Identifying fear in dogs
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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