Helping a Dog with Trauma
- Robin Wong
- Jul 25
- 12 min read
20 Things You Can Do To Help Them Heal
I'm Robin Wong and I specialize in training dogs who are living with the effects of trauma.
Here are the most critical things I can teach you in 10 minutes if you are bringing home a dog with a past.
Bonus: a 20 item checklist of things you can actually do to help your dog heal.
Adopting a dog with a history of trauma requires a thoughtful approach that combines empathy, knowledge, and practical strategies. This guide aims to provide you with both a foundation of knowledge and practical steps to create a supportive environment for your new canine companion.
And the empathy part? Believe it or not that's something that you can practice too. But more on two way communication below.
Welcoming a dog with trauma into your home is a noble decision. These dogs often come with unique challenges that require special attention and understanding. By delving into the world of canine trauma, you embark on a rewarding quest of healing and companionship.
But it's going to hurt.
It's going to be stressful.
It's going to trigger your own traumas.
Sometimes all we can do is focus on what is within our control. Below you'll find a huge list of practical actions that you can take to empower you and your dog on their healing journey. Feeling helpless? Grab an item on your list and do what you can.
Before diving into the practical aspects, it's crucial to understand what we mean by trauma.
A Look at Canine Trauma
Did you know that dogs can experience trauma much like humans? They too can hold its effects in their nervous system long after it has occurred. Given the ancient and close relationship that our two species have perhaps this is not a surprise.
Whether it stems from abuse, neglect, or any other distressing event, trauma can leave a lasting impact on a dog's behavior and overall well-being.
Defining Canine Trauma
Trauma refers to any distressing event that overwhelms a dog's ability to cope, leaving a lasting imprint on their nervous system and emotional state.
This can include things like abuse, abandonment, or accidents, among many other factors. Dogs, like humans, can exhibit signs of stress, anxiety, and fear because of traumatic experiences.
How Trauma Affects Dogs
The myriad ways in which trauma can affect a dog include but are not limited to:
Behavioral Changes: Trauma can manifest in various behavioral changes. Dogs may become withdrawn, fearful, aggressive, or overly clingy. Changes in appetite, sleep patterns, and energy levels can also be indicators of trauma.
Fear and Anxiety: Traumatized dogs often develop heightened fear and anxiety responses. They may become fearful of specific stimuli, such as loud noises or certain environments, leading to avoidance behaviors or even panic attacks.
Trust Issues: Dogs who have experienced trauma may struggle to trust humans or other animals. Building trust becomes crucial in helping them overcome past experiences and form new, positive connections.
Physical Symptoms: Chronic stress resulting from trauma can manifest in physical symptoms like digestive issues, skin problems, or a compromised immune system. Addressing the emotional well-being of the dog is essential for overall health.
Supporting Dogs with Trauma
Recognizing signs of trauma and approaching the dog with patience and understanding is the first step. Repeat after me when frustrated:
"They aren't giving me a hard time. They are having a hard time."
But how do we help them have an easier time?
What do I actually do?
Connect with Professionals
Connecting with professionals is essential to gather insights into your dog's behavioral challenges and develop a tailored plan for recovery.
First and foremost – have a good Veterinarian in your corner.
Certified veterinary behaviorists and experienced veterinarians possess the expertise to address trauma-related issues effectively.
As a canine health expert (and emotional well-being is part of that) they should be your primary care professional. It’s important that they can check over your new companion as soon as possible to ensure that any needed medical care is provided.
When helping a dog heal past trauma it is important that all physical health concerns are actively being treated. What we may see as a minor concern (let's say skin problems or stomach issues) may actually be a source of pain or discomfort that will hold back your progress. Any source of pain or discomfort that your Vet can identify should ideally be treated in the way that the Vet thinks is best.
If your Veterinarian thinks that behavior medication will help your dog please consider that too. Don't let outdated stigma hold you back from helping your dog have a better quality of life.
In addition to having a solid Vet in your corner I also suggest you hire a professional dog trainer/behavior consultant with experience in helping dogs with trauma. A plan and some practical work to help teach your dog to live well can be a lifeline for them. Experienced trainers can also help you understand your dog and what they are going through.
If your dog is struggling with serious behavior concerns such as aggression, reactivity, or separation anxiety a qualified dog behavior consultant is a must.
While online resources and community advice are valuable, there's no substitute for professional guidance. Seeking assistance from certified experts ensures a comprehensive understanding of your dog's unique needs and allows for a customized approach to their rehabilitation.
Practical Actions:
Schedule a consultation with your veterinarian.
Ensure health care needs are treated ASAP.
Seek advice from certified trainers and behavior consultants.
Explore online resources for credentialed expert guidance.
Attend seminars/webinars by canine behavior specialists.
