What is a nervous system?

It’s responsible for receiving and processing information inside and outside the body.

A dogs ability to cope and current nervous system status can depend on a variety of factors such as prior learning experience, genetics, overall resilience and current or undiagnosed pain.

A dog may show reactive behaviours towards another dog that look like barking and lunging.

The red zone

A dog may be going into the red zone when they show signs such as hackles raised, freezing, stopping and not taking treats. You may also hear a growl.

Are we making a ‘rod for our own backs’ if we don’t punish this behaviour?

I hear this one quite a lot. While I understand that we need to feel in control and that behaviour must be responded to, shouting or other methods can make the behaviour worse. It does not tell the dog what to do instead. Also, it doesn’t get to the root cause of the behaviour – and look at the environment the dog is in and what is causing this behaviour to start, so it will pop up elsewhere or in a different way. I always think of the nail pot that girls in school used to buy to put their nails in to prevent them from biting them.. it made them taste horrible with the idea this would prevent them from biting their nails. Fine in theory, some may argue, but if they are biting nails because of anxiety reasons that anxiety isn’t going to magically disappear and a new behaviour could take it’s place.

What does the green zone look like?

This can look like behaviours such as sniffing, engaging with the environment, relaxed tails and ears, loose body posture and mouth open.

How can we ensure needs are met – what are a dog’s needs to begin with?

Our pet dogs are often so very lucky. They have food, shelter a comfy bed and walks. When thinking about a dogs needs, thinking about ethology can be helpful. If we think of street dogs, they spend a large portion of their day asleep. The recommended sleeping amount is 16 hours plus for dogs but there are many things that may interfere with sleep – the postman, the cleaner or gardener arriving, knocks at the door, cats and wildlife outside tempting them, people walking past the house. Over tiredness can affect dogs behaviour detrimentally. Just like people dogs need opportunities to switch off. Just like us, if we are constantly on the phone, IPAD, or screen until late in the night we can become wired and find it harder to relax and sleep. Similarly, if dogs are not given an opportunity to rest and sleep, this can affect their behaviour.

Diet, before making any diet changes this is the vets realm. It’s important to discuss any nutrient needs. Take a look at your dog’s current diet – remember that Kettle Chips and Wotsits are both crisps but their ingredients vary massively.  The same can go with food. Animal derivatives and by - products are not pure meat and veg.

Chewing is relaxing and satisfying. Having ample chews to enjoy that are rotated is important for a dogs mental health.

Sniffing – the chance to amble and sniff is so important. High octane activities such as repetitive  ball throwing can be bad on joints and lead to a wired dog, which has surges of adrenalin.

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