68. The Science of Dog Anxiety: Expert Advice from Victoria Stilwell & Dr. Nicholas Dodman

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Pets Ad Life, your guide to the latest in pet trends, products, and the joy of the human-animal bond with Kristin Levine and Chris Bonifati, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV. 

Hello and welcome one and all to another episode of Pets Ad Life. I am Chris Bonifati and joined by the sometimes zen sometimes zealous Kristin Levine. Kristin, how are we doing today?

I'm doing great. 
I'm doing great. I thought you were going to say zany. No, I would never. I would never compare you to like a looney tune or an animaniac. Remember the animaniacs?

No. What are the animiacs? The little dog things that lived in the Warner Brothers water tower was like a late 80s, early 90s cartoon. 

Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. I know what you're talking about. They were zany. I'm more of like a Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, kind of a foghorn, leg horn fan. Oh, foghorn. They were silent. Foghorn, leg horn is one of my favorites. 

You know, I always think, when I think of foghorn, leg horn, I always think now of those Rian Johnson films, the Knives Out films, because of what's his name, Gangyl Craig has such a thick satirical southern accent and he just sounds like foghorn leg horn, trying to solve what I say. 

Anyway, this is nothing to do with what we're about to talk about today. It is June is Pet Anxiety Awareness Month. We're actually focusing on dog anxiety this whole month. And there's a lot, we've got some incredible guests today, really, dare I say, doggone, smart guests that can help us with canine anxiety. 

Yeah, real top tier stuff. And we're also going to be bringing you two stories. We're going to answer two of your questions. We're going to recommend two products, because as, That's what we do. Yeah. 
The best things come in pairs, pants, glasses, uh, you know, when you, when it's taco Tuesday and you go to the taco place and you get two tacos for the price of one, we're like that or like a pair of pants or glasses or taco Tuesday, like two, two, two mints and one. 

Hell yeah. All right. Well, pals, without further ado, let's go ahead and get into story time. All right, Kristen, it's story time. Why don't you go ahead and kick us off? All right. Let's do it. Uh, I came across a story, uh, called do dogs like it when we kiss them? 

Actually it's an article that I found on pets, the pets wellbeing blog. And I wanted to first give you a shout out at Chris. What do you think? Do dogs like it when we kiss them? Are they better? Cause I'm, I'd be smooching the pooches. 

I'll tell you that much. Well. You're halfway right, because if you think about it, dogs don't naturally kiss one another. Unlike people, dogs communicate through body language, scent, sound, not kisses. 

However, they can learn to associate our kisses with love and attention over time. So particularly if you start when they're young, when they're puppies, dogs can easily learn to love kisses. Like Tulip, for example, loves kisses. 

She will just roll over to get more kisses. But my previous dog, Shilly, he would kind of shy away if you tried to kiss him. So it's kind of individual based on the dog and also I guess the time you start kissing them. 

Are they a puppy or are they a little bit older? But I did want to caution people that if you'd like to kiss your dog for affection and they don't like it, if they're shying away, if they're tucking their tail, maybe find another way to show love, like just spending time with them, giving them an ear rub, ear massage. 

But if you're one of my dogs, you're getting kissed. So you're just going to have to learn to like it. There you go. Yeah, you're going to learn to appreciate these kisses. Yeah, yeah. What do you think about Tiger? 

Do cats like to get kisses? I don't think cats realize what... Well, Tiger definitely doesn't realize what's going on most of the time anymore. And I think cats in general don't like to be touched except on their terms. 
So I'm going to go with no. Tiger lets me kiss her forehead. She especially likes it after she's run her head under the sink. So I'll go and she's got like really, what's the term? Hypo or hydrophobic, that's the term, hydrophobic fur. 

So you go to kiss her little head after she's been under the sink and you just get like a mouthful of sink water because it's all sitting on the top. It's disgusting. She's a little gremlin anyway. Speaking of little gremlins story. 

Yeah, that's a segue. I've got a health warning because this is crazy. I was reading an article here that health officials have alerted the United States public that the screw worm larva has been spotted in Mexico. 

And I know everybody here knows what a screw worm is, right? Well, I didn't. It is a flesh eating parasite that is very threatening to animals. So while they have not moved up to the United States yet, there is some concern for the summer months, they like hotter climates for the summer months in the southern states. 
And so beyond the lookout, veterinarians are saying ticks are really going to be still be your number one concern. And that tick and flea medicine generally won't work. on the screw worm, but if you spot it, you could, you know, have it removed. 

Just something to be on the lookout for with summer coming up in the hotter months. Yeah, there's always something creepy crawly around the corner. So the link to this article, as always, in the show notes, they talked to a Dr. 
Slattery, who's fond of flattery out of Memphis, Tennessee, who had some a little bit of advice, but I'll let y'all read into that. But the screw worm, it's good to know story. Yeah. It sounds like a cocktail. 
Like we're going to go out for lunch and we're going to slug down a couple of screw worms. Uh, and, and B, uh, make sure you're checking your pets. Yeah. That's kind of scary. I'm going to read that article after the show. 

I want to make sure that everything's scary. We are protected from screw worms. Yeah, that's true. I'm terrified. Just in general. Well, you're terrified and you know, some dogs are terrified of things like fireworks, thunderstorms, going to the vet. 
And lucky for you, if you have a dog that's terrified or anxious, we're going to talk to two really awesome guests today. So stick around for that. Beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism. 

Already, it is my pleasure to introduce Victoria Stillwell. She's a world renowned dog trainer, author, and television personality, best known as the star of the international hit TV series. It's me or the dog. 

