In Peter Levine's "Trauma and Memory" he explains that successful renegotiation of traumatic memories is accomplished by navigating the stressful experiences that trigger those memories. This leads to a feeling of triumph and mastery, and thus resolution of the past. In this way, we can move forward in life with vibrant energy, no longer stuck in the old patterns that our autonomic nervous system keeps replaying (fight/flight/freeze & appease).
So with a dog who is reactive, we have to create the same possibility of successful renegotiation. This is different from counter-conditioning. This takes the original triggering experience, allows the dog to act out the biological processes of fight/flight, and gives them a feeling of triumph and mastery over their past experience. How do we do this? We give them courage and confidence, trust in us as their handler, and we create activities where they experience strength, success, and joy.
This means that we present them with small challenges that we are sure they can overcome. By titrating a stressful experience into little steps that they can successfully navigate, we teach them to have confidence in their own abilities. We aren't simply distracting them with food, or constantly asking them to "look at me."
We are actually growing their emotional capacity over time, so that while they know we are there for them when they need us, they have an interdependence with us rather than a co-dependence. And they regain their ability to deal with life's day-to-day stress while maintaining a ventral-vagal state.
So with a dog who is reactive, we have to create the same possibility of successful renegotiation. This is different from counter-conditioning. This takes the original triggering experience, allows the dog to act out the biological processes of fight/flight, and gives them a feeling of triumph and mastery over their past experience. How do we do this? We give them courage and confidence, trust in us as their handler, and we create activities where they experience strength, success, and joy.
This means that we present them with small challenges that we are sure they can overcome. By titrating a stressful experience into little steps that they can successfully navigate, we teach them to have confidence in their own abilities. We aren't simply distracting them with food, or constantly asking them to "look at me."
We are actually growing their emotional capacity over time, so that while they know we are there for them when they need us, they have an interdependence with us rather than a co-dependence. And they regain their ability to deal with life's day-to-day stress while maintaining a ventral-vagal state.
Read Trauma and Memory