When a dog presents with a behavioural issue it tells us that there’s a history of life experiences that the dog found uncomfortable or outright aversive.
What affects the mind also affects the body and what affects the body also affects the mind. This is a simple equation of utmost importance.
The majority of reactive behaviour stems from anxiety, fear, and physical issues. By addressing anxiety and fear through training we help the body to learn to overcome the fight or flight response and calm down. By addressing any physical issue, we help the mind to relax and be open to learning.
If there’s a history of long-term distress or trauma, psychological and/or physical, the balance, or homeostasis, of the body is compromised.
The longer or more severe the distress is, the harder it is for the body to reset, as negative loops have been established in the body.
This also applies to dogs that pull or used to pull hard or that were jerked, handled with slip leads or other aversive equipment. Every dog is different and highly sensitive individuals may get distressed by situations we’re not even aware of.
It may not be always apparent where the problem lies and that’s where one ought to seek professional help.
There may be underlying health issues and pain affecting behaviour so having your dog checked by a veterinarian is important to rule these out.
However, it is common that a dog can pass their health check even though there’s a lot of tension in their body. This is where complimentary therapies can help.
Bach Flower Remedies and aromatherapy support rehabilitation process well but these don’t fully address the bound up physical body. This is where osteopathy may be useful to help release the tension directly and encourage the body to return to the state of balance. This can help ease existing behavioural and health issues relating to trauma or it may prevent the development of potential health and behavioural issues later.
The better the body feels the more efficient the training will be too.
It’s all linked so I recommend looking at your dog holistically, as an organism that needs supportive treatment, a non-toxic environment, quality food and a body that is free of tension and comfortable to be in.
By addressing the body we’re also addressing the mind that will then feedback to the body in a more positive way and help to re-instate homeostasis. By creating a new loop, your canine companion will start feeling better and thus respond to rehabilitation therapy better too. Dogs that don’t have any behaviour issues may still present with tension so it’s good to have a check-up with an osteopath to pre-empty any issues later and older dogs greatly benefit from the treatment to easy any discomfort in the older age.
For this reason, I linked up with an animal osteopath Marina Rivas to help cover this aspect of canine wellbeing. She assesses dogs and gently works on any issue that may arise. You may contact her at:
Marina Rivas
07582 862870
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