The Stress Bucket: Understanding Dog Behaviour

What  is stress?  We all experience it, to varying degrees, and while some  struggle more than others, it is ever present in our day to day lives.   Mind UK defines stress as “how we react when we feel under pressure or  threatened. It usually happens when we are in a situation that we don't  feel we can manage or control.”

While  some associate stress as being a human emotional state, stress is  actually a universal experience that also affects animals, and which has  a profound impact on our canine companions.

Like  in humans, stress can accumulate, leading to negative behavioral  responses.  When we, as humans, get stressed, our mood shifts, we might  become irritable, angry, impatient.  We become overwhelmed, anxious,  depressed, and have difficulty taking things in while our thoughts are  racing constantly.

If stress impacts our behaviour, as humans, so dramatically…how do you think it impacts on our hounds?

Where  stress for humans comes from things such as work pressures, financial  worries, relationship issues, or health problems, dogs can experience  stress from a great many sources…many of which we, as dog owners, may  not consider to be stressful.

Greyhounds  have never (for the most part) been in a home environment prior to  adoption.  In those initial weeks, and months, everything is a source of  stress.  They are experiencing everything for the first time and while  they may mask their overwhelmed state quite well a lot of the time, they  are sensitive souls and if their world is made too big, and their  routine disturbed too much, in that initial settling in stage, it can  lead to a lot of problems.

Sources of stress for hounds include:

-  Environmental changes such as moving to a new home, moving furniture,  changes to routine, visiting new places, loud noises or the presence of  unfamiliar people or animals out and about or in the home.  

-  Forced social interactions, being in overcrowded environments or just  having people invade their space a lot when it’s not wanted, or  aggressive or overstimulating encounters with other dogs can be a lot.   Particularly during the settling in period.

-  A lack of regular exercise can lead to pent-up energy, while on the  other hand, too much exercise can largely contribute to stress levels.   Too much exercise can lead to over-exposure to stressors like noise,  traffic, people and crowds, off lead dogs, cyclists and more.

-  Not enough mental stimulation, as we discussed a couple of days ago  about enrichment, dogs (typically, greyhounds less so!) are intelligent  animals that require a certain level of stimulation beyond their daily  walks to feel fulfilled, decompress, and release happy hormones in the  brain.

- Being left for long  hours can also have an impact, but this is largely related to a lack of  mental stimulation.  Ideally, a dog shouldn’t be left for more than 4  hours to prevent boredom, stress and to allow them access to toilet  outdoors.  Separation anxiety is not always destruction and howling, a  hound can be low-key stressed in being left for long periods.

- Health issues that cause pain or discomfort can be a significant and ongoing problem and source of stress.   

-  Children.  Reckon we can all relate to this one!  While not raised  around children, or bred with the intention of being good with children,  greyhounds are known for their placid, laid back and easy going  behaviour around kids…but that doesn’t mean their presence, loud  playing, sudden movements and running around doesn’t cause some level of  stress and discomfort.

There are so many more examples, but to list every stressor…we’ll be here all day!

While  any one of these stressors might be okay, and the hound handles  themselves well in that moment, repeated or continuous exposure to  stressful situations or encounters will have a detrimental effect on  your hound…just as it would on you.  Each of these exposures increases  the cortisol (stress hormone) levels, they become accumulative and can  be long-lasting.  

A great analogy, that we love to reference, is the stress bucket.

The  stress bucket is often discussed in the context of human mental health,  as it has a significant application in understanding, identifying and  managing stress in our lives.  Similarly, it can be utilised in the same  way to explain and manage dog behaviour.

The  analogy is a simple one.  Imagine that every person, and animal, has an  invisible bucket that they carry around.  The bucket collects stressors  in the form of water.  Every stressor that a person, or dog,  encounters, adds a little bit (or a lot) of water into that bucket.  But  the bucket can only hold so much water before it overflows.

When  the bucket overflows, that tipping point, signifies when that  individual has become overwhelmed and is past the point of coping.  In  dogs, this tipping point is where their stress hormones are through the  roof they are past the point of being able to regulate their emotions or  self sooth, have lost their connection to their higher cognitive  function, they are not taking in new information or learning, and are  running on instinct.  They become unable to respond in the way they  normally would.
When this happens, the dog will attempt to take back control or manage the situation as a means of reducing their stress.  

This will present in what is typically considered unwanted, negative or ‘naughty’ behaviour.

