Ball and tug are great ways to capture some of the desire to make prey that we’ve been talking about, and, in the sense that making prey ultimately leads to resolved stress, it also leads to a relaxed dog.

However (and maybe this wasn’t clear, so I’ll probably focus a post - a briefer post - on it) gentle touch, massage, and breathwork (your own) are amazing tools for getting your dog to relax. Also, motion can be good - sort of like “shaking out the tension” for a professional dancer/athlete. For example, if you were to sense tension building in the dog/cat moments at the vet’s office, you might take a break to walk around outside, sniff around, etc. - then head back into the vets office. It’s just a way to dissipate the physical tension, and perhaps you were already doing that. And food - yes, food definitely counts as a “relaxer”.

Indoor environments are invariably more emotionally “tense” than outdoor environments - if there’s any action going on indoors its amplified quite a bit more than if it were to be happening in a field somewhere.

I’m sure you’re looking forward to the end of Stevie’s treatment!

If you think of him as a hummingbird, then, following the natural dog philosophy, perhaps you should think of yourself as a really tasty wildflower?