When Everything I Do Is Futile
You probably have heard about the term learned helplessness. It describes a psychological state in which an individual, including dogs, stops responding to any stimuli around them. The dog has been subjected to stressful stimuli, difficult situations, even harm, on repeated occasions, over and over. With the passage of time the dog understands that there is nothing they can do regarding the outcome of such situations, and they stop trying to influence change. They give up. The most heart-breaking thing is that they stop trying even when other choices are available for them.
We recommend that you always:
✅Give a dog a way out, a way to avoid things that they don’t like or even better a way to stop them.
✅Empower your dog to make decisions and respect the things they choose, there is nothing worse that knowing that no matter what you do you have no say in the matter.
✅Give plenty of options in everyday life. The more options the more empowered your dog will feel.
Today we want to share Duna’s story. She is a 5 year old bodeguero dog living in Asturias, Spain. She had spent most of her short life living in an electrified enclosure. When someone noticed her, she was extremely thin and frantically moving in her tiny pen. Extremely underfed, she was physically and mentally broken. Then someone managed to convince her owners to give her up and a wonderful family adopted her. In some sad occasions, dogs cannot overcome such extreme circumstances and when I, Leti, first saw Duna and her family, she spent all her time indoors in her bed, not daring to come out. And going out in the streets was a traumatic event, repeated several times a day.
Being in this enclosure every day, with the threat of being shocked is reason enough for developing learned helplessness. When you add the isolation that Duna went through in that environment, it is no wonder that she was in such a terrible state. Developing anxiety, being stressed and fear of many situations are some of the common symptoms that can develop.
Duna and her family have now started a journey of discovery. Neither Duna nor her family know who she really is. What are her favourite things, food, music, walks, chews, toys? Nobody knows. And in only a few days of offering choices and support she has left her bed in the lounge and is exploring the house with more confidence. She has gone for a quiet walk in the outskirts of town where she doesn’t have to deal with the frantic noise of the town and is starting to show her true nature. Patience is key, she has to do things at her own pace.
Duna is forging a strong bond with her new family, building trust and interacting with them. It is essential that she connects again with the world via her new family. The impact of the stress she is suffering can lead to depression and a poor quality of life. Her new relationship with the world must be built on certainty and confidence that she has a part to play in how her life pans out.
We must not forget that each dog is a unique individual with their own take on the world. What one dog is OK with, another may not be. Their physical health, their personality, their sensitivity, the way they handle their emotions … everything plays a part in how they respond to stress. It is very important to remember that some dogs may suffer from learned helplessness without having suffered extreme punishment.
Dogs with learned helplessness give up trying to influence their environment after repeatedly experiencing situations they feel are out of their control. Through meaningful changes in their lives that encourage choices and environments that empower dogs to succeed, allowing them to develop at their own speed, we can deliver true change to their lives.
Leti from The Smiling Leash Team