Transform Your Home
Adapting your living space for a traumatized dog means creating a sanctuary from stress and triggers. Anticipating and mitigating potential triggers helps build a foundation for peace, allowing your dog to feel secure in their home environment. This is especially important if the dog is new to your home.
Transforming your home into a haven for your dog requires thoughtful planning. Every dog is different but here are some steps that I often recommend.
A Space of Their Own
Designate a relaxation spot for your dog and place a dog bed or mat there. Start building value in the spot by randomly placing treats on it throughout the day. Any time they investigate the spot praise them. If they choose to sit or lay on the spot bring them more treats right away! Once they start laying there on their own more often you can taper off the treats.
Consider this spot their "safe place". Once they go there nobody bothers them unless it's an emergency. They are allowed to go there to be left alone. Never disturb them when they sleep there.
Perception is Reality
Overreaction to triggers is very common in dogs living with the effects of trauma. Help them by diminishing their capacity to perceive them while within the home.
If they react to things outside the windows you can get very inexpensive temporary film to cover the lower part of the window. The kind you might use to obscure a washroom window. This will help blur the silhouettes of people and animals outside.
If your dog is stressed by sounds outside of the house use the power of sound to fight against them. White noise (fans are handy for this especially in the summer) can help drown out exterior sounds but I've had even better luck with music. Relaxing music (I've found reggae to have the most profound effect upon dogs and this is supported by actual research) can help not only drown out exterior sounds but also help the dog settle.
Whatever the triggers are we want to ask ourselves: "how can I lower the dog's perception of this?"
If you get creative there is always a way!
Before you can expect your dog to grow emotionally you have to help them feel safe. Simple measures like these can make that a lot easier.
Practical Actions:
Designate a calm area for your dog where they can relax.
Obscure your dog's view from the windows temporarily to help them relax.
Use the power of music and sound to create a more relaxing environment.
Get creative and brainstorm ways to make moments of your dog's daily life easier.
Build Trust Intentionally
Developing a secure bond with a human is critical for the healing of traumatized dogs. This can be built intentionally even if you've already made mistakes.
We both know that your dog is safe with you. But how do we convince them of that when the world has already proven to them that it's dangerous?
Learn to Read Your Dog
Learning the skill of two way communication with your dog is critical to your success. A lot of people put focus into communicating towards their dog. Lots of focus and engagement training, lots of cues (or commands if you prefer), and lots of boundaries.
None of that is bad necessarily. But I would rather you put that focus into learning how your dog communicates with you. You can learn not just how to read their body language but more importantly how to respond to show them that you are listening.
Teaching a comprehensive course on canine body language is beyond the scope of this article but below you will find a handout created by the great Dr. Sophia Yin. In the very next section you will also find some great ways to respond to their signals.
Give Them Agency and Consent
Freedom of choice, especially with regards to physical contact, is an essential part of building feelings of safety. One of the best ways to make dogs feel unsafe is to teach them that they have no choice about being touched.
Whenever possible we want to give dogs lots of choice and reinforce them for making good ones.
Obviously as guardians we have a responsibility to keep them safe and cared for which will in times of urgent need require us to provide care without their consent.
But in the vast majority of moments in the dog's day we can give them options.
And I will argue that telling me "no" needs to be a safe option. The world didn't let them say "no" before. We need to do better for them.
Don't want to be pet? No problem.
Don't want to be kissed? No problem.
Don't want to sit with me? No problem.
Not only should we interpret stress signs (as in the handout above) as a "no" to physical contact but we should also get in the habit of performing "consent checks".
Doing a consent check is easy. You may already be doing them! When you are giving your dog affection occasionally stop and withdraw your hands. Observe their body language. Do they try to get you to continue? Do they turn away? Are they ambivalent? Use their reaction to gauge whether or not you should continue. Show them that in their new safe life their choices are being respected.
Here is a great video from the minds behind Dogkind Training (they have some great resources for fearful dogs) going over the idea of consent checks in a lot more detail than I could in this article.
Be Boring
No, really.
Be boring.
You may have heard before that dogs thrive on routine. I'll take that a step further for dogs with trauma:
Some of the best traits you can have for your traumatized dog are: predictable, quiet, and slow.
The fewer surprises your dog runs into the better. Now is not the time for exposing them to novel things. We can build towards that. But, especially at the start, it is very helpful for you to keep your dog (and yourself) on a routine.
Speaking softly, moving quietly, and avoiding startling your dog at all costs will pay huge dividends in terms of you becoming a source of peace for them. We always want your influence on them to be calming on the nervous system.
Advocate for Your Dog
Research has shown that seeing their human take steps to protect them builds confidence in dogs. Knowing that you are looking out for them helps them feel safe.
Avoid stress triggers when you are out on walks. If your dog doesn't want to or can't handle meeting strangers ask people to keep their distance or move away yourself. Let them see you actively keeping them safe.
