The Impact of Social Distancing on the Human-Pet Dog Bond

Social Distancing and the Human Animal Bond
By Vivian Zottola, MSc, CBCC, CPDT, CSAT

Check your smartphone, turn on the radio or television and we are bombarded with forewarnings to "socially distance" ourselves from one another. Yet it is not social distancing we ought to practice but rather, physical distancing to slow the spread of the serious Coronavirus. Physical distancing and hygiene are imperative to slowing this all down and getting our lives back to a normal pace.

Social connections are imperative to our personal well being and the same holds true for pet animals. Dogs and cats are like us, social and cooperative species and like us, require social interactions as without individuals would experience much suffering.  According to Dr. Lieberman in his book, Social, the mammalian brain (and that would include humans and non human animals including our pet animals), "have evolved to experience threats to social connections the same way they experience physical pain". The capacity to feel "social pains and pleasures" is built right into the mammalian neural circuitry. We cannot get around this nor can our pet animals. As he explains its nature's way of ensuring we spend our lives motivated by maintaining a social connection. Our well being and those of the animals we live with is contingent on our social connectedness which at this time is being threatened. 
 
Ways to maintain safe social connections 
 
There are actions we can take to ease our very rational fears of this unknown virus. Learning all we can about this invisible “boogie man” helps us separate fact from fiction. According to the NIH and World Small Animal Veterinary Association (wsava.org) there is NO evidence our pets can get infected and sickened by COVID19 virus. It is absolutely vital to maintain social interactions with them and the people in our small inter-species social groups while we remain homebound. 
 
Designing a simple weekly plan for our family and pets helps us focus on maintaining a positive and productive outlook while we ride this out. It provides us a sense of control and something to do to fill up our days. Write down a simple plan to stick on the refrigerator and task the whole family (or roommates) with an item. Keep everyone busy and responsible for something. It might be to shop for ingredients in store or online, food prep for yourself and your pets (stuffing those Kong's and toys can be fun), bake some dog safe cookies, and include physical and mental training interactions with your pets. 

Mental and physical exercises ought to be included in your weekly plan.  Physical exercises might include going outdoors for a hike in the woods or along the beach, walking your dog in and around the neighborhood, and practicing “training walks” while on a leash outdoors. Other suggestions, work on teaching skills while you play with your dog in the living room, backyard or the park. Bring a few tennis balls outdoors with you to a field and play catch or take it/drop it games. You could also find a bench or stoop to sit on with your dog and be just be still. Just sitting and taking in deep breaths while the sun (if it's out) warms your face can help reduce distress. Take a few minutes to take in the promise of spring and good things to come. 
 
Indoors can be just as fun as outdoors! Plan engagements that are soothing for both you and your dog including some husbandry. Station your dog on a blanket, towel or mat and with a soft brush, work on brushing their coat to provide a natural massage or clean and rub their feet and ears. Husbandry is necessary to their well being and the contact also provides us with a sense of well being.  

Mental exercise is stimulating for us and our dogs helping to "grow" those brain cells, reduce arousal, heart rate and  "taxes" the individual. Thinking requires energy which is tiring. Consider how you feel after for example solving a mathematical problem (calculus anyone?). Anything that requires mental focus is tiring which stands true for both human and animal. Proactively engaging our dogs by using reward based training skills as a means to manage their expectations (communicate) will exercise their brain since doing so relies on problem solving through the process of making right and wrong choices. Again this takes focus and energy.  Behavior training is fun, engaging and will tire you both out! Suggestions to practice include working on stationary dog training skills such as sit, down, name game, check in, wait or if you have a little more time work on some fun tricks and shaping behavior games like stationing (go-to place).  Keep in mind you and your dog are learning and bonding regardless if you make mistakes. And if you do, not a problem. Video taping yourself as you train then going back and watching a playback helps to evaluate and improve upon mistakes. Life is all about making mistakes, evaluating, learning and improving the next time around.