You've all seen it. She's a leading advocate for positive reinforcement based dog training methods and the founder of the Victoria Stillwell Academy for dog training and behavior. Through her work, Victoria has educated millions on humane training techniques and has been instrumental in promoting animal welfare just across the globe. 

So it is an honor to have you on the show, Victoria. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Yes. And I, I had the honor of meeting you in person. weeks ago when we did a recording for a show that I'll tell everybody about in a little bit. 

Yeah, likewise. It was really fun. It was a great day. I'm glad y'all had fun. Too bad you weren't there, Chris. Sorry, Chris. There's a reason I'm not invited on that show, and it's in the title, but we'll get to that later. 

Victoria, I just wanted to start out by asking this question because I just learned this last week that you actually started out in an acting career, and I would love for you to tell us how you shifted from acting to becoming a world-famous dog trainer. 
My family was at the entertainment business. From six years old, I wanted to be an actor, and so I did. I was an actor for many years, but as an actor, you always have to have your second string to your bow. 

In between university and grad school, which was drama school in London, I created a dog walking company. because I needed to fund myself. So, you know, my sister was a veterinary nurse and that's what they all did. 

So I joined and I just created this massive dog walking business. And it was through that that I started to learn about dog behavior, became fascinated with it. And I did both actually for a while acting and dog sitting and dog walking and dog training. 

But then really dog training took over my life. I would go to auditions and think, come out and go, well, that was just, that sucked. And then I would go to a dog training and come out and go, gosh, that was amazing. 

And I really remember stopping on the streets in Manhattan because I had a training business in Manhattan called Dog Trainers of New York. And I remember coming out and going, somebody is trying to tell me something. 

I think I'm going to do this full time now. And I did. And since then I never looked back. Yeah, that's absolutely fascinating. I love just in the pet mystery, all the twists and turns that lead people and then they never leave. 

They get into the pet industry and then they're stuck. But these episodes that we've been doing lately, Victoria have been about pet anxiety because Pet Anxiety Awareness Month here in June. And while we have you here, someone with such a keen eye, such an expert, some might say, I wanted to ask you about some of the common signs of anxiety in dogs that owners might overlook, they might not catch. 

Yeah, well, gosh, there's so many, but I see a lot of the anxiety issues manifest in behavior that looks like other stuff. So if you've got an animal in a certain situation, a dog in a certain situation, it might yawn a lot. 

It might start sniffing more than it normally does. It might start itching. It might start licking its lips. It might avert its eyes, turn its head away, turn its body away, restlessness. That can show that your dog is just not comfortable. 

And then, of course, vocalizations as well as like whining, sometimes barking, that can be because of anxiety and other things besides. So those are kind of more of the subtle signs, the yawning, which might be misinterpreted, the lip licks, which might be misinterpreted, and just a general disquiet, maybe going off their food a little bit, things like that. 

That's the kind of key things that I look for. Yeah. And so Victoria, what is the role that positive reinforcement plays in helping to manage any anxiety related behaviors? It's essential. And, you know, when we always think of like how we're going to deal with anxiety or how we're going to train, we're going to train it out of the dog. 

You don't train anxiety out of anything, let alone a dog. So our approach is number one, first of all, if we know the dog has anxiety of any kind, we look at their environment, we look at how they interact with people around them and we go, Are you safe? 

And do you feel safe? And are people safe around you? That's number one. The second thing I look at is what are your needs? What do you need? What does your family need? And then I try and bridge the gap between those needs so that everybody is comfortable. 

The third thing I do is relief. How can I provide you with relief right now? Provide your people with relief right now. And then the fourth thing I do after all of that is in place, then I go, how can I now help you in different situations feel better? 

And that's how I deal with it. But if I think the anxiety is extreme enough, I'm working in tandem, hand in hand with a veterinarian or a vet behaviorist. I think that's really important. Yeah, I think that's all really great advice. 

One of the things that's great news is that rescue dogs are incredibly popular right now. A lot of people are doing the adopt, don't shop. But there is a second edge to that sword in that dogs that need to be rescued often come from trauma. 
And that trauma comes loaded with anxiety and adjustment issues and separation anxiety, all this baggage that they come with. So what strategies do you recommend if somebody rescues a dog and they're having some issues adjusting to a new home? 

Yeah, my number one thing to them I always say is do less. Because I think when dogs come into people's homes, and they are excited to have a new being in their home, then there's more people around, they might take the dog out a lot. 
And I'm like, please give your dog time just to be. So do less and just be. And if you can just be with your dog and allow your dog to have time to get used to their surroundings, you're going to have a dog that right from the word go sees that area as being an area where they can be comfortable in. 

But there's no threat. And in many ways, if you think about it, you're taking dogs from shelters or from rescue situations. There is trauma there. And so with any kind of trauma, you've got to go slow. 

So don't do too much too soon, but also don't do nothing. And so that's where right away we can teach dogs things. And I don't do training. I don't teach skills like sit and down and any of that stuff. 

Because a lot of the stuff that we're teaching dogs is stuff that confines them into positions. It's actually not what natural dog behavior is. I find what a dog likes to do naturally. And yeah, there are some dogs that like to lie down. 

They feel comfortable in certain situations lying down. Well, then I might capture that behavior. But I'm gonna teach dogs certain skills. I call them coping strategies. And so depending what the dog needs, then I build those strategies and I help. 

I see the dog and the person, the guardian, they're a team. And so that's how I do it. So. And sometimes dogs are not going to, sometimes it's going to be a tricky road, but that's where behavior's going to be.