Unless it is medically necessary you do not have to let anybody access your dog. Ever. Only if the both of you want it to happen. It is not only okay to speak up but it will also improve your dog's confidence in your ability to protect them.
Practical Actions:
Study canine body language.
Practice spotting signs of anxiety, fear, and stress in your dog.
Allow your dog as much freedom of choice as possible - especially about being touched.
Practice consent checks.
Be Boring: practice being consistent, predictable, slow, and quiet.
Be assertive in advocating for your dog.
Enrichment and Training
Perhaps it should go without saying but meeting all of your dog's needs is an important part of helping them heal.
And that is what Enrichment is - meeting their needs.
I probably don't need to go over the real basics with you. Of course your dog needs food, water, exercise, companionship, etc. But let's talk about two critical components that are more complex and require a thoughtful approach:
Genetic behavior fulfillment and training.
We as humans spent tens of thousands of years breeding dogs to do very specific things and now we owe it to them to still feel fulfilled even if (especially if) they are a companion dog and not a working one.
Whatever "kind" of dog you chose you owe them a full life whatever that means to their breed type. If we are fighting against what the dog was bred to do we can expect a long uphill battle.
Obviously we don't always know a dog's breed makeup or it may be so mixed that we can't derive useful intelligence from it.
But when we do have this information we owe it to the dog to allow it to inform our enrichment and training methods.
One of the things that I've become known for is working with Livestock Guardian Breed dogs who are living a companion dog life in the city (or a town). But I don't do this by teaching them that it's "bad" to act like a guardian dog. I do this by tailoring their enrichment and training activities to fulfill their individual needs. To help them still feel like they are being a guardian dog while learning safe and polite boundaries.
I have also had the opportunity to work with quite a few dogs having serious problems with predatory behaviors. Giving the dog outlet through games and training skills which fulfill parts of the predatory sequence is a key pillar of that work.
Entire books can (and are) devoted to the topic of genetic fulfillment in dogs so providing an exhaustive list of solutions here would be impossible. I strongly suggest working with a trainer or behavior consultant with experience in your dog's breed.
For self study a great place to start is the book "Meet Your Dog" by Kim Brophey which gives a lot of great insight into each of the major bred groups.
As for basic manners training (sit, stay, etc) the bulk of the work can wait. Focus first only on things that your dog needs to learn for safety or that you both just enjoy working on.
Some things to work on that help keep your dog safe:
Stay: remain in place until I come back to release you.
Recall: come to me right away when I call you.
Loose Leash Walking: walk with me without pulling on the leash.
Aside from the important safety behaviors the most important thing you can start teaching them early is the ability to relax and self-regulate. There are a few great relaxation protocols out there that you can find a lot of resources on for free.
I personally use a modified approach to Dr. Overall's Protocol for Relaxation.
Practical Actions:
Study your dog's genetic group and understand what functions they were bred for.
Choose a trainer or behavior consultant with experience in your dog's breed.
Learn some games and training exercises that fulfill your dog's genetic drives.
Teach your dog important safety behaviors.
Teach them to relax and self-settle.
Conclusion
By combining theoretical understanding with actionable steps you have the foundation of a plan for healing.
Do you have to do everything on this list? No, every dog-human team is different. But in those tough moments when you're not sure if you can handle this bring up the list and ask yourself:
"What is within my control here that I can focus on?"
Just take things one step at a time. And reach out if you need my help!
Practical Actions Master List:
Schedule a consultation with your veterinarian.
Ensure health care needs are treated ASAP.
Seek advice from certified trainers and behavior consultants.
Explore online resources for credentialed expert guidance.
Attend seminars/webinars by canine behavior specialists.
Designate a calm area for your dog where they can relax.
Obscure your dog's view from the windows temporarily to help them relax.
Use the power of music and sound to create a more relaxing environment.
Get creative and brainstorm ways to make moments of your dog's daily life easier.
Study canine body language.
Practice spotting signs of anxiety, fear, and stress in your dog.
Allow your dog as much freedom of choice as possible - especially about being touched.
Practice consent checks.
Be Boring: practice being consistent, predictable, slow, and quiet.
Be assertive in advocating for your dog.
Study your dog's genetic group and understand what functions they were bred for.
Choose a trainer or behavior consultant with experience in your dog's breed (see step 3 above).
Learn some games and training exercises that fulfill your dog's genetic drives.
Teach your dog important safety behaviors.
Put your relationship before fancy training expectations.
Robin Wong is a certified dog trainer, a graduate of the prestigious Victoria Stilwell Academy, and a Certified Behavior Adjustment Training Instructor. He founded Holy Sit Dog Training to provide trauma-informed behavior work and positive dog training in London Ontario.
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