So remember that calendar reminder I set
for myself so I’d post more regularly? Like, the one I set months ago, and then
posted less than half a dozen times since then?
-fast forward-
I wrote before about how I learned to
handle Greta’s travel-induced stress behaviours, the use of the gentle leader
and consistent and accurate tones of voice in order to enforce a zero-tolerance
policy of behaviour. Now I’d like to write about how I’ve learned to reduce
travel stress, because I’m fairly certain Greta doesn’t actually enjoy
traveling. That’s a bit of a bummer for me; I love traveling. I also have an
understood trip to Oregon every eighteen months to two years to see my
ophthalmologist – because apparently just any old ophthalmologist won’t cut it
when you have a condition less than 300 people in the US have. I enjoy these
trips; I get to see friends and family. Greta, however, does not seem to enjoy
traveling at all. So I’m researching ways to make traveling less stressful for
her and how to reduce the recurrence of negative stress behaviours like barking
and distraction and lunging.
1.
Attachment Object:
Pack it, Please!
Some dogs have attachment
objects the way infants and toddlers have binkies and blankies and teddies. It
can be a toy or a mat or a blanket, or, in Greta’s case, her crate. This last
March my husband and I drove to Missouri and back, with about a week of
sight-seeing and a Weekend to Remember marriage conference in the middle. Because
we were driving, we were able to bring Greta’s crate. It’s a wonderfully collapsible
contraption of fabric sides and jointed metal framework that simply folds up
like a camping chair, and fits nicely in the trunk of our car. Being able to
retreat to her crate and getting safely zipped up in it every night in our condo
helped Greta settle in much more comfortably. Every time we returned to the condo
she ran into our bedroom the minute I took her off leash to make sure it was
still there.
2.
Beam Me Up, Scotty!
The trick with the
attachment object is to make use of dogs’ tenuous grasp of object permanency.
Translation: don’t let the dog see you packing away that special object. For
Greta, this meant shutting her up in a separate room when collapsing and
packing the crate, and doing the same thing when we set it up again. We learned
this halfway through the trip when I realised she was pacing laps around our
halfway point hotel room in Tennessee as Derek collapsed her crate. She even
tried to unfold it, tugging at the straps and nosing it anxiously. On the trip
back, we put her in the bathroom, packed it up, then put her in the car, and
only brought her out when everything was safely stowed out of site. The disassembling
of “normal” in the form of putting things in suitcases and moving suitcases out
to cars can be extremely disorienting and confusing to dogs, but if they don’t
see the process, they only see things missing, not actively disappearing in
front of their eyes. Still stressful, but not as bad.
3.
The Gentle
Leader:
Yeah, I’ll be using this on
Greta every time we work when we travel. Beyond giving me additional control
over her behaviour, the gentle leader pus pressure on natural trigger points
for releasing calming endorphins into her bloodstream. While she’s busy trying
to paw that annoying strap off her nose, it’s pumping chill-out juice into her
puppy brain, taking her stress level down a notch. Another major benefit is
that the gentle leader helps keep Greta’s attention on her work, which calms
her and produces confidence and reassurance in our essential relationship.
4.
Routine;
A lot of people travel in
order to break routine, but when you’re traveling with a dog, especially across
time zones like I do, routine is your friend, not your enemy. Incidentally, it
also helps reduce jetlag and travel fatigue and the potential for
travel-acquired illnesses in people, so traveling with a dog is good for you,
too. Feeding and parktime, brushing, getting up and going to bed can help
reduce travel stress in dogs. Their environment might change, but the working relationship
that means so much and the markers of the passage of time during the day means
the universe itself hasn’t folded up and changed dimensions.
5.
Senses:
A dog’s most effective
sensory organ is its nose. This can be the greatest cause of excitement and
stress in travel; nothing smells the same. One of my trainers at The Seeing Eye
recommended that I avoid washing my dog’s mat or blanket or pillow (depending
on what I have) within a week of traveling so that it still smells familiar.
This may seem counterintuitive; we want to minimize the amount of dog hair we
tote around, right? But a little extra vacuuming before leaving the hotel or
condo or cabin might be worth it if Greta has her beloved mat that smells just
like her and has its corner chewed off nestled in the back of her crate. In
order to reduce the amount of hair in my suitcase, though, I do wrap it up in a
plastic bag for travel. I also refrain from washing it for a week after returning
from a trip so Greta can settle back in at home more comfortably.
Not every dog dislikes travel. Some of
them even like it, the change in routes, new places to sniff, lots of extra
work – assuming you’re not the type that likes to watch TV in different cities
and calls it a vacation. But dogs have the processing comprehension of a
two-year-old, in most situations, and toddlers find change to be extremely
unnerving so, for your dog’s comfort and your safety, it’s important to put out
a little extra effort to make the new environment as comfortable and familiar
as possible and to reinforce good working behaviour. I’ll be traveling to
Oregon for the obligatory eye exam and to see the eclipse in about a month, now,
and I’m looking forward to practicing the skills I’ve gained on my last couple
of trips, and learning new tricks and pics to share with you.
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