Such  behaviours include reactivity, resource guarding, defensive (or even  aggressive) behaviours in the home or on walks (even toward familiar  people or dogs e.g. growling at the children), trying to escape the  lead, trouble sleeping, restlessness, excessive barking, chewing,  digging, humping, excessive licking…the list goes on.  But nonetheless,  all of the behaviours that dogs exhibit can be linked to a motivation,  or root emotional state.

These  behaviours are typically carried out as a way of self-managing,  releasing anxious energy or taking control of a situation to avoid more  stress or harm.

Each dog’s stress  bucket is unique.  Factors such as breed, temperament, past  experiences, and current environment determine the size of the bucket.   For instance, a well-socialised Labrador might have a larger bucket  compared to a recently adopted Greyhound that has no previous experience  in a home environment.

Many  owners will discover the limit of their hound’s stress bucket by  accident, and often in a less than desirable way, when they have sudden  behavioural changes that might include reactivity, destructive  behaviour, separation anxiety or freezing on walks.  

This  often occurs because of the post-adoption excitement, taking their  hound to loads of new places, having all the family and friends over the  visit and taking them for great long walks and adventures…taking their  previously sheltered and simple world and making it too big and busy for  them to cope.  Not establishing structure, routine and taking things  slowly enough for them to adjust.

These  sudden and unexpected behavioural changes often result in hounds being  returned to the rehoming centres, when they just weren’t given the  opportunity to settle and learn.  But this isn’t because of anyone’s  fault, it is just because of a universal misunderstanding of dog  behaviour.

We love this great example and explanation by Listen Dog Training:

“If  you take your dog on your usual Sunday morning walk, after a weekend  where he has not been left alone, the postman hasn’t made any  deliveries, and you haven’t encountered any cats, other dogs, or  exciting squirrels on your way to the field in which you intend to let  him off-lead, your dog is likely to behave pretty well, and respond to  cues that have been properly trained and reinforced, as you’d expect.

If  we make a few alterations to this situation – you head off to the same  field together, but this time it’s on a Wednesday and your dog has been  left home alone for the past 4 hours whilst you were at work, in which  time the postman knocked on the door to make a delivery. The streets are  now darker, and you’ve had to pass a group of noisy children who all  clambered to stroke him, as well as the big dog from down the street who  always barks. By the time you arrive at the field, the cumulative cups  of stress that have been poured into your dog’s bucket from all those  events have caused the bucket to fill – he does not have the clear,  relaxed head he had on Sunday and, as a result, is far less likely to be  responsive to your cues, or able to make the best decisions about his  behaviour.”

Understanding the  stress bucket, and how to manage your hound’s bucket, can be one of the  greatest tools you can have as an owner in preventing unwanted  behaviours.

First, you need to  establish how big your hound’s bucket is, not by overexposing them and  leading to an outburst of reactivity, but by learning and recognising  the early warning signs that your hound is anxious, stressed or  overstimulated.  Socialising your hound in a positive and safe way, at  their speed, is a great way to increase their buckets capacity but it is  not something that can be rushed.

Identifying a dog’s signs of stress, so that timely intervention can occur, is crucial.  These signs might include:

-  Physical symptoms or changes in body language such as excessive  shedding, panting with the lips held back tightly exposing the gum line  with tight facial features, drooling, whale eye, ears held tightly back,  tail held low and central (not wagging), weight loss or an upset  stomach.

- Lack of appetite, refusing to take treats, not eating their normal meals.

-   Avoidance behaviour such as freezing on walks, refusing to leave the  house at all, hiding away when visitors come around, or seeking out less  attention or affection from their preferred humans.

-  Hypervigilance, being overly alert and reactive to the slightest noises  or movements.  This can simply be ears up, freezing, staring and  stalking.  It doesn’t always involve vocalisation.  They could just be  constantly looking around them, unable to settle, checking behind them,  particularly if someone is walking behind them.

-  Sudden behavioural changes such as increased aggression, excessive  barking, or destructive behaviour, over grooming, restlessness and  trouble sleeping.  They don’t have to be long-lived behaviours.   Sometimes a hound may be fine on a walk for the first 30 minutes, then  randomly lash out at an approaching dog despite being previously  appearing to be very social and accepting.  This is a clear sign that  their bucket has overflowed, the changes in their body language were  missed and the walk went on for too long or too many stressors had  occurred.

Though while it’s all  well and good to read this, and think it makes sense, it isn’t always  easy for people to put it into practice.

