[nagdu] stress, how much is too much?

Mon Nov 12 21:23:54 UTC 2012

It helps to study the stress of the team not just the dog or the human.  If 
for example I become stressed, Holly picks up on it and shows it as well.  I 
am really pretty laid back and in general so is Holly.  Sometimes she will 
shake a bit but otherwise, she is pretty good!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 3:01 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] stress, how much is too much?


>I agree with Tracey.
> I think some of this may be that we are just learning about mental health 
> for both people and animals.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione
> Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 2:58 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] stress, how much is too much?
>
> I don't remember any lecture about signs of stress or what to do about it,
> though I may have forgotten.  We did learn a bit about dog massage, and,
> at GDB, we learned the Tellington touch, where one does certain kinds of
> massage for certain problems.  Like, rubbing the dog's ear helps it feel
> calmer, or rubbing his neck in a circular way.  As you can tell, I only
> recall this vaguely.  But I figure some gentle petting in a stressful time
> can't hurt.
> Ben's signs of stress are so subtle I'd probably miss them, if he hadn't
> had such a dramatic episode in class.
> Tracy
>
>> Thanks!  Those are reactions to stress that I wouldn't have thought of.
>> It makes sense though.  I like to go to bed early when I've had a rough
>> day.
>>
>> I think it's important, especially for the new handlers, to recognize
>> stress/anxiety at it's first signs.  then the situation can be managed
>> or extra encouragement provided to the dog before the problem escalates
>> into a huge ordeal.  I think knowing when your dog has had enough and
>> what to do about it is very important stuff.
>> Do the schools provide a seminar or something on noticing stress signals
>> from you dog?  What about how to calm a stressed dog?
>>
>> Julie
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11/12/2012 11:35 AM, Tracy Carcione wrote:
>>> Sometimes, if we're away at a festival or convention, and Ben has worked
>>> from morning to night for a couple days, I can tell that he's wants a
>>> break.  If we're out late, he starts looking toward the door, or turning
>>> forcefully towards our room.
>>> During class at TSE, on the weekend before the third week, he just shut
>>> down.  He wouldn't get up when I called him.  He tried to crawl under
>>> the
>>> bed and hide when I picked up his leash.  It was very upsetting.  But I
>>> learned then that his reaction to stress is to sleep.  If I let him
>>> rest,
>>> leave him in peace for a while, he's back to his usual self.
>>> Tracy
>>>> I'm wondering how your dog's show that they are stressed and how much
>>>> is
>>>> too much?
>>>>
>>>> a bit of background...a few months ago I went to an all day meeting out
>>>> of town.  This involved about 8 hours of car travel there, an overnight
>>>> hotel stay, the all day meeting, another hotel stay and the car ride
>>>> home.  Monty has done all of these sorts of things before and since.
>>>> Before this weekend he showed few signs of stress and they were minor.
>>>> However for some reason still unknown to me Monty had a tough time this
>>>> particular weekend.  His signs of stress included: looking at
>>>> everything
>>>> incessantly, startling at noises, lip licking, difficulty relaxing  at
>>>> relief breaks, shaking and pulling like a crazed maniac in harness.
>>>>
>>>> For me his signs of stress were pretty high.  If he had continued at
>>>> that level I would have stopped working him.  We have struggled off and
>>>> on for the past few months with smaller episodes of stress/anxiety.
>>>> Overall things have improved dramatically.  Occasionally he will do the
>>>> lip licking and the looking at everything, but he's not at a level that
>>>> I feel is risky to his or my health or  safety.
>>>>
>>>> Recent messages to the list and my own situation caused me to think
>>>> about and ask the questions: How much is too much?  What would cause
>>>> you
>>>> to quit working a dog completely? What would cause you to quit working
>>>> a
>>>> dog in a particular situation?
>>>>
>>>> Julie
>>>>
>>>>
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>>
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