The holidays are here with their lots of surprises, luggage to prepare, holiday homework, revisions, crossword puzzles and little glitches!
If this is also synonymous with a break, they can be responsible for some stress and above all involve new learning for your dog. New routine, new environment, and sometimes also holiday homework!
As with humans, stress has a major impact on a dog’s learning abilities. We can thus define stress by “a set of responses of an organism subjected to pressures or constraints coming from its environment”. It is responsible for many elements and in particular:
- It overloads the individual’s regulatory systems
- It disturbs his state of adaptation
- It develops fears and amplifies uncertainties
- It influences the behavior / physiology of the individual
Stress has also been proven to have a direct impact on the hypothalamus. Cortisol, the famous “stress hormone”, is indeed linked to the hypothalamus, renowned for its role in memorization. Stress has an impact on memory! It is therefore essential to avoid it at all costs and to favor healthy and stable learning conditions before you start. For that, here are some tips:
Make sure your dog is in an environment where he feels safe and comfortable. A hostile environment or with manifestations of anger, violence will not allow him to concentrate. Likewise, preoccupations such as pain, hunger or thirst will not allow him to be in optimal conditions to listen to you fully.
Be SMOOTH! Be COOL! Interactions should be positive. Focus on the essentials and give your dog confidence. If you stress, he will stress! Favor small steps on a daily basis and be careful not to have too heavy demands (they are only dogs)!
Regulate learning periods. Like a student, the dog will reach saturation if it receives too much information or requests in a short period of time. Make sure that the sessions are neither too intense nor too spaced out.
How do I spot stress in my dog?
Stress can manifest itself differently in different individuals. These signals are unusual behaviors that are relatively easy to perceive.
Your dog may have trouble calming down, concentrating or overreacting to ordinary stimuli. He can also “block” certain things (flies, shadows…), scratch or shake himself repeatedly. Among the easiest signals to spot, we can cite the manifestation of vocal stress (by barking, moaning, squealing for no identified reason), or physical (muscle tension).