The Whole Approach - Behaviour change for dogs and their people

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The Whole Approach - Behaviour change for dogs and their people

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Founded by Maggy, an MSc, qualified canine behaviour consultant, The Whole Approach offers science-led, reward based support to help dogs and their people feel safe, seen and understood - creating lasting change through connection and compassion.

15/06/2026

The Weight We Share
Post 6: Resource Depletion

The financial and practical costs of human caregiving are well documented. The appointments. The adaptations. The equipment. The time taken from work, from rest, from everything else.

For guardians of dogs with complex needs, the ledger is longer than most people acknowledge.

The consultations and the specialist support. The equipment, the enrichment, the careful arrangements that others do not have to make. The hours given to management, to research, to simply staying on top of what your dog needs. The financial cost of caring well for a dog who needs more than most.

But beyond the practical, there is the depletion of another kind of resource that the caregiver burden literature names very clearly: psychological capacity.

Every decision you make in a day draws from a finite well. Guardians of dogs with complex needs are drawing from that well earlier and harder than most. By the time the day is done, there is simply nothing left.

There is no blame in this. It is simple arithmetic.

Acknowledging where your resources are going is a vital first step towards looking after yourself, and accepting that you have nothing more to give is nothing to be ashamed of. 🐾💕

14/06/2026

The Weight We Share
Post 5: Ambiguous Loss

Pauline Boss, the psychologist who coined the term ambiguous loss, was writing about families of people with Alzheimer's. She described the grief of losing someone who is still present. The person is there, and yet the relationship is not what it was.

The future is not what was imagined.

Guardians of dogs with complex needs know this kind of loss, even if they have never had a word for it.

You grieve the dog you hoped to have. The life you pictured together. The ease and the freedom and the simple joy you imagined when they first came home.

This is not a small thing to carry.

And it is made harder because there is no permission to grieve it. Your dog is alive. They are loved. They are fed and cared for and held close. And yet something has been lost, and that loss sits quietly beneath every difficult day.

Ambiguous loss does not need a death to be real. It needs only a gap between what was hoped for and what is.

Your grief is legitimate. It always has been 🐾💕

13/06/2026

Yesterday was my beautiful bear of a boy Loki's birthday. He was five.

Loki came to me as an eight week old pup. I had lost my gorgeous labrador Betty some years before and the time just felt right. My daughters, both adults with their own homes, came with me to visit the litter. Excited to help me with my decision. I was going to see a little black girl. But you know how these things work. Dogs choose us. And Loki chose me.

The little black girl I had gone to see chose my younger daughter. A goofy blonde girl chose my elder daughter. Just like that, and totally unexpectedly, three siblings were set to join our family.

It was a sheer joy watching them grow up together. Loki adored his sisters. They could do absolutely anything to him and he never once reacted. The house was absolute madness when they all got together. Between us we already had three dogs, so six dogs, three women, and one toddler. My idea of heaven (well most of the time!)

Three weeks ago her lovely dog walker noticed that Ethel wasn't quite right. Quieter and less interactive with the other dogs out with her. One week ago we lost her. Yesterday, on what would have been her fifth birthday, she came home.

My daughter is being incredibly brave, even though her heart is breaking. She was a wonderful mum to Ethel, and as her own mum I wish with everything I have that I could take that pain away from her. But I can't. What I can do, what we can all do, is hold her through it. And that is exactly what we will do.

You are a wonderful group of people who care passionately about your dogs. You are brave enough to be honest and to show your vulnerability. Today I wanted to share my story and show mine.

Ethel, you were a beautiful, gentle girl who was taken far too soon. You will be forever in our hearts 🐾💔

11/06/2026

The Weight We Carry
Post 4: Lifestyle Disruption

Ask anyone caring for a dependent human how their daily life has changed, and the picture is the same. Routines that once belonged to them now belong entirely to the person they care for. Spontaneity disappears. Every day is planned around someone else's needs.

For guardians of dogs with complex needs, this is lived in the smallest of details.

The time you leave the house. The places you go or do not go. The way holidays are planned, or not planned at all. The limits placed on your working hours, your social commitments, your ability to simply be spontaneous. The way even a quiet evening can hinge on how your dog is that day.

You are not being dramatic when you say your life has reorganised itself around your dog's needs. That is precisely what has happened.

