05/06/2022
Behaviour serves a function. Dogs communicate using a combination of subtle and not so subtle body cues, positioning, and vocalization in the form of growling and/or barking.
Dog's do not like confrontation. Confrontation is an expensive behaviour that uses energy and increases the chance of injury.
Dogs will use behaviours, positioning, and vocalizations to help prevent, mitigate, or de-escalate a potential confrontation or perceived threat.
What we often see or label as bad behaviour or aggressive behaviour is often completely normal behaviour.
Unfortunately, It has been, and still is, common practice to punish a dog when they are displaying behaviours that are meant to communicate a warning, discomfort, pain, fear, or simply a dislike for something.
We do not get to choose what a dog perceives as a potential confrontation or threat. We can however respect that they do see it as such and help manage the environment so they feel safe and not have to behaviour in such a way. We can help them to better understand what they initially thought was a threat or that there is no real threat.
When we ignore or silence our dogs communication whether it be a lunging dog, a dog not wanting to be touched, or a dog resource guarding something. We take away their safe and healthy way of communicating with us and others. The potential outcomes of this are the following
1. The dog becomes shut down and learns there is nothing they can do and they internalize the stress and discomfort, greatly decreasing their overall welfare.
2. They escalate to more harmful ways of communicating what they need, which can lead to bites and or worse.
How does your dog communicate to you?
Picture description: bluish green writing that reads "As guardians and trainers we should not ignore or silence our dogs". To the right of the writing is a red heart with a yellow paw print interlaced. Below that is an Enriched Dog Training logo
