I’ve Got Rhythm (Using Rhythmic Patterns to Help Fearful Dogs)
Fear thrives on uncertainty, chaos, and unpredictability. This is true for all living things, which, for the purposes of this blog, include dogs and people. Since this is a website about dog training, we’ll focus on dogs here, but everything I’m going to say also applies to humans (you’re welcome…)
Dogs do not have control over their environment. They don’t get to make choices like what time they go outside, where they go, what they have for dinner, who they’d like to see that day, what they’d like to do. Of course, for my wonderful clients/dog parents, you ARE giving your dog choices, but I’m talking in generalities here…
So, you’re a fearful/”reactive” dog, and every time you walk out the door of your predictable (read: safe and secure) home you worry about what might be in store. Who will be standing there when the elevator door opens? Why is that person walking toward you? What is that loud truck that comes every Monday? Is that dog across the street going to come this way? Am I going to have to meet them? Or, when you’re at home, what’s that noise outside the window? Those footsteps in the hallway? You get the idea. It’s a nightmare. Every day is stressful. That’s no way to live. So…is that it? Is there nothing we can do?
Let’s go back to that first sentence: fear thrives on uncertainty, chaos, and unpredictability. In the “real world,” we can’t control those factors. They’re part of everyday life. BUT, what we CAN control is how we process those things. And for that, we need some serious tools.
How can we ADD predictability and control to the unpredictable? My brilliant mentor, Leslie McDevitt, has written a famous 3-book series entitled “Control Unleashed,” which describes in depth the benefits of using pattern games (like up-down, 1-2-3, etc.) to bring some portable predictability into an unpredictable world. In fact, these are the basis of everything I teach my clients, and I cannot recommend those books highly enough. As I’ve worked with more and more fearful and “reactive” dogs (more properly, fearful dogs who exhibit reactive behavior), I began to notice that, in addition to patterns, RHYTHM seems to be a key component to their effectiveness.
Rhythmic repetition provides the brain with structural predictability, signaling to the hypervigilant amygdala (think of it as the brain’s alarm system or fear center, responsible for the “fight or flight” response) that the immediate environment is safe and organized. Rhythmic patterns activate the vagus nerve, which signals the brain to calm the body by triggering the parasympathetic nervous system (think of this as the brakes of your car, while the sympathetic nervous system is the gas pedal…) to lower blood pressure and generally relax.
This phenomenon is called “biomusical entrainment.” Your body slows its rhythm to synchronize with an external one (music, rhythmic patterns, etc.), allowing external rhythms to DIRECTLY alter your internal physical state. Predictable rhythms and patterns tell the brain that the environment is SAFE, and focusing on a beat or repetitive movement interrupts the anxious mental loops. The brain reasons that if the body's rhythms are slow and steady, there must be no immediate danger.
Coming at the same idea from a different angle, another phenomenon, known as “cortical grounding” explains that processing a continuous rhythm requires your brain to engage three separate areas: your sense of hearing, balance, and motor function. All this activity in those other areas of the brain shift the focus away from the emotional fear circuits, helping the prefrontal cortex to regain emotional control. This is a deeply biologically rooted response, mimicking the “mother of all continuous rhythms” (see what I did there?), the maternal heartbeat in the womb, the original source of comfort and security.
While engaged in familiar patterns, repetitive, rhythmic movement helps dogs achieve calm and focus. In the up-down pattern, for example, the rocking/linear motion is almost hypnotic. The predictability and ritualization provide normalcy in the face of an unpredictable environment, allowing your dog to be aware of what’s in the environment while also redirecting their attention. The motion aspect helps them transition out of “freezing,” and the synchronized movement increases their connection to you.
Now that you know the science, let’s put it into practice. Drummer…give me a beat!