Here is what I find important about naming this as lifestyle disruption rather than inconvenience: inconvenience suggests something minor, something that should not matter very much. Disruption is honest. It says something significant has changed.

Something significant has changed.

Your life before and your life after are not the same life. That deserves acknowledgement 🐾💕

10/06/2026

The Weight We Share
Post 3: Social Isolation

Human caregivers consistently report withdrawing from social life. It is not always a choice. It is a slow erosion of possibilities, as each invitation becomes something to calculate rather than something to enjoy.

For guardians of dogs with complex needs, it starts quietly.

You stop suggesting certain walks. You decline invitations that feel unpredictable. You think twice about visits, holidays, spontaneous plans. You begin to build your life around what your dog needs, and somewhere along the way, you notice that your world has grown smaller without you quite deciding that it should.

The research on human caregiving is unambiguous: social isolation is one of the most damaging consequences of caring for a vulnerable other. It compounds emotional exhaustion. It feeds shame. It makes everything harder.

What the research does not yet say loudly enough is that the same is true for you.
Your isolation is real. The shrinking is real. And it is not a reflection of how much you love your dog. It is the cost of loving a dog whose needs are complex.

I can see it. And I want you to see it too 🐾💕

09/06/2026

The Weight We Share
Post 2: Chronic Emotional Exhaustion

When someone cares for a family member with dementia, or a child with complex needs, one of the first things researchers observe is chronic emotional exhaustion.

Not tiredness. Not a hard week. A sustained, relentless depletion that does not lift with sleep or a day off.

Sound familiar?

For guardians of dogs with complex needs, emotional exhaustion looks different on the surface but feels the same underneath. It is the mental weight that begins before the day does. The anticipation of how your dog might be today. The quiet bracing for difficulty. The management that runs on a loop beneath everything else you are trying to do.

Your mind is carrying more than most people realise. All the time.

And what makes this particularly invisible is that, unlike a human caregiver, you are unlikely to have anyone acknowledge it. There are no leaflets at the vet about guardian stress. No one asks how you are holding up.

Today I want to ask.

How are you really doing? Not your dog. You 🐾💕

08/06/2026

The Weight We Share
Post 1: Series Introduction,

If you have ever cancelled plans because of how your dog might cope...

If you have ever stood at your front door, stomach tight, uncertain about what the next hour would bring...

If you have ever lain awake thinking: what if tomorrow is worse?

Then this series is for you.

Starting tomorrow, I am sharing eight posts that explore something I believe deeply: what dog guardians experience when caring for a dog with complex needs has a name.

It is called caregiver burden.

And it is the same phenomenon that researchers have studied for decades in people who care for humans with complex needs. Not similar. Not like it. The same.

The same emotional exhaustion. The same social withdrawal. The same quiet grief for a life imagined differently.

The difference? Human caregivers are recognised. Supported. Named.

Dog guardians are told: it is just a dog.

This week, we are going to change that. One dimension at a time.

Save this post, share it with someone who needs it, and come back tomorrow.

05/06/2026

For the Geek in Us

Reference List: Beneath the Behaviour

The following references underpin the claims made across the Beneath the Behaviour series. This list is intended for professional transparency and is available to share with community members who wish to explore the research further.

Access note: References marked as Open Access are freely available at the link provided. References marked as Subscription require institutional or individual journal access, though most can be purchased via the publisher website. PubMed links are provided for subscription articles so that abstracts can be read freely. Books are available to purchase online and through good bookshops.

Corticosteroids and Behaviour
Notari, L., & Mills, D. S. (2011). Possible behavioral effects of exogenous corticosteroids on dog behavior: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 6(6), 321–327. [Subscription] Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21300333/
Notari, L., Burman, O., & Mills, D. (2015). Behavioural changes in dogs treated with corticosteroids. Physiology & Behavior, 151, 609–616. [Subscription] Abstract: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26344646/
Notari, L., Kirton, R., & Mills, D. S. (2022). Psycho-Behavioural Changes in Dogs Treated with Corticosteroids: A Clinical Behaviour Perspective. Animals, 12(5), 627. [Open Access] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8909229/

