee! Oh, lookatthedoggy, lookatthedoggy! Are you happy to see me?! Yes? Yes? Who’s a happy dog? Who’s a happy dog? Okay. Calm down. I said calm down! Stop that! Get off me! Ow, your nails hurt! Stop that! Ron, get the paper towels and the spray. Your dog peed on the floor again.”

Any of this sound familiar? It is a typical interaction between a human and a dog that often ends badly for the one with four legs.

Most dogs are emotional mirrors for humans. Absent any other distractions, our dogs take their emotional cues from us. If we are down and blue, chances are our dogs are going to mope right along with us. If we are excited, our dogs’ emotional energy will rocket also. While we often know why we are excited or depressed, dogs usually reflect these emotional states without any idea as to why. Sudden swings in emotion, especially emotion without an apparent cause, can be very stressful for your dog.

In the example I gave at the beginning of this piece, in which a dog owner comes home excited to see her dog, the dog responds in kind. Yes, to a certain extent, the dog “knows” why it is excited: Mommy’s home! The extraordinary height of this excitement is mostly driven by Mommy. That high-pitched voice and the repetition of phrases act as a turbocharger for the dog’s emotions. While the human can put the brakes on and call for calmness, the dog does not have the mental tools to make a quick stop. Think of a dog’s emotions in this case as an Indy race car running down the track at top speed. When the human says “Stop that!” with a voice that has changed from happy to stern, it is as though she dropped a wall in front of that speeding car. Two things are inevitable. First, the car’s (dog’s) momentum is going to cause it to crash right through that wall and keep on going for a distance. Second, there is going to be some wreckage.

We humans have a few options for dealing with emotional stress. Some of us can rationalize our way out of an emotional boil. Others can resort to talk therapy or medication. Dogs have less options. There is evidence that some dogs can deal with emotional stress through self-stimulation, such as paw licking or fur sucking. According to the Handbook of Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat, (Gary M. Landsberg, Wayne L. Hunthausen, Lowell Ackerman, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2003,) “Dogs and cats that perform oral compulsive behaviors may appear to ‘settle down.’” If your dog licks his paws compulsively, perhaps he is trying to cope with stress, but not all licking is related to emotional stress. Self-licking may be a time filler when a dog is bored. Or, it may simply be a way to soothe an itch.

When we talk about acting as responsible dog owners, we usually cover the physical items. Everyone knows good dog ownership includes providing comfortable shelter, a healthy diet and good veterinary care. Let’s add to that list by saying good dog ownership also includes providing an emotionally stable place for your dog to live. By emotionally stable, I am talking about an environment that makes dog sense to your dog. Here are some suggestions.

Try to avoid zinging your dog into emotional peaks, especially when you come home.

Try to avoid forcing sudden reversals of energy level on your dog.

Try to avoid yelling in front of your dog, even if the dog is not the cause of your anger.

If your dog is aroused by something or someone, give him a chance to settle down on his own. Use the equivalent of the timeout you would use for a child that is wound up, only in this case, give yourself the timeout.

1. Do not look at your dog.
2. Do not talk to your dog.
3. Go about your business in a calm and quiet manner.

If you do this, in very short order, your emotionally speeding dog will coast to a stop and rejoin you in your calm mood.

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