Not  everyone is able to identify the subtle changes in their hound’s body  language, or signs that they are stressed, overstimulated, overtired or  in need of something other than what they’re getting.
Sometimes,  it is trial and error, but being able to advocate for your dog is  important.  If you are out at the pub with friends, and you have the  hound with you, and as the pub gets busier and louder, you notice that  your hound is no longer happy laying down, is panting and looking around  a lot more…accept that it may be time to head on home and let your  hound rest.  

If people with  children can get out of social situations, or otherwise, because the kid  needs a nap or feeding, it should be perfectly acceptable for dog  parents to do it too!

Managing a  dogs stress bucket involves reducing exposure to the stressors that are  filling it, but also helping them learn, grow and positively socialise  them in a way that they are able to expand the depth of their bucket.  

This can be achieved through things like:

-  A consistent routine!  Greyhounds have lived and breathed a strict  routine their whole lives before being adopted, they thrive on having  that knowledge of what is happening and when.  A constantly changing  routine can be difficult for them to grasp, so keep key parts of the day  consistent such as feeding, enrichment/treat time, walking and bedtime.

-  Regular exercise, where appropriate and in the right format for your  dog.  Not every hound can cope with daily or twice daily walks, or they  may not cope well with street walking but do well with field or country  walks.  Provide regular opportunities for decompression walks in nature  (away from societal pressures), like sniffaris at a local nature  reserves or public footpaths across fields.  If they don’t have a  pre-existing injury from racing, take them to a private rental field to  run around (or as ours do, just walk around sniffing every blade of  grass!).

- Provide enrichment!   We discussed this a couple of days ago, and no doubt will again in  future, but providing mental stimulation is really important for giving a  hound the opportunity to carry out behaviours such as chewing and  licking (both self-soothing behaviours) in a safe format.  Toys,  puzzles, play time, long lasting treats/chews like kongs or lick mats,  or training sessions, can be brilliant for helping a hound feel more  fulfilled, engaged and relaxed in their environment.

-  Creating a safe environment at home can really help a hound.  While  some appreciate a covered crate (with the door open or removed) to come  and go from at their leisure, others may just appreciate having more  than one bed option.  With one being away from any busy thoroughfares or  rooms, where they can take themselves away to relax without disturbance  by humans (or any little humans!).
Make sure to have  house rules in place, especially where children are involved, that the  hound is never disturbed when sleeping, resting or eating.

-  Positive socialisation and reinforcement, at your hounds pace, can be  very effective in boosting their confidence, tolerance and ability to  cope with new environments, people, dogs or other changes.

-  A good, healthy and balanced diet!  While this may sound a bit bizarre,  there is a quickly increasing amount of evidence to support the impact  of poor diets on dogs’ behaviour.  Highly processed, high carb, low and  artificial nutrient and coloured diets are as good for your dog as take  away for every diet is for us.  Our doctors tell us ‘fresh is best’ and  the same applies to dogs.  Even if you cannot afford more expensive,  natural foods, there are numerous ways you can improve your dog’s diet  and wellbeing by adding fresh meat, eggs, vegetables, some fruits, seeds  and natural supplements, to their existing food.

-  Seek professional help if necessary!  Getting a qualified, positive  reinforcement, behaviourist involved does not mean you are a failure or  that you cannot manage on your own…but sometimes it is needed to be able  to see things from an outside and educated perspective, and to be given  effective tools to help our hounds!

We’ve  seen many hounds overfill their stress buckets in the initial weeks  post-adoption, and often it can be addressed very quickly and  effectively by allowing them a few days of decompression in the house  (no walks, or only walks out in the middle of nowhere or at rental  fields) where all stressors are taken away and their bucket is allowed  to empty back to a more manageable level.

We  have seen this be most effective as an immediate remedy to the first  signs of the tipping point, providing alternative mental and physical  stimulation in a safe environment either at home or in neutral spaces  away from societal pressures.  Effectively providing a reset button.   Giving them the minimum 72 hours for their stress hormones to return to  normal balance and for them to be able to cope and learn once again, can  be a big help.

Greyhounds, post  adoption, are having to learn and experience sooooo much all at once  that it can be very easy to push them over the edge.  While advising  people in how to rectify this in most cases is a bit more complicated  than what we have just mentioned, that is a good starting point.

To  push on with exposing a hound to stressors without management,  especially after the tipping point, there is potential for behaviours  such as dog reactivity, freezing or aggression to become ingrained and  harder to rectify.  You will definitely need to hire a behaviourist at  this point, so make sure to advocate for your hound and take things at  their pace instead of pushing them past their comfort zone in negative  ways.