THE SCIENCE OF STRESS DEFINING STRESS
THE SECRET STRESS OF PETS
Wolves, Whales and other Wild animals ex-
hibit unique stress-response reactions and eff ects,
but what about our pampered pets at home? A 2019
study of stress hormones in humans and their dogs
showed that owners who experience long-term stress
and anxiety can pass that on to their perceptive pets.
“Dogs are quite good at understanding humans,” zo-
ologist Lina Roth, the study’s senior author, told Na-
tional Geographic. “They’re defi nitely better at un-
derstanding us than we are at understanding them.”
According to Roth’s hypothesis, people with
“neurotic” traits (anxious and emotionally reactive,
for example) can cause chronic stress in their pets.
The study included 58 dog-owner pairs in Sweden
(there were 25 border collies and 33 Shetland sheep-
dogs), with the humans answering questionnaires
regarding their own mental health and personality
traits, along with those of their
pets. The researchers also mea-
sured concentrations of cor-
tisol in their hair and fur over
several months. While Roth did
not fi nd any evidence that an
anxious dog created a stressed-
out owner, the reverse was
true, with dogs picking up on
the human’s nervous tics, like
nail biting, pacing and irrita-
bility. “At fi rst, I was quite sur-
prised at that,” Roth said. “But
for the dog, the owner is quite a big part of their ev-
eryday life, but the owner has the rest of their life
out there.” These fi ndings do not suggest that those
suff ering from anxiety shouldn’t adopt a pet, but
rather that they be mindful about how their behav-
iors might rub off on a four-legged friend.
Minimizing stress at home should be a priority
for pet owners. According to a 2017 article published
in the journal Veterinary Sciences, factors that elicit
stress and aggression in dogs also apply to cats. Cit-
ing multiple studies, the authors stated that both
animals exhibit extreme stress when separated
from their owners or when kept in a cage. “These
animals undergo physiological changes such as in-
creased heart rate and release of cortisol—both of
which may be associated with negative feelings such
as fear and anxiety,” according to the researchers. “In
addition, stressed animals may not eat or drink ad-
equately, which can delay recovery.” The research-
ers explained that how animals react to stress and
fear depends on factors such as their genetic pre-
disposition, previous experience and current envi-
ronment. Warning signs in a dog may include lean-
ing away while lowering its head, tensing up its tail,
trembling and averting its gaze. Tense cats also make
themselves seem smaller by lowering their heads,
and they may twitch their tail or hiss.
Giving a pet a quiet place to regroup is the best so-
lution to decrease stress, according to a column Lynn
Buzhardt, a doctor of veterinary medicine, wrote for
VCA Animal Hospitals. But be careful not to overly
comfort or pamper the pet, since that can confi rm its
fear. Buzhardt suggests exercise as a great stress re-
ducer. Walking your dog or playing with your cat can
help relieve their tension. If the stress becomes con-
stant, Buzhardt warns that the pet should be evalu-
ated by a veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist.IT’S POSSIBLE THAT humans
can learn from how the animal
kingdom responds to stress.
While bursts of short-term
stress can boost performance,
turning on the fi ght-or-fl ight
response for everyday human
dilemmas means creating a
chronic stress level that hurts
more than it helps. According
to Sapolsky, when it comes to
stress and priorities, we should
look to the zebra running for its life from the lion.
“For the vast majority of beasts on this planet, stress
is about a short-term crisis, after which it’s either
over with or you’re over with,” he wrote. “When we
sit around and worry about stressful things, we turn
on the same physiological responses—but they are
potentially a disaster when provoked chronically. A
large body of evidence suggests that stress-related
disease emerges, predominantly, out of the fact that
we so often activate a physiological system that has
evolved for responding to acute physical emergen-
cies, but we turn it on for months on end, worrying
about mortgages, relationships, and promotions.”
Prolonged stress can weaken immune systems and
cause health problems in humans and animals alike,
but the animal kingdom activates that fi ght-or-fl ight
stress response only when it truly matters. After all,
when was the last time you saw a whale worrying
about its mortgage? □Exposure to long-
term stress and
trauma can lead
to compulsive
behavior and
anxiety in animals.