By Fran Jewell
Somehow, in the past couple of years, I ended up on an email list for veterinarians. I have no idea how that happened, because I sure am not a doctor, but I get some really wonderful news about what’s new in veterinary medicine. Things that keep popping up are new devices, supplies and medications to help calm dogs. Everywhere on the Internet and through any animal retailers are devices, hormones, homeopathics, essential oils, flower essences, medications, and behavior modification techniques to help dogs cope with their anxiety and anxiety-producing aggression.
While it is wonderful to see that the pet industry is addressing a very serious problem, I can’t help but ask myself why is there so much anxiety for dogs in the first place? When I was a kid, no one ever had a dog that had such severe anxiety that the dog had to be medicated. The only thing my Brittany spaniel did not like was her bath!
In the same pet-supplier ads, there are photos of dogs with ponytail ears, clothing for every occasion, nail polish, tutus, beds shaped like human beds and sofas. Every dog on the planet now sleeps on our bed or on every piece of furniture. We call our dogs “fur babies” or “fur kids” to express just how important they are in our family.
While I am not here to say dogs should not be so important to us in our lives, I will say that canine anxiety usually comes from two places: 1) genetics, or lack of careful breeding; and 2) being treated like humans instead of dogs, or “anthropomorphism.”
Somehow, our society has learned to appreciate dogs in our lives and has begun to see how important dogs are for our mental health, physical health and in our protection (detection dogs, police dogs, and military dogs and service dogs, to name a few), but forgotten that dogs should be HONORED as dogs. Dogs are a blissfully wonderful species that should be respected for who they are.
When we treat dogs as dogs and understand their hereditary and social makeups, then we begin to put less pressure on them to be social with EVERY dog they meet. We also begin to understand their need to work and please, not live as couch potatoes or even be spoiled with lack of structure and no rules. We must begin to understand the importance that genetics plays in the sound temperament of any dog. Studies are now showing just exactly how important genetics are in any dog—mixed breed or purebred.
How does this relate to anxiety and all the advertised quick fixes mentioned above? I contend that many of the problems we face today with our dogs can be attributed to lack of leadership, or anthropomorphism, which seem to go hand in hand. While we love our dogs madly, we must remember and cherish them for being DOGS—another incredible species. They are not furry humans. We need to understand that many times poor or unknown breeding can contribute to genetically poor temperaments that do not change quickly or at all. While many dogs can make huge strides forward in overcoming anxiety, we need to accept that sometimes they cannot.
It is my contention that dogs need to be respected for who they are and not necessarily what we, as humans, expect or want them to be. Patience and behavior knowledge is critically important in bringing and keeping mentally healthy dogs into our lives.
Fran Jewell is an Idaho Press Club award-winning columnist, IAABC-certified dog behavior consultant, NADOI-certified instructor #1096 and the owner of Positive Puppy Dog Training, LLC, in Sun Valley. For more information, visit www.positivepuppy.com or call (208) 578-1565.
