Curiosity Daily

Puppy Anxiety Fixes and Avoiding “Back Burner” Relationships

Episode Summary

Dr. Courtney Campbell explains how to treat your puppy’s anxiety. Plus: why “back burner” relationships are unhealthy.

Episode Notes

Dr. Courtney Campbell explains how to treat your puppy’s anxiety. Plus: why “back burner” relationships are unhealthy. 

More from The Happy Puppy on DOGTV and Dr. Courtney Campbell:

Mark your calendar for PUPPY BOWL XVIII on Sunday, February 13 at 2 PM ET on Animal Planet and streaming on discovery+

Back burner relationships are bad for you by Steffie Drucker

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

Episode Transcription

CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. I’m Cody Gough. And today, you’ll learn about how to tell if your puppy is anxious — and how to fix it — with help from Dr. Courtney Campbell from DOGTV. Then, you’ll learn about why “back burner” relationships are bad for you. Ready? Me, too. Let’s satisfy some curiosity.

Dr. Courtney Campbell - DOGTV Interview

If you or someone you know got a puppy during the pandemic, then congratulations! I’m sure you’ve had a lot of fun together — at least, up til now. The thing is, you might be one of the many people who’ll be physically going back into your office soon. And that might make you wonder: how can you make sure my puppy stays happy when I go back to work? Fortunately, Dr. Courtney Campbell has some answers. He’s a Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon, Animal Lover, and host of Happy Puppy on DOGTV. And he had a lot of helpful advice for raising a puppy — or even an older dog. He told me that the best way to keep your happy puppy “happy” is by making sure he’s well-trained, well-socialized, and maybe most importantly, medically healthy. And that led me to ask him this question. 

[CLIP 4:26]

Turns out those doggie spy cams aren’t really overkill after all. Who knew? Okay, so Dr. Courtney’s show is called Happy Puppy, but a lot of people adopt older dogs, like from shelters and rescue groups. And if they’re acting up, then what do you do? I asked the million dollar question: can you, in fact, teach an old dog new tricks? 

[CLIP 2:23]

So there you go! You CAN teach an old dog new tricks! I’m still not sure if I feel super ready for a puppy, but I guess even I could learn a new trick or two — especially with help from Happy Puppy on DOGTV. DOGTV helps your dog to feel relaxed and happy, with science-led content designed just for them. And you can switch on joy with a special offer for Curiosity Daily listeners: use code PUPPIES22 to score a free month at dogtv.com. Again, Dr. Courtney Campbell is a Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon, Animal Lover, and host of Happy Puppy on DOGTV. His show is only about 60 seconds per episode, and Dr. Courtney is literally holding a cute puppy in some of them. How can you resist? Again, use code PUPPIES22 to score a free month at dogtv.com. 

Back burner relationships are bad for you by Steffie Drucker

If you’ve ever gone through a breakup, you know there’s always that moment where you wonder if you should reach out to your newly minted ex. Your supportive friends probably answered with a resounding NO! And now there’s research to back up their breakup advice.

 

Now, I get it: making a breakup stick is a lot harder in the modern age, thanks to phones and social media. It only take a few taps to “Slide back into their DMs.” And even when you try to keep your distance, algorithms put that person right back in your feed. So, it’s not surprising that lots of people keep ex-partners on the metaphorical backburner, gently stoking the failed relationship’s embers in case they want to give it another try. But a new study found that strategy rarely ends well — especially if you’re already in a new, committed relationship.

 

For the purposes of this research, a “backburner” is anyone you have a romantic or sexual interest in, whether you were formally together before or not. It could be a crush, a hookup, or an Official Ex. What matters is that there’s some interest on the stove stoker’s part, they’re not with that person now, and they hope to (re-)connect romantically someday.

 

As for how common this is: seventy-three percent of college students who were surveyed for another recent study reported having at least one back burner relationship. For this study, 246 partnered people were surveyed, and nearly two thirds admitted having at least one back burner relationship. Next, participants rated which of their back burners was most desirable and chose a label to describe that relationship, like “current crush” or “friend with benefits.” Scientists collapsed the different labels into “exes” — meaning there was a previous committed relationship — or “nonexes.”

 

Researchers say that keeping an ex as a back burner is like playing with fire. People usually keep exes as back burners due to unresolved romantic desires. Sometimes your carnal attraction to someone can get stronger post-breakup. Those who admitted to keeping exes as back burners reported greater attraction to their ex and diminished commitment to their current partner. There was also a link between their sexual activity and how much they messaged their ex. But even if things didn’t get physical, people said they felt worse the more they kept up with their ex.

 

Maintaining a back burner can clearly come back to bite you, so step away from the stove! I know Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, but maybe now is the time to follow the advice of your friends, the research, AND — maybe most importantly — the wise advice of Taylor Swift, and tell your ex-interest that “We are never, ever, ever getting back together!”

RECAP

Before I recap what we learned today, all this talk about puppies got me VERY excited for this Sunday. Because that’s when you can catch the best puppy event of the YEAR: Puppy Bowl XVIII! PUPPY BOWL celebrates pups in all their cuteness. It’ll also showcase the incredible shelters and rescues — and their staffers — who dedicate their lives to helping animals find their fur-ever loving homes. Not to mention, you’ll see more than 100 incredible puppy players sporting their TEAM RUFF and TEAM FLUFF bandanas. And you’ll see them give it their all to chase, fetch, guard, heel, and sprint to the end zone. So mark your calendar for PUPPY BOWL XVIII on Sunday, February 13 at 2 PM ET on Animal Planet and streaming on discovery+. And you can find links to learn more in today’s show notes. But speaking of puppies, right now, it’s time to recap what we learned today!

  1. If you’re a pet parent, then you should check for anxiety behaviors when you’re not around. Make sure your puppy can relax when you’re in another room, and check for destructive behaviors when you come home. If you’re gonna start being home less often, like if you’re going back to work, then start taking them for a walk in the early morning or late afternoon so they get used to that part of your routine. And when you leave, try cutting their stress by putting on a TV or the radio, or get them an anti-stress vest, or set up interactive treats. But MOST importantly, start with exercise. A dog that gets exercise will be less anxious, full stop.
  2. And you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Go back to the three “re”s: reinforce, redirect, and refer. Reinforce good behavior, like giving them a treat when they use the restroom outside; redirect bad behavior, like having them bite a toy instead of your arm; and refer them to where you want them to go, like hanging out in their dog bed instead of sitting in your lap when you’re trying to eat dinner.
  3. Back burner relationships are bad for you. People who keep their ex around have reported greater attraction to that ex and decreased commitment to their current partner. They also said they felt worse the more they kept up with their ex. Remember: it’s okay to be alone sometimes.

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CODY: The writer for today’s story about backburner relationships was Steffie Drucker. Today’s episode was produced and edited by me, Cody Gough. Curiosity Daily is distributed by Discovery.

CODY: Doesn’t matter how old you are; you can still join me again next time to learn something new in just a few minutes — maybe even a new trick? And until then, stay curious!