Stick to your usual routine as much as possible

A difficult but important issue to consider is remaining indoors with your dog 24/7 may potentially set them back. In order to understand the world from their unique sensory perception, dogs are masters at mapping out patterns and routines in their environment. Some of us work outside the home and our dogs have become accustomed to “not seeing us as much” during the day but rather in the evenings and weekends. Maintaining a routine where you leave the home for a few hours without them or work in another part of the home may be something to consider. When doing so make certain to give your dog a puzzle, engagement toy or a chew. If you can afford to maintain a dog walking service this would be ideal as it could give you a break, set our dogs up for success for when things do go back to a normal routine and keep local small businesses and services actively employed. Sticking to a routine as much as possible helps for when we are back to our normal lives and routines.


Improving separation anxiety and isolation distress

Each individual is different as is their learning experience. If your dog suffers from “separation anxiety” and your dogs' veterinarian, veterinary behaviorist or certified applied animal behaviorist has concluded it is a clinical condition, take advantage of your time home to improve this debilitating behavior. What a great opportunity to work on this since practicing departures helps those who have trouble being left alone. A behavior modification program aimed at improving their response to your departure from home is something you can work on from home. 

Separation anxiety in dogs like humans, is considered by many specialists a "panic attack". A phobia or irrational fear. For many it is a condition physically affecting dogs and the people who live with them. We are working hard to understand and provide remedies. This condition is still being heavily investigated by scientists and to date there is no conclusive evidence on the best treatment. That said, there is help and some evidence from scientists and veterinary behaviorists including professor emeritus Tufts University and co-founder Center for Canine Behavior Studies, Inc Dr Nicolas Dodman,
https://www.centerforcaninebehaviorstudies.org/  that medicine combined with behavior modification training helps support changes in behaviors.  For some individuals, we can “tease out” feelings of isolation distress when left alone for a short time by appealing to their unique sensory perceptions. In some, providing simple olfactory games, soothing music and extra dog walks is stimulation that helps take their minds off of isolation from others. With the more extreme cases, the most effective solution is behavior medication combined with a behavior modification program. According to Dr. Dodman this has been shown to markedly improve behaviors by 85% in some dogs. Each individual’s experience is different and so should be their solution. A large body of evidence shows using reward based methods is best. Speak with a qualified veterinarian, veterinary behaviorist, or certified applied animal behaviorist for guidance. If your veterinary or veterinary specialist has suggest your dog falls into this category reach out to them for some suggestions. Other highly informative online training information includes Mission Possible, an online course for dog guardians packed with clinical medical professional interviews, tools you can download and training specialists you can speak with.

Another suggestion to work on as you spend time at home is just chilling out – setting up a daily "zen zone" with your dog by practicing some mediation to improve their ability to be calm. For our dogs, this looks like a systematic desensitization behavior relaxation protocol provided by veterinary behaviorist Dr. Karen Overall where we reward our dogs for remaining calm and increase the time they remain calm while introducing movement, noise, and other stimuli systematically. Read more about creating a "zen zone" with your dog and the step by step tasks or missions you can follow on this link here.  Sometimes what we think is separation anxiety or isolation distress is simply boredom from being left alone for too long with nothing to do. Our dogs, like us are living, breathing, thinking, feeling beings. Improving their welfare requires enriching their lives. If your dog does not have a choice in whether or not they can actively “do” something it may have a detrimental effect. They may be “destructive” chewing on things in the house or sleep and lay about. Providing your dog with strategic enrichment games will help improve their welfare by stimulating their senses and making life a little more interesting for them. Read more about dog welfare here. 
 
Discover your dogs unique personality while playing a game 

As you spend more time with your dog at home, how about learning more about your dogs personality and what motivates them most! A fun online game designed by Dr. Brian Hare is Dognition.com.  It is a fun low cost way to engage the whole family. Include the game in the weekly/daily “Dog Training activity plan”.  Once you’ve completed the Dognition.com test they send you suggestions and demos for future games to play specific to your dog. Through very simple games (test) you will learn more about your dogs' personality and what works for them. They send weekly suggestions to help you improve your habits and your dogs behaviors. These are skills that will last a lifetime. Find out if your dog is an ACE, Charmer, Socialite, Expert, Renaissance Dog, Protodog, Einstein, Maverick, Stargazer! See Dognition here.  
 
