And "my world" as some of you call it, with my dogs happens to be stress free. I'm sorry that you all have such stressful lives, but I assure you that mine is great.
No, no, no. You didn't understand what I was saying.
Stress is a natural and NORMAL part of ANY creature's development. Too much of course, is bad, but too little, is ALSO a very bad thing. Dealing with stressful situations is a learning experience- and one that keeps us safe. An animal (and this includes humans) that lives in a TOTALLY stress free environment, and then encounters the "real world," is unequipped to survive. They can't deal. They make poor choice because they've never HAD to make choices (making a choice is a stressor, btw
).
Little molly-coddled dogs are a perfect example. Have you ever noticed how the little Chihuahuas and Poms that people carry everywhere, the ones that have their every whim catered to, are often the MOST obnoxious, LEAST well-behaved pets? They're also the least stable. Put these dogs on the ground and they literally don't have a CLUE what to do with themselves. They're default is biting.
If you SOCIALIZE your dogs with other dogs- you stress them. They must interact with another animal, read it's intentions, decide if it is a "friend" or a "foe," and diffuse potentially aggressive encounters, etc. etc. The adrenaline is pumping in your dog at these moments. And you WANT that adrenaline to be pumping. It's completely healthy.
Puppies encounter stress from the day they are born. When mom leaves the whelping box to pee- those puppies are stressed. When she comes back in THEY crawl to her. They source out her body heat. And when they find her- it is a self-rewarding experience.
You see, living creatures are experiencing and learning how to cope with stressful situations from DAY ONE.
I guarantee you your dogs do NOT live in a PERFECTLY stress-free environment. Every once in awhile, they encounter some slightly stressful situation (ex: they get their nails clipped, perhaps they have to take a pill they don't like, they get socialized at a dog park, etc. etc.)
Did you know that until very recently, animals in zoos were dying EARLIER due to a LACK of stress? Quite literally, they were dying of boredom. Animals NEED stress in order to develop healthily. A zoo on the East Coast in fact, made a fake lion for one of their primate exhibits that would intermittantly come out, roar, and terrify the monkeys.
Result? Calmer, more confident animals. Less neurotic. Animals with a longer life span.
When I talk about stress I am NOT talking about the kind of stress that I feel when I have 4 tests in a week , haven't slept in 48 hours, and have 2 weeks to finish my thesis. That is unreasonable stress. I am talking about normal, everyday REASONABLE stress.