Calm or Learned Helplessness? Ep209

Calm or Learned Helplessness? Ep209

From Creating Great Grooming Dogs by Chrissy Neumyer Smith MGBS, MCS, MCGE, CPG, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, FFCP

September 13, 2025 · 18 min · Episode 209

About this episode

The episode explores the difference between calmness and learned helplessness in dogs, discussing the implications for therapy dogs and human interactions.

Sometimes a dog looks calm, but is that what’s really happening? Or could it be learned helplessness? Join me as I dive into this listener question and unpack the nuances between the two. Can I touch you? A pilot study comparing consensual and non-consensual human-dog touch interactions https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159125000589 "Choice and consent are critical welfare elements, especially in interactions between humans and animals. Dogs incorporated in therapeutic settings (therapy dogs) may encounter human touch interactions where they have limited control over their circumstances. The present study examined how forced and free-choice touch treatments during interaction with humans influenced the behaviour of therapy dogs and hypothesized that therapy dogs would display a higher frequency of stress-related behaviours during forced in comparison to free-choice touch treatment. " Old problem, new tools One of the psychologists who discovered learned helplessness returns to the topic to pinpoint the phenomenon's neurobiological underpinnings. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/10/helplessness "This is the illusion of control at the level of neurochemistry,"…

People in this episode

Host: Chrissy Neumyer Smith MGBS, MCS, MCGE, CPG, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, FFCP

Topics covered

  • dog behavior
  • learned helplessness
  • human-animal interaction
  • therapy dogs
  • animal welfare

Keywords

  • calmness
  • learned helplessness
  • therapy dogs
  • human-dog interaction
  • animal welfare
  • stress-related behaviors

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American Psychological Association

Books & works: Can I touch you? A pilot study comparing consensual and non-consensual human-dog touch interactions, Old problem, new tools

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