The Stress Factor in Dogs: Unlocking Resiliency and Enhancing Well-Being

Stress impacts behavior
The premise of this book is that stress impacts behavior. While some stress can be beneficial, stress often results in problematic behavior for dog owners. By gaining a thorough understanding of stress in dogs, you will be better able to prevent and deal with issues that may impact the welfare and behavior of your dog, including:
Aggression
Excessive barking
Fear and anxiety
High arousal and reactivity
A focus on welfare and well-being
This book is about stress, but ultimately the goal is to help you provide your dog with a better life. Stress is closely related to an animal’s quality of life. There are two terms that come up frequently when talking about quality of life and I’d like to define them here because I will be discussing them later in the book. Welfare usually refers to making sure an animal’s basic needs are met in order to reduce suffering. This includes things like access to adequate food, water, and shelter. The concept of well-being has become more prominent recently. It goes beyond the concept of welfare by including the experience of positive emotions in animals. You can think of welfare as eliminating negative emotions and experiences and well-being as increasing resilience, positive emotions and experiences. If we really want to maximize quality of life for animals, then we want to focus on both welfare and well-being.