Compounding Stress, also known as stacked stress, is when multiple stressors intersect without significant resolution or recovery between them.
Today, many of us, me included, are feeling compounded stress from the current political climate in the US. It is tough to escape the daily events, and I am starting to truly empathize with how many of my clients’ dogs must feel.
Humans and dogs are affected the same, both mentally and physically. Stress elevates cortisol levels, which can lead to harmful physical conditions, but it also affects your dog’s behavior.
Let us look at Corbie, a precious 3-yr old Lab mix who snapped at his 8-year-old human sibling one afternoon when he came home from school. In the past, Corbie would run and greet Sam, and they would immediately begin to wrestle. On this particular day, Corbie met Sam at the door but not in his usual mood to wrestle. Sam tried all his usual tricks to get Corbie interested, but Corbie was not in the mood and just wanted to be close to his boy. An hour later, Sam was getting off the couch when he leaned over and kissed Corbie on the head and this is when Corbie snapped. This is a behavior that Sam would do regularly, so the owners were confused, and scared that Corbie snapped.
Many owners would react very negatively to Corbie’s behavior, causing long-lasting effects on Corbie’s well-being and the very relationship Corbie depends on and considers his secure attachment. Instead, we need to look at the behavior as a puzzle piece to see what Corbie is trying to tell us. In this instance, the snap was a level three calming signal to let Sam know that he needed space. The real question is why did Corbie need space on this day when he would typically wrestle with Sam?
Corbie was stress stacked.
Corbie’s sleep was interrupted due to a loud thunderstorm overnight and due to the continued rain, the household’s normal routine was not the same. Corbie did not go on his run with his dad, Sam left the house two hours later than normal because school started late. Since Sam went in later, mom had to drive him to school and that occurred during the time that Corbie goes to the park. Since mom was out, she ran her errands which left Corbie alone until the early afternoon. Corbie’s only trip out that day was a trip to the vet for a quick nail-trim with a stop for a pup cup. Unfortunately, the line for the pup cup was too long and they needed to get home to meet Sam.
How do we help dogs with compounding stress, aka stress stacking?
First, we need to know what our dogs find stressful and what amount of stress they feel. This will be different for every dog. When we begin to recognize stress signs in our dog, we should immediately look for a way to help with decompression or a way to give the dog agency on coping with the stress. This may be a lick mat, sniffing a grassy area, chewing on a bone, lying in a dark room with a sound machine, being under the bed, or hiding in the closet. As you can see, there are many ways dogs will look to cope with stress; but we must allow them to do so.
When I am working with Willow in a public setting, I am aware of all the experiences that may cause stress. Busy traffic, loud vehicles, booming music, kids screaming, people just popping into view, a combination of gas fumes, tar, bird poop, and gum odors lingering or people approaching us too quickly. I limit how many of these experiences occur using distance and I always ensure I have an escape route. When I see something that visually stresses her, I immediately put her into control mode with a cue word (go sniffy) and begin to follow her. If she continues to look at me for directions, I will then move her out of the area to a safe zone. Your dog will let you know when she is ready to experience more by re-focusing on you or the environment you escaped.
Always use your spa room after your dog experiences a variety of stress or stress stacking. This allows for reconciliation and ample rest to ensure that there is no long-term effect on your dog’s overall health and wellbeing.