When active supervision is not an option

Now if you do not have time, interest or simply cannot actively supervise your pet dog while spending time at home that’s okay however at a minimum it is your responsibility to give them something to do!  So often we misinterpret our dogs body language and activity, including sleeping and laying as okay. We may think our dog is fine when in fact they are not. They may be bored and in some cases even experiencing learned helplessness (depression). There are actions you can take to improve their boredom. Bare in mind dogs don't have opposable thumbs and cannot simply turn on their favorite channel, (www.Dogtv.com ); music station (www.icalm.com ) or flip through a Dog magazine (www.thebark.com). While auditory and visual stimulation games including play and body mechanics training is fantastic for our dogs, the number one stimulation is olfaction, the sense of smell. It is THE most important faculty or rather, sensory perception for dogs. We know from the wonderful work conducted by ethologists Dr. Ray Coppinger and Dr. Kathryn Lord about the differences between wolf and domestic dog pups, olfaction is one of the first sensory systems to develop in dogs (day 3 after birth).  It is an important evolutionary adaptation to their survival and gives us an understanding as to how they may perceive the world. We will never really know how a dog “experiences” the world since their umwelt is very different than ours however we can appreciate what is important to their ability to understand their surroundings. 

As one of the first sensory systems to develop in canines, the olfactory system is most important for canines (pet dogs).  Being one of the first systems to develop or “open up” is “nature's” way of conveying it is one of the most important faculty they rely on for survival. There is an abundance of evidence that dogs rely on smelling (and the whole olfactory system)  to "map out" and understand the world. Dogs communicate through olfaction and visual systems through the exchange of chemicals including pheromones and body posturing. They rely on these systems to understand how other species (including other dogs, cats and you), are "feeling" in a given situation. They assess whether or not another species or same species if a threat or not. Chemical and pheromone exchange helps dogs to understand if their environment is safe or unsafe, for some it helps reduce their anxiety of your departure (Shin and Shin, 2016).  

Taking a "smelling walk" is enriching for our dogs and providing them with "nose work" games indoors including setting up a "treasure hunt" is another suggestion you can include in your weekly plan. There are tons of engagement and dispensing toys that will keep your dog busy for hours and you can spend a lot of money or, hardly any by making some of your own DIY engagement toys at home. Dog's sensory perceptions are unique to their species just like our perception is unique to us being human. According to studies recently evidenced by Dr. Alexandra Horowitz, smelling improves a dogs mental well being. Dogs were “happier” when using their nose to navigate outdoors on walks and when training or working to actually find objects, and rescue work.  See here for a wonderful animated educational video explaining how dogs "see their world through smell" by Alexandra Horowitz.
 
Small Inter-Species Social Groups
 
As has been hammered over and over again, maintaining very simple yet effective measures including, for example, remaining at a minimum of six feet from others outdoors and washing hands often will ensure the spread of the virus and ultimately our safety. It is what you can do to help reduce the spread of the virus to others in your community and own small interspecies social network, your family including both two and four legged members. Including our pets in our small social group is imperative to their wellbeing. We are responsible for taking care of them and they rely on us to take care of them while going through this difficult time.  Our pet companions provide us with unconditional love, adoration and tons of silliness. We owe it to them to ensure they are safe and well cared for as we would anyone in our lives.  Pet cats, dogs, birds, reptiles, fish and other animals we choose to bring into our home become our responsibility. Let us ensure their basic needs at a minimum are met. 

General Common Sense Hygiene 

Some of our animals may require more attention than others. For our dogs and cats consider they don't have opposable thumbs and so, naturally rely on us to provide them access to water, food, relief walks, socialization with other dogs, people (if ours feel comfortable), veterinary care, and hygiene (dental cleaning, trimming nails, brushing and bathing). If your dog is vocalizing (barking) it may be they are asking for help. The water bowl may be empty, they may be hungry, need a relief walk, something to “do” or chew on or just need affection. According to researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (part of the National Institute of Health),  CORVID-19 virus was found to remain active in the air for up to three hours, on copper surface for four hours, cardboard surface 24 hours; and on plastic, and stainless steel surfaces for three days. This is a time for common sense which tells us, it is always good practice to ensure we help our pets maintain good hygiene just as we do for ourselves.  During this time when we are forming new (and improved) habits let us also consider improving overall hygiene habits. 