Antiparasitic Treatments and Neurological Effects
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2018, updated 2019). FDA alerts pet owners and veterinarians about potential for neurologic adverse events associated with certain flea and tick products. [Free — Government website] https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/cvm-updates/animal-drug-safety-communication-fda-alerts-pet-owners-and-veterinarians-about-potential-neurologic
Palmieri, V., Dodds, W. J., Morgan, J., Carney, E., Fritsche, H. A., Jeffrey, J., et al. (2020). Survey of canine use and safety of isoxazoline parasiticides. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 6(4), 933–945. [Subscription] https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.290
Bates, N., Dijkman, M. A., & Edwards, J. N. (2024). Neurological adverse effects of isoxazoline exposure in cats and dogs. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. [Subscription] https://doi.org/10.1111/jvp.13440

Nutrition, the Gut-Brain Axis, and Behaviour
Sacoor, C., et al. (2024). Gut-Brain Axis Impact on Canine Anxiety Disorders: New Challenges for Behavioral Veterinary Medicine. Veterinary Medicine International, 2024, 2856759. [Open Access] https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/2856759
Mikanowski, A., et al. (2024). The Relationship between Canine Behavioral Disorders and Gut Microbiome and Future Therapeutic Perspectives. Animals, 14(14), 2048. [Open Access] https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14142048
Pellowe, S. D., Zhang, A., Bignell, D. R. D., Peña-Castillo, L., & Walsh, C. J. (2025). Gut microbiota composition is related to anxiety and aggression scores in companion dogs. Scientific Reports, 15, 24336. [Open Access] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-06178-4
Gut Microbiome, Antibiotics, and Behaviour
Pilla, R., & Suchodolski, J. S. (2020). The Role of the Canine Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Health and Gastrointestinal Disease. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6, 498. [Open Access] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6971114/
Li, Q., et al. (2025). Understanding the diversity and roles of the canine gut microbiome. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, 16, 85. [Open Access] https://doi.org/10.1186/s40104-025-01215-4
Pellowe, S. D., Zhang, A., Bignell, D. R. D., Peña-Castillo, L., & Walsh, C. J. (2025). Gut microbiota composition is related to anxiety and aggression scores in companion dogs. Scientific Reports, 15, 24336. [Open Access] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-06178-4
McVey Neufeld, K. A., et al. (2025). A critical review of research concerning the gut microbiome in dogs and its relationship with behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. [Subscription] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106549
Surgery, Anaesthesia, and the Gut Microbiome
Collier, A. J., Gomez, D. E., MacIver, M. A., Verbrugghe, A., Weese, J. S., & Blois, S. L. (2025). Assessing changes to the f***l microbiota in dogs undergoing elective orthopedic surgery: A preliminary investigation. PLOS ONE. [Open Access] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0325163
Su, X., et al. (2021). Effect of anesthesia/surgery on gut microbiota and f***l metabolites and their relationship with cognitive dysfunction. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 13, 700796. [Open Access] https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.700796

Pain and Behaviour
Wiese, A. J. (2015). Assessing pain: relation to aggression and fear in dogs. In Landsberg, G., Hunthausen, W., & Ackerman, L. (Eds.), Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat (3rd ed.). Saunders Elsevier. [Book chapter — available to purchase]
Camps, T., Amat, M., & Manteca, X. (2019). A review of medical conditions and behavioral problems in dogs and cats. Animals, 9(12), 1133. [Open Access] https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121133

Paradoxical Reactions and Behaviour Medication
Crowell-Davis, S. L., Murray, T., & de Souza Dantas, L. M. (2019). Veterinary Psychopharmacology (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. [Book — available to purchase]
Gruen, M. E., & Sherman, B. L. (2022). The use of medications in canine behavior therapy. Today’s Veterinary Practice. [Free] https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/pharmacology/veterinary-behavior-medications/

Books Recommended in This Series

Habib, R., & Becker, K. S. (2021). The Forever Dog: Surprising Science to Help Your Canine Companion Live Younger, Healthier, and Longer. HarperOne. [Available to purchase]
Brady, C. (2020). Feeding Dogs: The Science Behind the Dry vs. Raw Debate. Farrow & Ball Publishing. [Available to purchase]

04/06/2026

Beneath the Behaviour
Post 6: What if the answer is in the medicine cabinet?

This one might surprise you.

Not because it is complicated. But because it is the kind of thing that, once you know it, you wonder why nobody ever mentioned it before.

