Identifying fear in dogs

1 March 2024

Having a dog has lots of benefits including reducing blood pressure (Allen et al,. 2002) and fewer minor illnesses (Serpell, 1991).

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However, having a dog who is reactive can cause emotions such as stress and anxiety on walks (Hart et al., 2023). People’s off lead dogs running up to their own can be a big cause of stress and overwhelm, especially when people shout “it’s okay he’s friendly” or “it’s fine he needs a good telling off!”. There is often a big misunderstanding that dogs need to be socialised and placed around lots of dogs in an attempt to get over their fear, but actually this can flood a dog with cortisol and stress.


It’s an important first step to be able to recognise stress in dogs/ or a desire not to play with other dogs. Here is a traffic light system. As with all body language, context is key so it is important to look at all body language as it does not happen in isolation (a dog can yawn because they are excited and anticipating a walk for example). Pain can cause dogs to be less tolerant and more grumpy and dogs can be very good at masking pain (they will still jump for their ball) in the same way as we may go dancing because it is fun, if we have a sore knee.


Here are some main signs that can be stress related:



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Motivation and emotion


It is important that the motivation and emotion behind a behaviour is recognised. Sometimes this can be a mixture of different emotions (some dogs may feel conflicted and want to interact but don’t have the social skills and then issues are caused with other dogs using behaviours to tell them to go away.

 

Emotion: Fear

Motivation: To get a trigger such as a dog to move away (to repel them)

Barking, lunging growling, tail tucked under - Some body language examples (this can be different for different dogs)


Emotion: Frustration

To decrease distance and get access

Barking and lunging - Some body language examples (this can be different for different dogs)


Tools and guides

 

Body language awareness


Ladder of communication by Kendal Shepherd.


Dog Decoder App by Jill Breitner.


Dog body language book by Lili Chin.

 

Recording videos


Videos of your dog on walks (with something that is not hand held – your hands will be occupied! - such as Go Pro) can be a great way of spotting body language signs.


Trigger stacking diary


You can download this diary to track behaviours on walks.


If you are concerned about your dogs behaviour then the most sensible  thing to do to keep your dog and other dogs safe is is muzzle training. There is a free guide to this here.


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by Lisa Sinnott 15 June 2026
Here is some information about aggression.
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There can be many great reasons to muzzle train every dog , just in case they ever needed it. These include: 🐾Accidents and emergencies – if a dog is in pain they can be unpredictable sore and aggressive in an attempt to protect themselves. Placing a muzzle on them without any training before hand can stress them out even more and could mean treatment is delayed. This can happen with ANY dog even if they have never shown aggressive behaviour before. 🐾Summer – As you may have seen in the news, very sadly a dog attended a tulip festival and after eating some passed away. More people will be having picnics due to the lovely weather and we don’t want a stressful and expensive vet trip if your dog eats something. 🐾A change in behaviour – a muzzle keeps your dog, people and other dogs safe. 🐾Travel – Many ferries and countries have rules that dog’s must wear muzzles. There is also a good website here , that takes you through steps. I am going to host a muzzle training workshop - you can find out more here. Adapted from the Muzzle Up Movement.
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