Should we focus more on our dog's needs and less on what we require from them? Pennie discusses.
We know a lot about the canine ethogram, including the need for safety, choices surrounding toileting and body care, social connections, sleep, nourishment, play and the ability to choose how to meet nutritional requirements.
How do these needs compare to the environment we provide for our dogs?
The practice of thinking about what dogs need rather than what we require of them is often met with incomprehension. Many people remain sceptical that we humans need to think long and hard about what it means to live with a dog. A dog can never just be a furry companion; they are complex living beings, and it should be accepted before taking the first steps towards living with a dog that fundamental needs should never be ignored and cannot be put on hold until a time slot is available.
This should begin when a puppy is eight weeks old. Instead of being with siblings and mother until they are better equipped to cope with the human world, many puppies are taken into an alien environment of a new home, which is likely devoid of canine company.
A very young puppy needs a calm, considerate, thoughtful introduction into their new world. However, this may get dismissed and result in the demands of unfamiliar humans taking precedence over the puppy’s essential requirements. For example, house training is frequently on top of the agenda. While this is important, the focus should be on helping the puppy adapt to a new environment and identifying how the puppy communicates their need to toilet rather than impatience when things inevitably go wrong.
Among other points that need addressing from the off but are commonly overlooked are those of firm, stable surfaces to walk on. As they start to explore their environment, puppies need to feel that the ground underneath their feet will help them remain stable as they move. The ability to walk and change gaits without feeling compromised is essential for young, uncoordinated limbs and prevents undue incorrect pressure on the body, and provides correct proprioceptive feedback. This is only one of the needs that combine to ensure wellbeing and future physical and mental health.
Just as crucial are social connections, and the best lessons are learnt from other skilled and grounded dogs. Without sound and well-adjusted guidance, young dogs are too often left to try and figure it all out on their own. We should all recognise that learning and practising social skills is of immense importance to dogs expected to cope in our everyday world. This is why bad advice regularly dealt out to dog guardians about establishing obedience through discipline is incredibly detrimental.
As puppies grow into adults, the experience of being a dog in a human world often remains difficult for a dog to navigate. We only have to think about what happened during the pandemic and how it resulted in the many hundreds of dogs currently in rescue to see what a mess we create when we invite dogs to share our lives without prioritising their basic needs. The missing link is learning how dogs process and experience their world through their senses. Humans are not the only ones to experience the world in a sensory way - dogs arguably have more heightened senses, not only in the olfactory department but in other ways in which we often have little experience or interest, and although we can’t know exactly how a dog uses their senses, ignoring the need to think about this is inexcusable.
If we disregard or misunderstand the experience of the dogs we live with, there will inevitably be situations that we are unable to deal with; this is why we need to understand and have more investment in the lives of the dogs we live with and have some insight even if it can’t be extensive.
It is only becoming accepted that dogs will likely share the same sensory difficulties humans encounter. Too much noise, too much going on, and not enough tactile stimulation (or too much) can shape a dog’s life as indeed as it does our own. This is why returning to the ethogram is so crucial. Without social connections, feelings of safety and contentment, the ability to choose specific activities such as scavenging and using their noses, choices of where to pee and poop are all inelastic and crucial in shaping their lives. Agency can make a huge difference to dogs as they cope in our world.
Recently, a few canine professionals have started to look into “sensory diets” for dogs. This is a relatively new concept for people, but unsurprisingly, it has taken a while to reach our dogs. Nevertheless, It is welcome as it can provide more information about “problem behaviours” and help resolve them.
When discussing sensory issues, we have lots of food for thought should we decide to investigate. For example, earlier, we touched on proprioception. Not all dogs have the same experience of what is underneath their feet. As stated earlier, this sense can be distorted by being expected to navigate unsuitable slippery surfaces, while young or hypermobile joints could cause it.
This is not easy for a dog to live with, especially as they can’t relate their experience to us; feeling out of synch while moving and not receiving good feedback from the proprioceptive sensors will impact how safe a dog feels.
If we have some knowledge of these problems, we are better equipped to understand why a dog may have an extreme fear of being around other dogs, cars or loud noises. People who experience hypermobility issues often report extreme anxiety, so it is not a long shot to reason that a dog is likely to feel an identical and constant unease.
Another example is the gustatory sense. Many dogs are labelled “fussy eaters”, but sensory issues can create a distaste or unease of specific textures, which may have the consequence of preventing a dog from eating or disturbing the pleasure of meals and affecting digestion. This can be compounded by being made to wait too long between meals, which results in gulping food so rapidly that stomach issues occur.
This also links to interoception. “Slow-eating bowls” are probably not going to resolve these situations because the root of the problem is neither recognised nor addressed. If a dog is hungry or digestion is disrupted, it can then escalate and cause sleep deprivation and
“Humans are not the only ones to experience the world in a sensory way - dogs arguably have more heightened senses”
disrupt the correct functioning of hormones - in particular, ghrelin and leptin, which in turn affect circadian rhythms.
How can dogs communicate these feelings of unease, discomfort and poor perception to us, and how can we become more aware that these kinds of problems even exist?
We can switch our focus if we have a broader understanding of how canine senses work. While they are vastly different to ours, the signs this does not mean that we can’t appreciate how significant a part they play. Before we accuse our dogs of being “badly behaved”, we must look at how these behaviours arose.
We can assess stress, pain and discomfort. Still, we also need to appreciate how the dog reacts to specific elements of their life, including how it reacts to being outside and how he copes with everyday activities, especially if there is a disconnect. There seems to be little enjoyment in activities that should invoke joy. A dog that has sensory issues may actively dislike being in cafes or at the seaside, might choose to snuggle into another body but dislike being touched or hate wearing a harness or coat, freeze on walks or become jumpy or
is easily startled.
If we return to the canine ethogram, we have some kind of route map as to what to do and how to help our dogs regain their confidence and establish a sense of wellbeing. The following pointers are important when thinking about sensory issues. Natural light is essential to help with overstimulation and sensory onslaught. Pleasure releases endorphins disrupt the correct functioning of hormones - in particular, ghrelin and leptin, which in turn affect circadian rhythms.
How can dogs communicate these feelings of unease, discomfort and poor perception to us, and how can we become more aware that these kinds of problems even exist?
We can switch our focus if we have a broader understanding of how canine senses work. While they are vastly different to ours, the signs this does not mean that we can’t appreciate how significant a part they play. Before we accuse our dogs of being “badly behaved”, we must look at how these behaviours arose. We can assess stress, pain and discomfort.
Still, we also need to appreciate how the dog reacts to specific elements of their life, including how it reacts to being outside and how he copes with everyday activities, especially if there is a disconnect. There seems to be little enjoyment in activities that should invoke joy. A dog that has sensory issues may actively dislike being in cafes or at the seaside, might choose to snuggle into another body but dislike being touched or hate wearing a harness or coat, freeze on walks or become jumpy or is easily startled.
If we return to the canine ethogram, we have some kind of route map as to what to do and how to help our dogs regain their confidence and establish a sense of wellbeing. The cerebellum in the brain is responsible for coordinating balance and movement, and it needs clear vestibular and proprioceptive feedback. Faces are sensitive because receptors in the skin around the head and face send impulses through the cranial nerves directly to the brain stem.
The jaw is an important joint in the body, and chewing provides good proprioceptive input. If your dog is worried by noise, include soft porous materials in your home, including heavy curtains, carpets and wall hangings; although they are not particularly popular these days, they will help reduce or dampen noise and can also help to muffle sound within a house too.
Offer your dog a food choice by providing a platter of different textures and foods. This is a positive and useful thing to offer a dog. The more we learn and the more we employ empathy in our lives with our dogs, the better.
“We also need to appreciate how the dog reacts to specific elements of their life”
The above article is reproduced with permission from one of our favourite partners Edition Dog, Issue 65, Author: Pennie Clayton - find out how you can read more amazing canine content by subscribing to Edition Dog
