consulting
The Human Impact
Anna Bradley assesses the impact that living with a dog who has behavioral concerns can
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have on the resident humans and how this can be made easier for all parties don’t know how many times my clients have talked to me about the impact their dog’s behavioral issues have on them, their family and their relationships, but it’s certainly often. This is a serious topic, stirring an eclectic mix of emotions that most likely those who are not dog owners or who have not experienced the rollercoaster ride of assisting a dog with behavioral concerns, would have difficulty sympathizing with.
What Do We Feel?
As dog owners, trainers, and behavior consultants, we have a deep empathy with our dogs and, consequently, we understand how troubling struggling to cope with a given situation, context, event etc. may be for our dogs. What though, do we feel? I think sometimes this aspect is neglected, but it very much shouldn’t be. It is a very important aspect of behavior therapy to address the human as well as the animal slant. Frustration, sadness, hopelessness, failure, embarrassment, pity, even anger are just a few of the emotional labels I could pick from the descriptors owners have used at a first point of contact when expressing how they feel about the situation with their dog.
What Causes these Emotions?
There are, of course, multiple causes of negative emotions and individual differences have a great bearing upon how they are experienced. Speaking generally, a major factor is the opinion of others. It is human nature to be affected by outside opinion. The issue with many behavioral concerns is that they are visible and may be audible, and the problem may be greatly enhanced by the size and vocal capacity of the dog. As such, people may tolerate a wide range of undesirable behavior in a small breed yet find exactly the same behavior unacceptable in a moderately sized or larger breed. Tolerance, then, or lack of it can certainly be a causal factor. Unfortunately, I have many tales of owners trying their best to assist their dog while he is over threshold in a given situation, only to be judged or criticized by a third party. This does not help. In the first instance, the owner is likely to already be very aware of the issues they are facing, probably magnified by the dog’s antics and possibly vocal display which draws public attention (potentially a huge embarrassment). Thus, a greater awareness of the fact that many owners are aware of the issues their dog has and are seeking help, is required. Other factors include intrinsic causes, such as comparisons between this dog and previous dogs. Every dog is an individual. Even though an owner may have had the same breed for years, no dog is the same and a recognition of this is vital. This can be difficult when owners have had that “special” dog and then this one comes with all this baggage. This can cause feelings of intense frustration, and even resentment and anger, which can be difficult to work through. It is tough sometimes separating feelings for individual dogs. They are all special, are all completely distinct and the love for a previous dog will not be diminished in any way because
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BARKS from the Guild/May 2018
© Can Stock Photo/littleny
Owners may feel frustration, sadness, hopelessness, failure, embarrassment, pity, and even anger at their dog’s behavior issues
you have a new project. Consider also “other voices” – everybody’s an expert! It’s great to have help, internet advice, read books, etc., but consider that this is all generic (and may be completely inaccurate, outdated, or irrelevant), is not tailored to your individual dog, and does not take into account context, the dog’s background, emotional state and so on. As a result, much advice can conflict and be confusing. What do you believe? What approach do you take? What is contemporary? What is not? It is always far better to seek professional advice from a qualified behavior consultant.
What Is the Impact of Negative Emotions?
What impact, then, can a behaviorally challenged dog have on his owner? Again, this is going to be an individual effect. I think that, generally, if owners have support from someone, a partner, friend, or rescue center backup if the dog has been rehomed, that can make a tremendous difference. I always offer much in the way of owner encouragement in behavior modification because I know that ultimately assists the dog. If you have a fraught, stressed out, frustrated owner, it is not going to help the situation or the dog-owner relationship. Human relationships, meanwhile, can be seriously challenged by behavioral concerns. In these cases, the situation may be exacerbated if one
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