Research: We can seriously stress out our dogs. Even make them ill.

Web Posted: 12/22/2006 06:42 PM CST

San Antonio Express-News

A new study sheds light on the impact stress has on our pets. Researchers have learned that highly competitive men with high testosterone levels seem to stress out their dogs more than the average Joe.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin studied how high testosterone levels in men affect behavior toward their dogs, most notably after a competitive event.

Robert Josephs, associate professor of psychology, and Amanda Jones, a graduate student, studied 184 dog agility teams to observe how a male dog owner's motivation to win affected his testosterone levels. They also considered how those hormone levels influenced the man's behavior toward his dog after the competition and what happened to the dog's stress level as a result.

The researchers conducted saliva tests before and after the agility competitions to establish the men's testosterone levels. The researchers discovered that men highly motivated to win had higher levels of testosterone before the competition. If their team then performed poorly in the competition, they were more likely to be punitive toward their dogs afterward.

These men often withdrew affection and eye contact as well as yelled, and in some cases, even hit their dogs.

Men with lower levels of testosterone before the competition whose dog teams performed poorly - they instead petted and praised their dogs, regardless of their performance.

Not surprisingly, high testosterone combined with a win meant lavish praise for the dog.

Jones was surprised, however, to see so many men respond unkindly to their dogs after not winning a competition.

"I expected their behaviors to be more repressed," she says. "But the handlers with higher testosterone levels didn't hesitate to express their frustration."


So what happened to the reprimanded dogs?

They showed an alarming rise in the stress hormone cortisol, a neurotoxic substance that can lead to destruction of cells in the brain, leading to memory deficits.

"Chronically elevated cortisol levels also weaken the immune system," says Josephs. "These consequences might be especially critical for dogs in high stress jobs in which memory and health are critical, such as bomb-sniffing, police and guide dog environments."

But these consequences can also be detrimental to your family pet. It demonstrates that even the withdrawal of affection or verbal abuse from someone can have a significant impact on the dog's internal stress levels.

While there is research demonstrating how changes in an individual's behavior toward another individual of the same species, this is the first research that examines these effects across the species boundary.
To guard against chronically elevated levels of cortisol in dogs, the researchers suggest that people who are at risk for reacting negatively in stressful situations try to avoid stressful situations or attempt to consciously regulate their own behavior during stressful periods.

They also suggest learning how to provide emotional support for your dog by playing with or petting them — a lesson that can be applied to the human species as well.

Josephs speculates these findings may provide insight into parent-child relationships. "Sometimes parents such as Little League dads or cheerleader moms invest heavily in the competitive performance of their children," says Josephs. "It is important for parents to enjoy themselves and to not take a child's performance too seriously."

Or a dog's performance, either. Pet owners need to be aware of how their stress and behaviors, even subtle behaviors, affect the stress levels of their pets.

And you were wondering why the cat is always under the bed.

Send your pet stories to Cathy Rosenthal, c/o Features Department, San Antonio Express-News, P.O. Box 2171, San Antonio, TX 78297-2171, or cathy@petpundit.com. Cathy's advice column runs Sundays.

Read Rosenthal's Animals Matter blog

San Antonio Express-News publish date Dec. 23, 2006
Online at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/salife/pets/stories/MYSA122406.2P.rosenthal.eb521a.html

AMEN!!

My Service Dog is a Portuguese Water Dog, 4 years old, sire was ACE, out of the ... having a Morphine moment here ... Oak Harbor, Washington. Sandy O.'s kennel. She is one fine lady.

Anyway, Tolly (named after our Tollycraft Boat, is a gift from God. I won't go into the details of how smart she is, but when my wife had her knee replaced, she taught Tolly how to take the clothes out of the Dryer in a few minutes. Tolly put them in the basket, then with a "rope" on the basket, she pulled the clothes to the back bedroom.

Stress --- please listen to the article above. My wife trains dogs at our church. She tells people all the time the stress in you goes right down the leash.

Tolly is a service dog and Medic Alert dog. She has saved my life 3 times since the 1st of May 2008. I quit breathing and will not start again unless you "force" me to. May 5th my wife was stressed over my condition, but was cleaning house. She saw Tolly standing on her hind legs, licking my face and I wasn't responding. It took my wife and a friend 30 minutes to wake me.
I knew they wanted me to wake up, I just couldn't remember how. Same with eating/drinking Chicken Noodle soup after major oral surgery. I could not remember how to swallow. So I let the soup fall out of my mouth, back into the bowl and I poured it out. All this time Tolly is taking her cues from my wife. Stress?
Tolly gets stressed. We tell her it is ok, she lays back down and takes her nap.

When I had to go to Denver last summer, to a major Respiratory hospital, Tolly would sleep next to me as I drove. I was on oxygen the whole trip. We have many photos of her laying next to me looking up at me.

Our boat, we were up on the fly-bridge, about 5 miles out of the Golden Gate into the Pacific Ocean and we are hitting 6-8 foot rollers (gentle rolling waves with enough distance between them it is not a rough ride), but my wife is concerned and stressed. Little Tolly was about a year old, but she read the two of us and crawled over to the "Captain's Chair" and put her front paws around the pedestal. I looked down at her and told her it was "OK". She went to sleep.

I just wish the Good Lord had made me smart enough to speak to her. We "talk" all the time. I wish she could live (pain free) as long as I do. It will be heart breaking when I bury her up on "Puppy Hill" with all our other beloved 4 footed "family" members.

Stress will shorten your life and your pets.

There is a story about 2 monkeys. They both get shocked every 30 minutes and they have a clock so they can watch it. One monkey (Chimp?) was given a red button so THAT MONKEY can prevent the shock. The monkey with the red button had a "nervous breakdown" from stress. If you want a good laugh, tell God what YOUR plans are. I wish all of you and your beloved little friends a wonderful life. God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. I have a wonderful wife, 5 good kids, 11 grandkids and my wonderful little girl sitting next to me. Yeah, I may die tonight from the CCHS, but I am living for today. It is all we have. Don't waste it. Take care and please don't stress our little friends out, they did not cause our problems and they don't deserve it.

I live with chronic pain (talk about potential stress!) and had my first service dog for 15 years. I think it's important to realize that there's a big difference between feeling stressed yourself, and taking it out on your dog, or other animal. Poor reaction to stress is bad for all involved. A clinical psychologist can help you if you find yourself unable to manage stress.

My new dog is still young and learning all about me, and new things as they occur to me, too. If I winch and he also jumps, then I am quick to pet him and speak sweetly as soon as I can. He seems to learn quickly when I'm upset with him (he still likes to steal the toilet tissue) and when it's just life and has nothing to do with him. lol I appreciate that he is so sensitive and aware though. They are quite resilient.
Good wishes!

I can't imagine your pain for losing a large part of your life.

I have my first Service/Medic Alert dog and she is so close to me...
I will probably out live her and I will go through your pain.

She is a 43 pound angel. My wife told me our dogs never want to
offend or harm us. As I observed Tolly, my 4 legged girl, she really is that way. I am amazed I never noticed it before.

Best wishes on your journey....and that is what we are doing with our beloved companions. Take Care....Dave