Bathing requires consent

Because our pet dogs rely on us a little more than our pet cats to maintain their hygiene, let us help them along by providing them with a visit to the groomer, a full bath or a "bird bath". This ought to be provided ONLY if they are comfortable with water, sound of running faucet and the process of being washed. A "birdbath" might be cleaning their "private parts" with mild glycerine fragrance free soap and tepid water. You might use fragrance free and chemical-free human baby safe wipes if you prefer however, regardless take a minute to read the ingredients to make sure its safe. Like us our dogs are sensitive to detergents and odors.  But hang on, before you grab your dog or carry them to the bathtub, keep in mind your dog may not be fond of taking a bath. They may be noise sensitive to the sound of the water or nervous about the process. Keeping with the practice of seeing the world from their perspective, your dog may have been "sensitized", (a fancy word for becoming frightened of),  bathing because of a bad past experience. The experience could have occurred outside your active supervision with a groomer or another family member. 


There are ways to improve the bathing experience making it less frightening through the process of desensitizing them to washing. If you have children, a niece or nephew who didn’t like bath time you might be familiar with this technique. It requires patience and compassion and can be very rewarding to both you and your dog. Desensitization is the process of slowly exposing an individual to something that might be scary or uncomfortable to them in small increments of volume/time while pairing the experience with something good. in the bathing example, you would start by sitting outside the bathroom and when your dog looks inside the room you give them a treat, this might advance to throwing treats inside in the bathroom by the tub, then move to turning on the water softly then running it a little more while giving them treats and slowly over time you proceed to closer proximity to the water and then proceed to touching the water. The point is to keep in mind is it is broken down over many days and it's up to the individual to "consent" to participate. Allowing an individual (human and animal) the opportunity to make the choice means they are ready and able to deal with the situation at hand. Consider if you force your dog by picking them up and dropping them into a tub full of water they will freak out. You will have worsened the condition and set them back by “flooding” them. Careful not to "flood" your dog or any individual for that matter. Work on breaking the process down over days and weeks if necessary. 

Another consideration is water temperature and the type of soap used. As mentioned above a dog's skin is extremely sensitive to heat and tepid water temperature when bathing is best. Use only dog safe soap which will be effective in cleaning all germs and viruses. Sing "happy birthday song" a few times while washing your dog since listening to your voice may soothe them and improve their experience. Last it's a good idea to get in the habit now and in the future of washing all pet bedding, all equipment including leash and harness, bowls, toys, and any other products we use daily. Everything gets dirty and dusty over time and it's a good practice to maintain these habits long term for the whole social interspecies unit.
 
Maintain Human - Animal Social Connections Using Technology 
 
Maintaining a social connection is important for us and our dog's mental well being. While we may not be able to give our friends and family outside our homes a physical hug at this time, we can give them a “virtual hug” by reaching out to FaceTime with our smartphones and computers. There are other applications including Skype, Zoom and other systems including Furbo.  As a suggestion, use meeting applications including Zoom and Skype to set up a meet up with multiple friends or family members and chat in real-time. Include your dog or other pets on the visual call since they can see movement on the screen and hear using these tools. You could set up a group meet up and share tips on what you've been doing and ideas that work to combat loneliness or boredom.  
 
This is a time to think about people in our community who may be isolated. Contact local nursing homes and hospice to offer your voluntary services. These facilities may be open to setting up a Zoom, FaceTime or Meet up with your family member or form a small gathering where those who are isolated may be able to see your dog. You could offer to show off your training tricks or watch they could watch you play catch or simply hang out and talk with them for a short time.  Studies show our dogs can see what is on computers and television screens so it will be beneficial for your dog. Evidence also suggests just looking at our pets increases oxytocin a social bonding pheromone (also called "love" hormone). Looking at our pets reduces blood pressure and provides an overall sense of well being. Short of touching, we can use our eyes to visually soothe and reduce distress in others experiencing difficulty at this time. All mammals (including humans and our pet animals) are emotional beings relying on social connection - even at a distance to maintain well being. Our technology allows us to provide some level comfort. Let’s proactively use it to help others at this time. 
 
