Happy Dogs, Happy Days

It’s clear from the data that there are vast numbers of dogs who experience stress and anxiety at a level that is likely to have an impact on their overall wellbeing. It’s our mission this month to support your practice to help as many dogs as possible to be naturally happy, every day.

What makes you feel happy? Is it the absence of something – such as stress, worry or anxiety – or is it the presence of something – enough sleep, freedom to do what you want when you want, or a supportive network of friends and family? And can you be happy if you have one but not the other?

YuCALM ‘Happy Dogs, Happy Days’ aims to drive awareness of stress and anxiety in dogs and how vet practices can help. We’ll be focussing on the sort of underlying behaviour that undermines a dog’s day to day happiness. Those niggling fears and phobias that mean that no matter how comfy a dog’s bed is, or how many walks on the beach they get each day, life just isn’t enjoyable.

For instance, it’s estimated that nearly one in four dogs are stressed by car travel* and as many as 80%** show an undesirable response to strangers.  All of these events are common during the summer months as people get out and about with their dogs.

Hopefully by now you will have received your support pack (and if you haven’t, you can contact us to request one).  Your display kits will help make clients aware of the warning signs of stress and anxiety in their dogs and provide a talking point. There is also a comprehensive digital tool kit including social media posts, emailers, infographics and banners, as well as an educational video.

Siobhan Griffin, RVN, Technical Advisor at Lintbells says it’s important to help pet parents understand that this isn’t about altering a pet’s personality but more about letting them be the best version of themselves, “Using YuCALM helps a dog to be their natural happy self by relieving stress and anxiety – it doesn’t sedate or change the pet’s character in other ways. We think that’s something that everyone can feel happy about.”

We hope you enjoy all the fun competitions we have going on during August. Listen out for details of a few random acts of kindness from our veterinary teams, or perhaps you will even experience them yourself!

Why not also use this campaign as the perfect excuse to learn, laugh and feel the love for the work you do. We’ll do what we can to make taking part in Happy Dogs, Happy Days a real pleasure for everyone concerned.

*Mills, D. S. & Mills, C. B. (2003). A survey of the behaviour of UK household dogs. Proceedings of the 4th International Veterinary Behaviour Meeting, Proceedings Number 352, August 18-20, 203. Eds K Seksel, G. Perry, D. Mills, D. Frank, E. Lindell, P. McGreevy, P. Pageat. Sydney, University of Sydney Post-Graduate Foundation in Veterinary Science,pp 93-98.

**Blackwell, E. J., Twells, C., Seawright, A. & Casey, R. A. (2008). The relationship between training methods and the occurrence of behaviour problems, as reported by owners in a population of domestic dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behaviour , 3, 207-217.