The Pre-Walk Zoomies: Are They What They Seem?

The  subject of one of our most recent posts was detailing how to identify  stress, and anxiety, in your hounds’ facial expressions.  The  inspiration for which was one of our own hounds (let’s call her  Sunflower for the sake of anonymity).  Sunflower is a rather anxious  bean, but to those less knowledgeable about canine body language and  behaviour, she seems like a perfectly content hound because she  internalises a lot of her anxieties.

We  all know, as modern understanding of dog behaviour has proven, that  dogs are emotional beings.  Greyhounds particularly, what with them  being overly emotional toddlers and all…

But  while dogs may not be able to contextualise emotions, and verbalise  them like we do as humans, they express them quite clearly in their own  way.  The problem is that we, as humans, don’t always understand what it  is they’re trying to say and often misinterpret things.

In  a lot of cases anxiety and stress are very clearly identifiable through  unwanted, or what are often referred to as ‘negative’ behaviours.   These can include things like destructiveness, over grooming, excessive  vocalisation, restlessness, separation issues, defensive behaviours such  as reactivity on walks, freezing on walks, or even growling or snapping  at you in the home.  

All these  behaviours can typically be back tracked to a root emotional cause or  trigger…but in other cases, where a hound internalises their anxieties,  their emotions come out in less obvious behaviours.

Internalising  is very common amongst greyhounds but can occur in any dog or breed.   Whereas dogs are typically quite expressive with their emotions,  internalised emotions can have both subtle and overt effects on a dog's  behaviour.  Their feelings of emotional stress can easily go unnoticed.

So,  instead of big, and typically very obvious, displays of stress like  reactivity or barking, their stress is demonstrated through behaviour  that could be easily misinterpreted or reasoned away for other reasons.
Such  behaviours include avoidance behaviours (avoiding certain people,  situations, or objects), lethargy or being withdrawn, isolating  themselves away from situations they would typically be involved in,  changes in appetite, changes in their poops, sleeping excessively or not  sleeping enough, hypervigilance both inside and on walks, excessive  licking (them, the walls, their bed etc) and holding and carrying  themselves very stiffly, holding a lot of tension in their bodies and/or  faces.  

These could all be  explained away very easily and not be linked to stress or anxiety.  For  instance, sleeping too much, being lethargic or choosing to be in  another room to you…they’re greyhounds, they’re lazy!  Change of  appetite and poop, again, they’re greyhounds!  They’re quite often fussy  buggers and it’s just assumed that the excessive amount of poop of  varying qualities is normal!  Excessive licking, well, who doesn’t love a  good glopping at all hours of the day?  

Just  because a hound isn’t ‘acting out’ in their behaviour doesn’t mean they  are happy with what is going on around them.  But this is a subject  that we’ll no doubt cover over numerous posts in future.

Today, we want to discuss one behaviour in particular…and that is the pre-walk zoomies!  

So,  why have we rattled on for several paragraphs without getting to this  point?  Because we needed some context to internalised behaviour first,  and that not everything your hound does is as it seems, we shouldn’t  explain away subtle changes in their behaviour…and we like to waffle!

But what has the zoomies got to do with any of that?  Zoomies are a good thing, right?  Typically, yes, they are.

We’ve  had countless calls with hound owners who have got the collar and lead  off the hook and had their hound go bonkers, running around the house,  jumping about, tail helicoptering, throwing toys around…the works…right  before going for a walk.  SOOOOO excited to be going out…only for them  to hate every darn second of it once they are out the house.

This  is usually presented with them stopping dead at the end of the driveway  and refusing to go another step.  Or they get them out on a walk only  for them to stop every other step, or are pulling like a train, walking  erratically and/or being explosively reactive.  

But  for those poor hounds that internalise, and don’t know how to express  their emotions in the typical fashion, they go for the walk…and as  owners we think everything is fine.  Until you realise, that they are  holding themselves very stiffly, their ears are pinned back, they have  raised worry lines on their face and furrowed brows, they are  hypervigilant, they’re not interacting with their environment very much  (sniffing and marking), they refuse to take treats and might refuse to  interact with other dogs that approach them.  

Giving  off all the signals that they are uncomfortable and don’t want to be in  this situation, and just want to get home and decompress.

The  pre-walk zoomies can, and often are, a release of energy because a  surge in stress, anxiety, panic and excitement.  They want to go, but  they also associate going on walks with fear and/or pain.  They need to  get rid of all that negative energy, so they burst into the zoomies!   What looks like excitement to us, is actually them having a bit of a  panic attack!

And how do you tell  the difference between pre-walk excitment and pre-walk panic?  You  don't.  For the most part it's incredibly hard to tell the difference!  

Sunflower  is very prone to this behaviour, and she’ll always do it while carrying  her emotional support teddy...which is usually a dead giveaway as to it  being a pre-walk panic!

This is called a displacement behaviour.

Displacement  behaviours are actions that a hound will engage in when they’re feeling  conflicted or experiencing stress, anxiety, or overstimulation.  This  often manifests in seemingly unrelated behaviours, like licking,  yawning, or, in this case, carrying objects in their mouths. These  behaviours act as a way for the dog to self-soothe or release pent-up  emotional energy.