Living in a ”small inter-species social group” with an elderly mother aged 89 years young, husband, sister, three dogs, and a canary and needing to work with clients outside has reminded of how our individual interactions with the world and each other matters to our physical and mental health. Like you, I am responsible for my own actions and, in my case it is to ensure in my mom and family’s well being is protected. It is frustrating not to have a timeline on when this will all end, not knowing who has been contracted and not conducting the pace of life that we are accustomed.  Fortunately, this is moving along in the right direction and we will soon be okay.  What we can do for now for our family and pets is to be present and to take control of our actions. This requires we be creative and think "outside the box" of our conventional lives and habits.  


While the news is unpleasant and for some may seem inconvenient, we need to put others before us at this time. This experience is an opportunity to evaluate our lives and be reminded of how connected we really are with all humans and animals. More than any other time we are all responsible for other humans and nonhuman animals. Our actions matter and we must ensure all of our loved ones and community members are protected while we endure this trying time for humanity at large. This is a time when we will all be tested on some level and, I believe with my heart, we will do right by our human and animal friends. We will get through this terrible storm and be better human beings for having gone through this experience.  
 
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Vivian Zottola is an Anthrozoologist specializing in the study and resolution of behavior challenges between humans and pet dogs. She is a certified Canine Behavior Consultant and Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Council of Certified Professional Dog Trainers (ccpdt.org) and a volunteer research associate with the Center for Canine Behavior Studies, Inc. non profit 501 (c) (3). For more information see www.VivianZottola.com or www.DogBehaviorandConsulting.com . For more information on the Center for Canine Behavior Study, Inc and work see link here.  Send questions about this paper to [email protected]  
 
References:
 
Beetz, A., Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Julius, H., & Kotrschal, K. (2012). Psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of human-animal interactions: the possible role of oxytocin. Frontiers in psychology, 3, 234.
 
Duranton, C., & Horowitz, A. (2019). Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive judgment bias in pet dogs. Applied animal behaviour science, 211, 61-66.
 
Lord, K. (2013). A comparison of the sensory development of wolves (Canis lupus lupus) and dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Ethology, 119(2), 110-120.
 
Flannigan, G., & Dodman, N. H. (2001). Risk factors and behaviors associated with separation anxiety in dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 219(4), 460-466.
 
Himsworth, C. G., & Rock, M. (2013). Pet ownership, other domestic relationships, and satisfaction with life among seniors: Results from a Canadian national survey. Anthrozoös, 26(2), 295-305.
 
Horowitz, A. (2017). Smelling themselves: Dogs investigate their own odours longer when modified in an "olfactory mirror" test. Behavioural processes, 143, 17-24.

Overall, K. L. (1997). Clinical behavioral medicine for small animals. Mosby-Year Book, Inc.
 
Shin, Y. J., & Shin, N. S. (2016). Evaluation of effects of olfactory and auditory stimulation on separation anxiety by salivary cortisol measurement in dogs. Journal of veterinary science, 17(2), 153-158. 

Thielke, L. E., & Udell, M. A. (2017). The role of oxytocin in relationships between dogs and humans and potential applications for the treatment of separation anxiety in dogs. Biological reviews, 92(1), 378-388.
 
Zottola, V.M (2015). Creating a Zen Zone State of Mind with your Dog. Retrieved from http://www.dogbehaviorandconsulting.com/Resources/AcadmeicPapers 
 
Zottola, V.M (2015). Welfare Challenges Rescue Dogs Face Post Adoption. Retrieved from; http://www.dogbehaviorandconsulting.com/Resources/AcadmeicPapers

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Vivian Zottola, CBCC, CPDT, MSc
Human-Canine Relationship Specialist 
Research Associate, Center for Canine Behavior Studies, Inc.
Certified Behavior Consultant Canine and Professional Dog Trainer 
www.DogBehaviorandConsulting.com
Office: 202 K Street South Boston 02127
Office phone: 617-464-1005 
Animal Behavior Society Member
Research Associate, Center for Canine Behavior Studies 
Boston A LIst Winner Best Trainer 2017, 2016
Providing Insured, Kind Animal Behavior &Training Services Since 2010

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