08/21/2026
Fight or flight are pretty well known but can you recognize the other "F" responses to fear and stress in your dog?
WHAT THE F…?
The F words of stress responses
Fight or flight are well known when it comes to fear and stress, but dogs don't always respond to something frightening or overwhelming with reactivity or running away.
Sometimes the signs are much less obvious.
Freezing, fawning, fidgeting or fooling around are also stress responses that may be seen when dogs are feeling uncomfortable, conflicted, overwhelmed or just don’t know how to cope with a situation.
FIGHT
Fight isn't necessarily about a reactive or aggressive dog. Barking, growling, lunging, snapping or biting can all be attempts to make something uncomfortable go away. From the dog's perspective, the behaviour works because "You came too close - I reacted - you backed off." - the behaviour is reinforcing / rewarding because it works.
FLIGHT
Moving away, creeping backwards, hiding, running away or attempting to escape are all ways a dog may try to create distance from something they find threatening or overwhelming.
FREEZE
Sometimes dogs respond to stress by doing nothing. Being still, stiff, not moving, not responding normally or appear to be holding their breath. Dogs that have learnt that struggling or attempting to escape doesn't change the outcome may also show signs of being shut down. That's very different from looking calm and well behaved.
FAWN
Fawning can be described as an attempt to appease, avoid conflict or try to make the interaction stop. Dogs may roll over, crouch, make themselves appear smaller or show submissive behaviours. Context always matters - A dog rolling onto their back doesn’t mean they’re stressed.
FIDGET / FOOL AROUND
This one can be easy to miss. Some dogs respond to stress or conflict with behaviour that looks completely unrelated to the situation. Sudden intense play, jumping up, mouthing, frantic sniffing, zooming around, acting silly, displacement behaviour - actions that seem out of context or irrelevant to the situation are often triggered by stress or conflicting emotions.
Stress responses are individual and may change depending on the situation. The earlier we recognise stress, the more opportunity we have to intervene.
