After the recent rattlesnake scare, our friend Debbie Jacobs from FearfulDogs.com pointed out that I said I was still upset, shaken, feeling the effects of the fear hours later. The truth is this VERY BIG scare hung remained active in my body for days. And, as Debbie reminded us, that’s an important lesson when dealing with a fearful dog.
In other words, even when they seem to “get over it” in the moment, our dogs feel lasting physiological results from things they find scary. Those stress hormones, it seems, can hang around in the body not just hours, but DAYS.
Perhaps that explains why I posted a couple of rants last week as well. My tolerance for pretty much any baloney was at an all-time low.
Night Terrors
Plus, and this is kind of funny, I literally woke up and screamed one night that week when Tom came to bed.
I hate horror movies. Hate them. I cannot fathom why anyone would want to feel fear on purpose. BUT, we put Zombieland on our Netflix list because it was really more of a comedy than a horror movie.
Still, it made my tummy feel a little ooky, and it must have just added to my stress hormones.
Tom walked in and threw back the covers right as I (half-asleep) opened my eyes. And, I totally screamed, which scared the heck out of him because he thought I was sound asleep.
So, there you go. Don’t watch movies that make you antsy if you and your dog have had a tough week.
The Dogs’ Response
Lilly indeed remained worried and subdued that day, but she seemed to bounce back after that.
Ginko, on the other hand, remained beside himself. Granted … much of that could have been the pain that required us to get his once-postponed knee surgery on the schedule.
BUT, we think the smell of the snake lingered for Ginko. Lilly remained sniffy that day, but Ginko’s nose seemed to be in overdrive much of the week.
Yes, the knee pain made him antsy, but we wonder if the smell kept him on edge too. Poor buddy.
Good Reminder
So, many thanks to Debbie for this reminder. Next time Lilly flips out, I’ll give her extra consideration not just in the moment but for several days.
Oh my, yes. Stress hormones hang around for quite a while. I was warned about this when Sadie was a puppy and afraid of everything. Thankfully no rattlesnake encounters. But, it would take days for her to overcome being spooked by a shopping cart. Now I notice she does bounce back much, much faster. Funny, I keep this in mind with regard to Sadie, but for myself? Not so much. This is a good reminder. Thanks.
That’s a great point for all of us to keep in mind, both about ourselves and our dogs. I found myself exploding at people today – and I think that it was all based on experiences over the weekend. My stress hormones must be sky high.
Now, I need to keep that it mind about K. It never even crossed my mind that she didn’t just leave fears behind very rapidly…
Oh Roxanne, I do hope you get a chance to decompress. It’s pretty amazing what lingering stress can do to us and our dogs. I use to skip out on our morning trail runs if Kona had had a really scary day, knowing that going anywhere with Kona can be stressful for her, but have learned that enough exercise helps wipe out the stress hormones. I think it’s good to have something to get the stress out. It seems to be able to compound otherwise. (Or stick around too long after the stressful event=not good).
And even if your dog gets over a scare, I imagine she could sense the energy in your body, body movement, and voice if you have not still gotten over the scare.
That “lingering stress hormone thing” is why our walks have been abysmally short and infrequent (aside from our hikes) – Marge definitely needed some time to diffuse after a couple of fiascos we encountered out there.
Interesting what you say about horror movies – I don’t really like blood and guts horror movies, but I do enjoy the more psychological ones that put me on the edge of my seat.