Safe and Sound Protocol - For Our Furry Friends
Do you have a dog with auditory sensitivities? Do you feel like you’ve tried everything to help your furry friend feel less anxious?
Let’s see if Safe and Sound Protocol could offer some help.
What is the Safe and Sound Protocol?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an acoustic intervention of highly specialized filtered music that stimulates the vagus nerve through the middle ear muscle. It is based on Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory and 40 years of research regarding the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and auditory sensitivities, and social emotional processes. Dr. Porges created the SSP to help people with auditory sensitivities. It’s been in public use since 2017 and is now used to treat many issues associated with the nervous system.
How the SSP is delivered?
The SSP must be administered by a certified SSP provider. Upon completing an assessment, your provider, Carol, will give you access to music (through an app on your phone or tablet) and will plan a listening schedule that is convenient for you and your dog. The SSP is a powerful intervention and if used without close professional guidance from a certified provider, unnecessary adverse effects can occur.
Did you know?
The vagus nerve helps regulate most of the body functions necessary for health and emotional well-being, and when it is not functioning properly or optimally, it has an impact on how we function in our lives and relationships. Stress, trauma, and other conditions can overload our nervous system, leaving us in various states of fight/ flight/freeze, which can impact how we interact with others, our environment and how we feel about ourselves. The SSP is like a workout for your vagus nerve, giving your nervous system more flexibility and resilience.
Delivery of the SSP for dogs:
Although there is no formal research on the SSP for dogs, there are stories from experienced SSP providers who have used it with their dogs (and a few accounts of cats, a rabbit, and a blind horse). These providers are now sharing experiences like Daisy’s story as they expand the use of the SSP with others.
If you are interested in the SSP for your dog (yourself, or other pet mammal), please contact me for more information.
MEET DAISY
Daisy is a rescue from Yorkie's Inc. She was adopted in November of 2021 at the age of 8. She was extremely reactive and protective. Daisy would snap at us and bark non-stop unless she was asleep. It took about a year for her to settle and attach. We brought her to a dog trainer and he made huge strides helping us understand and respond to her behavior. She still was unable to go for leash walks or handle neighborhood noises. We do not know a lot about her history other than Daisy was crated day and night and the people she lived with went through a divorce.
She was asked not to come back to several groomers due to behaviors. We bring her to a one-on-one groomer who is experienced with anxious dogs.
How did SSP help Daisy?
These are original notes provided by Daisy’s family.
BEFORE: Reactive to any bark, motor, or abrupt sound anywhere in the neighborhood
AFTER: indifferent
BEFORE: vacuum cleaners were an invitation to bark and drool and attack
AFTER: barked a little, then recovered quickly
BEFORE: seltzer maker made her insane
AFTER: barked a bunch, then recovered quickly
BEFORE: loved to go to the dump and barked at everything she saw, including people and other cars.
AFTER: loves to go to the dump and look at stuff
BEFORE: could not bring her out in public. She would pull on her leash, not settle, and bark.
AFTER: sat quietly and looked at folks at an outdoor eatery.
BEFORE: barked torturously at anyone who came to the door
AFTER: quietly sniffed a visitor then wandered off.