Medication changes behaviour. Not just the medication prescribed specifically for anxiety or reactivity. Everyday medication. The kind your dog might have been on for months, or years, for something else entirely.

Steroids, given routinely for skin conditions, allergies, or inflammation, are one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in veterinary practice. Research has shown that dogs on corticosteroid treatment are significantly more likely to be restless, more prone to startle, more fearful, and more reactive. Because the prescription was for a skin condition, the connection rarely gets made.

Some antiparasitic treatments, including several well-known monthly flea and tick preventatives, have been the subject of FDA alerts regarding neurological side effects in certain dogs. What makes this particularly easy to miss is that the delay between administration and the onset of signs can be considerable. By the time behaviour changes, the tablet given three weeks ago is the last thing anyone thinks of.

Some antibiotics can disrupt the gut microbiome so significantly that the knock-on effect on mood and behaviour is measurable. We covered the gut-brain axis earlier in this series, and this is where those two conversations meet.

General anaesthetic is worth mentioning here too. A study of dogs undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery found measurable changes to gut microbiota diversity and community structure, with many of those changes persisting for two to three months post-operatively. The behavioural changes that sometimes follow surgery are not always about pain or the stress of the procedure itself. Sometimes the gut is recovering too, and that recovery has its own timeline. A dog who seems different weeks after a procedure may be telling you something about what is happening internally that nobody thought to flag.

Then there is the specific conversation around behaviour medication.

If your dog has been prescribed something to support their anxiety or reactivity, please know this: these medications are not a quick fix, and the adjustment period is real. Some dogs feel worse before they feel better. Some need dosage changes before the right level is found. And a dog coming off medication, or whose dose has been altered, can behave very differently during that window, often in ways that feel like a step backwards.

We have talked in this community before about paradoxical reactions, but in case that conversation was missed, it is worth saying clearly here. A paradoxical reaction is when a medication produces the opposite effect to the one intended. A dog prescribed something to reduce anxiety who becomes more hypervigilant, more reactive, more unsettled, and harder to reach. A dog who startles awake instead of settling. A dog whose resource guarding or boundary sensitivity suddenly worsens for no apparent reason. This is a documented and recognised response in some dogs, not a sign that your dog is beyond help, and not something you imagined.
If this sounds familiar, please go back to your vet. There are other pathways to explore.

None of this means medication is wrong. For many dogs it is genuinely life-changing, and it works best when it is part of a broader support plan rather than a standalone solution.

What it does mean is this: if your dog’s behaviour has shifted and you cannot find a reason, look at what they are taking, and what they have recently been through. Ask your vet specifically whether any current or recent medication, or a recent procedure, could be a contributing factor.

Bring it into the conversation.

Because sometimes the thing that is changing how your dog feels is sitting in a drawer in your kitchen. Or it started on a table in a veterinary surgery 🐾💕

03/06/2026

Beneath the Behaviour
Post 5: Home sounds different to them

We tend to think of home as neutral. Safe. Quiet. A place where nothing much is happening.

But your dog does not experience home the way you do.

Their hearing extends into frequencies we cannot detect. Their sense of smell is estimated to be tens of thousands of times more sensitive than ours. They feel vibrations through surfaces and air. They process the world in ways that are entirely invisible to us.

Which means that what feels like a calm afternoon to you might feel very different to your dog.

The hum of next door’s heating. Building work two streets away. The scent trail of a fox in the garden from hours ago. The neighbour’s dog passing the window at the same time every day. The flicker of a screen. The change in light as the season shifts oh and that pesky dog that keeps appearing on your TV.

None of these things necessarily register for us. But they may be registering constantly for your dog, creating a low-level background noise of information that never fully stops. For a dog who is already anxious or reactive, that background noise can push them closer to threshold before the day has even properly begun.

This is not something you caused. It is not something you can eliminate entirely. But it is worth knowing about, because it changes how you interpret behaviour that seems to come from nowhere.

A dog who is difficult to settle in the evenings may be responding to something in the acoustic environment you cannot hear. A dog who reacts to the same spot on a walk every single day may be responding to a scent marker that refreshes regularly and means something significant in the language they speak.

Before we ask why a dog is struggling, it is worth asking what they are experiencing in the space we share with them 🐾💕

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