S4 EP09: Understanding Canine Anxiety; helping Pugs feel safe again

In this episode, we’re unpacking something that affects more Pugs than we often realise—canine anxiety and reactivity. From sudden reactivity on a walk to the silent worry that plays out behind big, brown eyes, anxiety in our Pugs isn’t always loud — but it is always worth understanding. We’re so lucky to have our fur-end Sarah Rutten, canine behaviourist and author of the bestselling book The Canine Perspective, coming back on the show to help us break down exactly what anxiety and reactivity mean, how they show up in our Pugs, and most impawtantly, how to spot the early signs — like what’s behind that sudden freeze, or why your Pug growls at a stranger they’ve seen a dozen times before. As always, Sarah brings both science and compassion to the conversation, helping us understand what’s really going on in our Pugs’ brains and bodies — and what we can do to help them feel safe again. Plus, there might be a Floyd the 5-month-old Pug bark or two in the mix as well! If you’ve ever worried that your Pug is not coping or behaving strangely then this episode is for you. In this episode we talk about:03:15 Tell us about yourself and your fur-family07:00 Fear imprint periods08:22 What causes anxiety and are there different types of anxiety?17:00 Confusing signs of anxiety – how easy it is to mistake your Pugs messages for something else21:00 The difference between separation anxiety and anxiety25:20 COVID Dogs – triggered by the hooman world and their Pawrent going back to work27:00 The impawtance of being sub-threshold and how medication can help achieve that to then enable your Pug to then undertake de-sensitisation work33:25 What is primary and secondary needs and why it’s impawtant to meet them to reduce the likelihood of anxiety development38:15 How does reactivity and anxiety interact?42:00 What should a Pug Pawrent do to help their Pug reduce their anxiety50:35 How to recognise behaviour escalation56:00 Where can you find Sarah to learn more or ask for help? WANT TO LEARN MORE about The Canine Perspective or Force-free training Methods? Check out all of Sarah’s guidance here:Website: https://www.thecanineperspective.com.au/Book: https://www.thecanineperspective.com.au/the-canine-perspective-dog-training-book/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecanineperspective/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecanineperspective/ WANNA JOIN US FOR YOUR VERY OWN EPISODE? Book your recording session here: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/ThePugLifeShowPUGCAST@NETORGFT4130927.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/ If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the PUGCAST so you don’t miss out on the next Episode and leave us a review; it only takes a couple of seconds to give us a 5-star review and it goes a long way to helping other Pug-Pawrents find us. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter at https://bit.ly/thepuglifeshow, so you get advance notice of our next episode and if you've got any questions or want to tell us how much you loved the Episode then let me know over at our Facebook Group - The Pug Life Show PUGCAST (https://bit.ly/PugLifeShowGrumble) where Crazy Pug Pawrents meet to talk all things pug.