A threshold is simply a point you cross where something changes. A doorway threshold marks the shift from one space to another. A behavior threshold marks the shift from “I can handle this” to “I can’t anymore.”
For animals, that shift is internal rather than physical. Before the threshold, a dog or cat can think, choose, and respond to cues. After the threshold, stress takes over, and behavior becomes reflexive, defensive, or frantic.
Animals over threshold cannot access learned behaviors and cannot make good decisions. We shouldn’t expect them to.
Why Can’t They Eat? Understanding the Stress Response
Think about a time you were extremely stressed, maybe before a big presentation or during a crisis. Could you eat? Probably not. When the sympathetic nervous system takes over (the fight-or-flight response), digestion shuts down. Blood flow redirects to muscles for escape or defense. The body prioritizes survival over everything else, including eating.
The same thing happens to our dogs. An inability to take food is a physiological response to stress, but it’s a late-stage one. Your dog went over threshold well before they stopped eating. By the time food refusal happens, the sympathetic nervous system has already taken control.
The Three Zones: Recognizing Where Your Dog Is
Under Threshold: The Learning Zone
When your dog is under threshold, they’re in their optimal learning state. Your dog does not react to the sight of a stimulus and is either noticeably comfortable or has a neutral response. This is where real training happens.
Key indicators:
- Soft, relaxed facial expression and loose body posture
- Able to make eye contact with you
- Responds readily to their name or cues
- Shows interest in treats or toys
At Threshold: The Warning Zone
This is where subtle stress signals appear, and where many people miss the signs. By the time your dog refuses food, they’ve already crossed the threshold. The warning signs come much earlier:
- Displacement behaviors like yawning, stretching, or lip licking
- Beginning to watch or avoid the stimulus
- Sniffing the ground or looking away
- Mouth closing suddenly
- Brief hesitation or slowing down
These early signals are your cue to adjust before your dog tips over into overwhelm. Most reactive outbursts don’t come out of nowhere. We simply missed the earlier, subtler signs.
Over Threshold: The Reactive Zone
When emotions hijack the thinking brain and the sympathetic nervous system takes control:
- Active avoidance or attempts to flee
- Fixed staring that’s difficult to interrupt
- Barking, growling, lunging, or other defensive displays
- Unable to respond to known cues
- Refusing food (but remember: this is a late-stage physiological sign. They went over threshold before this point)
A dog who is over threshold loses his mind and can’t think or respond to known cues. Their body is in survival mode.
What Affects Thresholds?
Thresholds aren’t fixed. They fluctuate based on:
Distance: How close is your dog to the trigger?
Duration: How long has your dog been exposed?
Distractions: How many things are happening at once? Multiple mild stressors can stack up, significantly lowering your dog’s threshold.
Training Below Threshold: The Key to Success
The fundamental principle: teach new skills when your dog is under threshold, then gradually increase difficulty only when they’re consistently successful.
The goal is to recognize your dog’s stress point and stay under it so they can be successful. If you push to see if they can handle it, you’re practicing losing control rather than maintaining calm. Perfect practice makes perfect performance.
Watch for Leash Tension
If you’ve had a reactive dog, you may tighten the leash without realizing it. Leash tension communicates stress to your dog and can trigger the very reaction you’re trying to prevent. If you notice yourself tensing up, that’s your signal to cheerfully create more distance.
The Power of Going Slow
Each time your dog goes over threshold, they’re practicing the very behavior you want to eliminate. Slow is fast when it comes to helping a dog feel safe or maintain self-control.
Instead:
- Move closer only when your dog is consistently relaxed
- End sessions while your dog is still feeling good
- If stress signals appear (before food refusal!), increase distance
- Build confidence through repeated success
Practical Example
Consider a dog who becomes excitable around children. Start at a distance where the dog can observe children calmly, even if that’s 50 feet away. At this distance, pair the sight of children with treats or play.
Only when the dog consistently remains relaxed (soft face, taking treats easily, can look at you) do you gradually decrease distance. If displacement behaviors appear like yawning, lip licking, or slowing down, you’ve moved too fast. Increase distance again and continue building positive associations.
By the time your dog refuses food, they’re already over threshold.
Learning to read the earlier, subtler stress signals and respecting them is essential for:
- Effective, humane training
- Preventing reactive or fearful responses
- Building confidence and trust
- Creating lasting behavior change
Animals over threshold cannot learn, cannot think clearly, and cannot make good choices. Our job is to keep them feeling safe enough that they never have to cross that line.
Looking to work on threshold issues with your dog? Consider consulting with a certified professional trainer who uses least intrusive, minimally aversive (LIMA) methods.
