26/04/2023
The link between physical and mental health and dog training:
I recently listened to a fascinating talk by an animal physiotherapist on the link between pain and behaviour. Two of the most important insights I gained from what was said were: the huge role emotional state plays in the perception of pain and the influence of stress on the development of chronic pain.
It appears that while two dogs may have the same underlying physical condition, their individual personalities and lifestyles will determine to what extent they experience discomfort from this condition and stress will play a role in how much of an obstacle the condition is likely to become to their quality of life and desire to engage in various activities long term.
Several important thoughts follow from this:
1. Dogs that are more prone to anxiety and fear seem to experience pain more severely.
2. Dogs living with ongoing stress are more likely to develop chronic pain conditions.
3. Training methods based on punishment and rooted in fear create anxious dogs and lead to chronic stress, therefore punishment-based training methods have a negative effect on physical health.
4. Dogs whose needs are fulfilled (companionship, mental stimulation, species/type-specific activities) are far less likely to experience chronic pain.
5. Teaching dogs how to use their bodies properly through body awareness exercises and teaching dogs to master physical movements through trick training, builds physical and emotional confidence, which is a powerful protection against the development of chronic pain.
I found this so interesting, because it confirms what I have seen in so many dogs that we work with. We teach a huge amount of body awareness, proprioception, core-strengthening and confidence building exercises in our classes. Many dogs train with us from puppyhood into their senior years and these dogs seem to maintain a level of fitness, flexibility and positive attitude which seems to help them to live happily with common chronic conditions such as arthritis and to slow down the mental and physical aging process. While I am not for one second saying that training is a miracle cure or preventative measure against disease or injury or should be viewed as a replacement for appropriate veterinary care and physiotherapy, it really does appear that training dogs in a way that promotes emotional and physical confidence and optimism, really has an enormous effect on their long term physical and mental well-being. And physiotherapists agree!
Proprioception and body awareness tricks can do the following:
• Strengthen muscles, including core muscles (which leads to better joint support)
• Improve flexibility, alignment, posture, balance and stability
• Keep the hindquarters activated to decrease muscle loss in older dogs
• Encourage thinking and problem solving
• Increase confidence
As trainers and behaviour practitioners, we have to be mindful of the link between emotional and physical health. As I have said so many times before, this is why our focus in training has moved away from “obedience” and towards building healthy minds, bodies and relationships.
