Stress in Dogs: Learn How Dogs Show Stress and What You Can Do to Help

by Martina Scholz, Clarissa Von Reinhardt

The study of stress in human medicine and psychology has taught us that stress can lead to the development of health problems, affect our relationships with others, and can make us unhappy, irritable, and even aggressive. Dogs are no different. Written for both the canine professional as well as concerned dog owners, the information in Stress in Dogs can improve the lives of dogs as well as humans with a sound approach to resolving stress-related problems.

Genres: Dogs, Nonfiction, Animals

137 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[KatieMc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok on identifying symptoms, short on advice.

[Cwalsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hoping to learn more about the subject of stress in dogs, I purchased this 2007 book by a long time dog trainer. The information turned out to be so useless that I actually read parts of the book out loud as entertainment to my family members, who convulsed with laughter as they heard that stress could be caused by - too much contact or too little contact, too much exercise or too little exercise, too many rules or too few rules. Life is stressful at times, as we all know. But this book offers no useful information about avoiding chronic stress for working dogs other than what any dog handler would know using her own common sense.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. Some good, if not common sense, advice, but I was really turned off by the author's tone, which was very accusatory towards clients/owners who should essentially "know better". Nobody's put on this planet with all the answers, and we all just try the best we can. I feel like a gentler and more understanding approach of "let me show you a better way" would be so much more effective and less off-putting. For me, the main takeaways from the book are to make sure you're meeting your dogs basic needs, but also not overwhelming them with too much of anything (especially things like exercise or activities, or even excessive socializing). I didn't agree with everything, but for the most part the advice was pretty good, if not a touch generalized, or at times a bit vague.

[Mike Malveaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally in German, I think the English version probably suffers in places from translations that could be improved. The example that springs to mind is "stress releasing" which appears in several places in a context where I would expect "stressful." Eventually I figured out that they meant something like "causing stress-related hormones to be released;" i.e., "stressful," "distressing," or "stress-causing." There were a few other similar issues.

The earlier reviewer is not wrong when she says the book lists a plethora of potentially stressful events -- too much attention, not enough attention, etc. But I find this information far from useless, and unfortunately not well enough publicized to call it "common sense." For me the book's value main is as a guide to diagnosis of behavior, plus the insight that dogs need their down time: left to their own crepuscular devices, dogs typically sleep 12 hours a day.

The book includes analysis of a survey done in Germany that attempts to quantify the extent of unrecognized stress in pet dogs. I think there are flaws with the methodology (self-selecting respondents, to top the list); but it's not bad, as long as you recognize the constraints. It's much better than nothing, and I'm glad the authors included it.

I see that there is a 2010 edition now -- I look forward to getting it. Hopefully some of the translation glitches have been fixed.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The translation was absolutely cringeworthy. I am myself a native speaker of German, but I didn't realise that the book was a translation until I had read the first page. The author's name could have clued me in, but hey ... The terrible translation aside, this book actually offers very valuable insights. Other reviewers stated that there were no precise instructions as to how to de-stress your dog. Well, of course not. As is clearly stated in the book, and can be confirmed by anyone who has made the close acquaintance of more than one dog: Every dog is different. What may be too much for one dog may be too little or not enough for another. You have to pay attention to what your dog is "telling" you and go from there.

[K.m. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Occasionally unclear due to awkward translation, this book provided a thorough catalogue of canine stress responses (both internally as well as outward stress signals) and factors that can cause stress in your dog. This book does not go into specific strategies for dealing with particular stressors (as this is determined by the particular animal's temperament), however their study of what factors contribute to stress in dogs (too little sleep, too much exercise or time alone, sex of the animal, etc) give a pretty good idea of what habits can relieve stress.

[Mike Malveaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent first approximation of research into the effects of stress on dogs. I quibble with some of the methodology for being expedient rather than scientifically unassailable, but given resource constraints this is really the best that reasonably could be expected. Translated from the German original, so beware a few glitches there.

[Paul Norris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

Enjoyed reading the case studies.Learned a lot about stress in dogs. Wish it explained “calming signals” more clearly with examples and pictures.