Renata Roma says people are becoming increasingly aware of the mental health of their pets.
“ The emotional place of animals in people’s lives is very different to if we compare to how animals were perceived years ago,” she said.
The researcher at the PAWsitive Connections lab with the University of Saskatchewan pointed to recent survey data which she says is consistent with what she’s seen in research, which had pet separation anxiety topping the list of owner concerns.
Roma says there’s an association between people’s level of stress and that of their animals. She spoke about a 2024 study.
“Researchers asked people to simulate some emotions like sadness, happiness, and then they assessed the responses of dogs,” she said. When people showed sadness, the dogs were less active.
Roma says people should be concerned when a behaviour starts causing a disruption to the relationship between people and their animals, but that it’s normal for there to be challenges sometimes.
“Anxiety is normal. Sometimes being fearful in social situations is absolutely normal and we need to respect the dog’s boundaries,” she said.
There are however some types of behaviours Roma flagged as potentially needing attention.
“Sometimes people start restricting who they will invite to come over because they have dogs or cats with behaviors that are really difficult to deal with. So when these behaviors start having an impact in the family dynamic or, some people might say, I will avoid some social situations because I prefer to stay home with my pet because he’s unable to stay home for two hours, three hours.”
She says it’s important to normalize understanding it’s normal for pet owners to face challenges in their relationship with their cats and dogs.
“Sometimes people expect that the relationship with animals will be perfect, will be magical. And then when they find some conflicts or some difficulty, they tend to think that they are doing something wrong, or maybe the dog is not a good dog, a good cat,” she said.
“And there are some behaviors that are very normal in animals. It’s their way to express that maybe something is not going well, and they need help. So trying to understand the meanings of some behaviors in animals can help us to identify and mitigate some potential negative impacts that we will have in this relationship.”
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube