Dogs And "Shadow Syndromes"

Dog owners often don’t detect that their dogs are suffering from low levels of fear, stress, or anxiety. 

About 20 years ago, a friend gave me a book called Shadow Syndromes, by John Ratey. While the book was about humans, I could see the applicability of the concept to dogs. Often mood and emotional states are running just under the surface. I envision it kind of like a submarine, you usually don’t see one as it glides under the surface of the ocean… but it is still there. But occasionally, it will poke up its periscope above the surface of the water. Similarly, dogs can be experiencing fear, stress or anxiety, often undetected by their owners, veterinarians, or trainers. Except those occasions when it pops up more visibly in terms of behavior problems. 

 

The problem is that behavior problems are the result, but are often undiagnosed or misinterpreted, and are just considered actions that need to be punished. But the punishments never work, and the problems continue.

 

This is why it is important to get a sufficient background on a dog before testing a remedy. You must look for clues, test the dog, and track the results. 

 

I saw a couple of dogs like this over the weekend. In one case, a German Shepherd Dog that is chasing his tail. The other, a young Rottweiler that can’t seem settle down and is a nuisance in the home. There is more going on in these cases, and I explained that the reason their corrections weren’t working was because they aren’t getting at the root cause of what they are seeing.

 

Dogs can’t figure this out for themselves. Dog owners are the ones who are supposed to pursue answers to odd behaviors, often requiring them to get expert advice.