{"id":171,"date":"2018-01-28T16:42:01","date_gmt":"2018-01-28T16:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.garniesdogblog.com\/?page_id=171"},"modified":"2018-01-28T16:53:50","modified_gmt":"2018-01-28T16:53:50","slug":"stress-and-calmness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.garniesdogblog.com\/?page_id=171","title":{"rendered":"Stress and Calmness"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If our dogs are to learn it is really important to have them calm. It is only when they are calm that they will be able to take in what we are asking them to do, whether it is in class, when they are at home or out on walks.<\/p>\n

Stress<\/h2>\n

Stress, in the form of excitement, fear or anxiety e.g. strange places, people or dogs, pushes up the stress chemicals in the brain (this is true of dogs and people). If a dog experiences a mild stress the chemicals will go up and come down again without the dog being over stressed. If there are multiple events that all worry the dog (triggers) all happening at the same time the chemicals may rise to a place where the dog can’t cope. Alternatively if there are repeated stressful events, without time for the chemicals to drop, they can build up in the brain and quite a minor event on top can then put the dog into a panic. When the stress chemicals go too high and a dog can no longer properly control their own behaviour it is called going over threshold. This isn’t good for the dog experiencing the problem or those watching, who may themselves then become stressed.<\/p>\n

Find out more:<\/p>\n

Across a Threshold – Article by Mardi Richardson <\/a><\/p>\n

Trigger Stacking & Stress Hormones – video by Donna Hill<\/a><\/p>\n

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Achieving Calmness<\/h2>\n

There are various ways of achieving calmness in your dog(s) depending on the circumstances<\/p>\n

The simplest is ‘capturing’ calmness. This involves nothing more difficult than reinforcing your dog every time you see him resting peacefully.<\/p>\n

Sounds simple? Yes it is, yet like with so many other things in life, it isn’t quite as easy as it seems. Years of being told to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ makes it hard for some of us to disturb a dog at rest even to reinforce the behaviour! It can also be difficult to remember to reward a dog for being good, sadly, it is so much easier to respond to BAD behaviour.<\/p>\n