I often talk about The Five C’s but what are they and how can we apply them to living with our dogs?

 

C is for Calm

Arousal in dogs (and humans) is linked to fear, frustration, or excitement. When a dog is calm, the messages travelling through the nerves have different chemicals which have the effect of reducing the arousal hormones travelling through the blood. Calmness is a way of life and not something to be “trained”. Encourage and reinforce calmness and see the difference in your dog’s behaviour.

 

References:

Starling, M. J., Branson, N., Cody, D., & McGreevy, P. D. (2013). Conceptualising the Impact of Arousal and Affective State on Training Outcomes of Operant Conditioning. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 3(2), 300–317.

Carter, C. S. (1998). Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Psychoneuroendocrinology 23, 779–818.