How to give anxious dogs a sporting chance of calm

ANYONE who enjoys a weekend kickabout or a friendly game of tennis knows how playing sports with other people can be good for mental wellbeing.

Now vets have discovered dogs’ anxiety levels can benefit from social exercising too.

They found that dogs suffering from generalised anxiety disorder which took part in sporting activities were more likely to get better.

Examples of dog sports include Flyball – a type of relay race with teams of dogs – agility courses and ‘Canine Freestyle’, in which pets dance to choreographed routines with their owner.

‘Dog sporting activities were highly effective for treating generally anxious dogs, with just over three times the odds of improvement,’ said the researchers from Tufts University in Massachusetts and the Centre for Canine Behaviour Studies in Connecticut.

For the study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, the researchers studied 1,308 dogs with at least one form of fearful or anxious behaviour. Of these, 273 had generalised anxiety disorder, whereby the dog exhibits constant or near-constant anxiety or fear regardless of the context, impairing its quality of life.

Professor Nicholas Dodman, a vet and one of the study’s authors, said dogs ‘especially benefit from activities that feed into their natural instincts’.

A sheepdog, for example, was helped enormously after starting sheep-herding classes. ‘The dog was a nervous wreck,’ said Prof. Dodman. ‘I suggested to the owner to take him to sheep-herding classes. After several trials herding real sheep, he settled right down. His anxious behaviour was gone.’

The study concluded: ‘The reason for the beneficial effect of engaging in sporting activities may be because of the physiological benefits of mobilisation but also the psychological aspects of social integration, accomplishment and enjoyment.’