Phone obsession is turning our pets mad

Dogs all over the world could be developing behavioural issues because owners are addicted to their smart phones, according to experts. 

The modern obsession of staring at screens may be causing pooches to suffer from anxiety and depression.

There has been a spike in unruly dogs in the past five years and the blame may lie with current lifestyle habits when it comes to gadgets and gizmos, says the founder of a UK puppy clinic.

According to an expert vet, modern obsessions with staring at screens may be causing pooches to suffer from anxiety and depression (stock image) 

DEPRIVED DOGS

According to an expert vet, modern obsessions with staring at screens may be causing pooches to suffer from anxiety and depression.

Like wolves, dogs turn to their pack leaders for advice on what to do next.

However, if owners are not giving their pets feedback they panic because they do not understand why you are not responding. 

If you’re having an argument on the phone, the dog will assume you’re reprimanding them, veterinary nurse Amber Pickworth.

‘It needs reassurance from you to say either ‘yes it’s okay’, or ‘no, stay here’. If you don’t provide that input you’re making it anxious and also asking for behaviour issues in the long term’, she said.

According to UK campaign group ‘Digital Detox’, adults spend an average of 9 hours and 30 minutes a day on screens – more time than they are asleep.

This is having a really negative effect on our dogs, according to registered veterinary nurse Amber Pickworth, who graduated from Anglia Ruskin University.

‘I’d urge people to put their phones away when they’re with their dogs’, said Ms Pickworth.

‘You might think you’re spending quality time with your animal when you take it for a walk, but the minute the phone comes out, the dynamic changes without you even realising it’, she said.

‘After all, as the saying goes – a dog might be a small part of your world, but you’re their entire world’.

Ms Pickworth, who is based at The Vet’s clinic in Nottingham, believes the problem lies with the fact dogs are pack animals and they take human protectors as pack leaders.

Like wolves, dogs turn to their pack leaders for advice on what to do next.

However, if owners are not giving their pets feedback they panic because they do not understand why you are not responding, Ms Pickworth said.

‘If you’re walking down the street and your dog sees a cat it will look to you for guidance as if to say, ‘Can I..?’

‘And because you haven’t given a response, as you’re engrossed in your phone, the dog simply goes ahead and does what it wants.

‘It needs reassurance from you to say either ‘yes it’s okay’, or ‘no, stay here’. If you don’t provide that input you’re making it anxious and also asking for behaviour issues in the long term’, she said.

Dogs turn to their pack leaders for advice on what to do next. However, if owners are not giving their pets feedback they panic because they do not understand what to do (stock image)

Dogs turn to their pack leaders for advice on what to do next. However, if owners are not giving their pets feedback they panic because they do not understand what to do (stock image)

THE DANGERS OF CARRYING YOUR DOG

Ms Pickworth said the trend to carry little dogs in purses and feed them human food is also bad for their behaviour.

‘Indulging their every whim sets your dog up for behavioural issues.

‘I’ve seen dogs that had never been disciplined and when they start biting people they are put to sleep. 

‘Nobody wants that to happen’, she said. 

We spend a combined average of 2 hours 24 minutes a day on smart devices in particular – that same figure was just 31 minutes in 2011, which represents a 400 per cent increase.

Research in June found that smart phones are dramatically changing the way we walk down the street. 

Our walk becomes more exaggerated and slow as we avoid obstacles that are harder to see because we are staring at our phones.

‘If you’re taking the dog for a walk and talking on the phone – and there’s no-one else there – the dog doesn’t understand that you’re not talking to them’, said Ms Pickworth.

Our obsession with phones is having a negative effect on our dogs, according to registered veterinary nurse Amber Pickworth (pictured), who graduated from Anglia Ruskin University

Our obsession with phones is having a negative effect on our dogs, according to registered veterinary nurse Amber Pickworth (pictured), who graduated from Anglia Ruskin University

‘If you’re having an argument on the phone, the dog will assume you’re reprimanding them’, she said.

Two other tell-tale signs your dog isn’t happy are pacing and yawning.

‘If you collapse into the house after a busy day and stare at your phone rather than playing with it or taking it for a walk, it will quickly become bored.

‘And a bored dog is more susceptible to being aggressive. It may also become extremely protective of its toys as it’s worried that you’re going to take away the only thing that’s keeping them relatively sane.

‘My own dog will come into the room and sit in the middle of the floor, look at me and yawn. He’s not telling me he’s tired, he’s telling me he’s unhappy’, she said.

Ms Pickworth said the trend to carry little dogs in purses and feed them human food is also bad for their behaviour.

‘Indulging their every whim sets your dog up for behavioural issues.

‘I’ve seen dogs that had never been disciplined and when they start biting people they are put to sleep. Nobody wants that to happen’, she said. 

 

 

 

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