When a dog  feels unsure about how to react to a situation, they may grab something  familiar or comforting in their mouth to help them process the tension  or confusion they are feeling.

Unfortunately, it’s adorable, so the behaviour is again largely misunderstood.

Another  significant aspect to consider when interpreting pre-walk zoomies in  greyhounds is pain.  Greyhounds, like all dogs, can suffer from various  joint or muscle issues, particularly after retiring off the track.   Conditions such as arthritis, or their retirement injuries (however  minor they may seem) can cause pain, especially when transitioning from  rest to movement.

When a  greyhound knows a walk is coming, they might display zoomies not just  out of excitement, but as a way of shaking off any discomfort or pain.  These bursts of energy can serve as a coping mechanism to get their body  moving or as an expression of restlessness due to physical discomfort.   If the zoomies seem frantic or your greyhound avoids the walk after all  that excitement, it may be a sign that the dog is experiencing pain,  not joy!

The question is, what do you do if your hound is internalising?

The  main problem with internalising is, as we’ve mentioned, that it gets  misinterpreted and largely overlooked.  Constantly ignoring these signs  is what leads a hound to display the larger, more impactful, and obvious  unwanted behaviours such as reactivity, freezing, destructive  behaviours etc etc etc…you get the idea.

Internalising,  and the more subtle behavioural issues, are often seen in hounds who  are freshly off the track.  We generally get the call that things have  gone totally pear shaped at around 3-4 weeks post-adoption.  
This  is where the hound has decompressed, is starting to feel at home,  they’ve learnt the routine and are feeling comfortable enough to start  expressing their true character and emotional state…and is typically  when behavioural issues start to emerge.  This often occurs due to  adopters doing too much too soon with their hound.

Though,  in saying that, Sunflower is 2 years into home life and still only  demonstrates those more subtle behavioural signals the majority of the  time.  We call her ‘part time reactive’, as her escalation in behaviour  is usually down to our mistakes.  Because despite knowing better, we  still slip up from time to time in how we manage her!

But we’re waffling again.

Before  putting any behavioural management in place, you want to rule out pain  as a contributing factor.  As a generalisation, in our experience, 9  times out of 10, hound owners are unaware that their hound is in pain  because they hide it so well.  Don’t bother with the vet, they’re  useless for this sort of thing.  Find yourself a qualified veterinary  physiotherapist.  No question, this is the only way to go.

The  number of hounds we’ve seen have their behaviour improved through the  assessment, treatment and management plans set out by  physiotherapists…there is no comparison!

Should  pain not be an influencing factor (though it often is to some degree!),  one of the best bits of advice we can give you is to stop walking your  hound!

We don’t mean that you  should never walk them again, just that (depending on the hound) they  need some level of decompression between walks.

It  can take up to 72 hours for the stress hormone to return to normal  levels for a hound…and if they find their morning walk stressful, and  you take them out again that afternoon, then again, the next morning and  afternoon, those stress levels are going to be through the roof and  never able to come down.

Instead  of deep diving into this and making this post several more pages long,  we’re just going to link to our article about over-exercising:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=122136470636054286&set=pb.61551628601787.-2207520000&type=3

Some hounds only want, or benefit from, one walk a day.  Some, every other day.  Some, twice a week.  Some, not at all!

Walks  are for their enjoyment, so if they aren’t enjoying it, find a walking  routine or environment that they do enjoy.   For instance, instead of  street walking every day, take them to local fields or nature reserves  to get away from societal pressures and triggers.  

As  example, Sunflower (who is 6 years old) only has one short walk a day  in the very early hours when there are no other dogs, people or traffic  around when street walking.  Then long dog-led walks out in the  countryside where she can decompress and just be a dog.  Rest days are  then put in as and when they are needed, and her hind leg issue (which  does cause discomfort) is managed with medication and physiotherapy.
Finding  what worked for her took some time, but we have settled on this routine  and she’s doing well so long as there are no unexpected changes to her  routine!  She’s very dramatic!

Trying  to figure out what works best for your hound will involve some trial  and error, and sometimes they may need several days or a week or two of  no walking to ‘reset’ them, their stress levels, and address their  behaviour issues before implementing the new routine, but once you find  what works for them, you’ll find you’ll have a much happier and more  relaxed hound!

Just remember that  at any point you aren’t walking them, it isn’t a case of just ignoring  them.  You will need to substitute that exercise with other forms of  mental stimulation, be it brain games, training, puzzle feeders, play  time in the garden…whatever works best for them!  

Unfortunately, this subject is far too vast to fit into one post, so we’ll discuss it further in future ones!

But  the moral of the story is that pre-walk zoomies aren’t always a sign of  happiness and excitement and to pay attention to the more subtle  behaviours they may be displaying…because catching issues early will  prevent larger behaviours from developing!

If in doubt, contact a qualified, positive reinforcement behaviourist (ABTC/IMDT etc) to assist you!