igns of Stress in Canines

Dogs use progressive signs of stress, which can be clustered or happen in quick succession. Their use of early stress signs can escalate if they are not heeded, resulting in high-stress signs or signs of “aggression.”

These signs are designed to avoid escalation. The gestures on the lower rungs of the ladder are subtle and may be missed. The dog may skip the lower rungs on the ladder if repeated efforts to appease are misunderstood, ignored or responded to inappropriately.

Consequently, a so-called ‘unpredictable’ aggressive response, without any obvious antecedent, may occur in any context that predicts an inescapable threat to the dog when it was entirely predictable. The dog is a social animal for whom successful appeasement behavior is highly adaptive, and it is used continually and routinely in everyday life. It is essential to realize that these gestures are simply a context and response-dependent sequence that will culminate in threatened or overt “aggression” only if all else fails.

Contrary to persistent misinformation, the gestures identified are nothing to do with a purported dominant or submissive state relative to companions. In all dogs, inappropriate social responses to appeasement behavior will result in its devaluing and the necessity, from a dog’s perspective, to move up the ladder. “Aggression” is created when appeasement behavior is chronically misunderstood and ineffective in obtaining the socially expected outcome.

Dogs without early warning signs are dangerous dogs.

igns of Stress in Canines

It’s helpful to think of these signs of stress as a ladder.

Understanding and Helping Your Dog