May 19 • Trusty Tidbits
Arousal vs Stress
Definitions:
Arousal: a physiological and psychological state of being awake or reactive to stimuli
Stress: a physical, chemical or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension
With the words defined we can now begin to differentiate the states of being. This is something that not everyone can recognize and identify. Whether it is due to lack of understanding or they just don’t like the idea of a dog having negative feelings and so they choose to relabel it.
Arousal in dogs is something that is typically a more positive feeling, they are still in the mindset of learning and are still aware of what is around them. This can, of course, go “overboard” and when the dog is overly excited they are unable to regulate themselves. This can cause us, the human, to also have heightened emotions and cause us to react in a way that suppresses our dogs instead of them actually learning to relax. Most people think this approach works and in a way it does because the dog stops the behavior that we don’t want them to perform. What it doesn’t do is change their mindset about the situation. They will still experience this heightened arousal but will restrain themselves (albeit after displaying the unwanted behavior) and only when their owner says something. The trigger has not changed the response.
This is where we must be able to stay calm, cool and collected and teach our dogs how to relax in certain situations. Our dogs are quite in tune with us and how we feel in certain moments so how we react helps our dog’s way more than we may think it does. Adding distance if possible is a great way to help our dogs be able to get into a mindset of true relaxation about a situation. You can also utilize treats, a stuffed KONG or a lick ‘em mat in those moments to help facilitate calmness and a reward them for the calmer behavior at the same time.
Stress in dogs is a whole other thing and while arousal must also be handled correctly I personally feel that stress, in its own way, is even more important to understand. If a dog is chronically stressed either in general or just certain scenarios (such as the car or vet) how you respond and handle the situation can make or break your dog being able to work through the stress. If your dog is in this stress mentality and something happens that would be otherwise benign (such as a person/dog walking by or a car door being shut) the dog may think that those things are something to stress about and become fearful of it.
When a dog is in a stressed mindset they can display what looks like similar behaviors to arousal except that their body language will be more tense than just arousal. The way they bark will be more tense (throwing head back and barking up), tail stiff and erect, leg straightened, approach the “danger” in a non-playful way and are unable to engage with their surroundings just to name a few.
This is where knowing how to identify when your dog is stressed and when your dog is aroused is very important. Remaining calm, cool and collected is helpful in both situations but a dog that is stressed is less likely going to be able to enjoy a stuffed KONG to have a positive association with that stressor. Sometimes in those moments just being there with your hand on your dog giving them that sense of security and that they are not alone is what they need. When a dog is stressed like that they are not able to rationalize and if not handled correctly that stress can turn into aggression because the stressor got to close for their comfort and they want it to go away. Again, how you react in these situations can make all the difference of your dog being able to work through these challenging moments or not.
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Arousal vs Stress
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