Canine Communication ITP 2020 - Dogs Trust Worldwide

Canine Communication
ITP 2020

Objectives

• Define what behaviour is

• Discuss potential manifestations of fear and frustration

• Understand how to interpret common body language

What is Behaviour?

• The way an animal reacts to, or interacts with, its immediate
  environment. Some behaviours are voluntary, while others
  are involuntary physiological responses to environmental
  stimuli or stressors (Lindsay, 2005)

• To be considered “behaviour,” an action
  must be both observable and measurable

• Dogs communicate through a range of
  vocalisations plus a large repertoire of
  behaviours and body language

• Such communication indicates their general emotional state
  as well as their motivation in a particular situation

How to Interpret Behaviour

• To accurately interpret canine behaviour we must watch the
  dog’s whole body

• Whilst understanding that the context in which the behaviour is
  being shown has an impact on the emotion behind the
  behaviour

• If a dog is uncomfortable with a situation they may behave in a
  manner intended to increase distance between themselves and
  the relevant stimulus

• We are focusing on distance-increasing gestures because of
  potential risks to our safety as well as the welfare of the dog

When Are We at Risk?

• Shelters can be noisy and hectic places which can make it
  difficult for dogs to cope in certain situations

• There are three broad categories of situations in which we are
  most likely to be at risk of injury:
   • When the dog is fearful and can’t escape

   • When the dog is frustrated

   • When the dog is ‘over-excited’

*Note, this is an oversimplification for the sake of covering key points

Fear

• The critical part of this is the fact that the dog feels they have no
  means of escape

• If a dog feels worried or fearful but is
  able to move away from the source of
  the fear then they are likely to do so

• When they cannot move away, one
  option available to increase distance
  is to try and make the source of the fear
  retreat instead i.e. use aggressive behaviour, possibly a bite

Frustration

• Frustration occurs when a dog is unable to complete a desired
  behaviour

• It has been defined as “…an underlying emotional factor that
  invigorates behaviour when it is confronted with obstacles or
  deterrents blocking the attainment of some desired goal.”
  (Lyndsay, 2000)

• When a highly aroused dog is frustrated
  and unable to complete a desired
  behaviour (e.g. cannot access another
  dog because they are on lead) they
  might redirect their frustrations at
  another target

Frustration

• This can manifest as:
  •   Vocalisations
  •   Aggressive behaviour
  •   Displacement behaviour (more on this later)
  •   Redirected behaviour

Redirected Behaviour

• When behaviours performed are directed at something other
  than the stimulus eliciting the response

• In other words, if a dog can’t get to one thing that they want to
  access, they might direct their behaviour onto another

• This could be animate (person,
  another dog etc.) or inanimate
  (lead, kennel bars etc.)

• In the shelter environment we
  commonly see lead ragging and
  mouthing as redirected behaviours

Other Influences on Aggression
• Pain or illness

• Poor socialisation

• Inappropriate human body language / handling

• Lack of understanding or misinterpreting body
  language

• Inadequate environment, social or physical

• Inappropriate training methods / punishment

• Stressors / trigger stacking

Trigger Stacking

• Dogs have thresholds regarding the inhibition of behaviours

• If a dog is highly aroused they may be closer to this threshold
  and so more reactive (meaning something they would normally
  hardly react to may ‘tip them over the edge’)
   • The straw that broke the camel’s back

• In other words, they can no longer inhibit
  themselves

• This can be caused by continual exposure to
  stressful events, or multiple stimuli presented at the
  same time

Trigger stacking events
            8

            7

                          Inappropriate behaviour may occur when over threshold
            6

            5
Threshold

            4

            3

            2

            1

            0
                Feeding      Walking                 Vet visit              Dog mix   Adopter meet
                                         Possible trigger stacking events

                                                   Events

How Can We Avoid Aggression?
               By responding to early
                 signs that the dog
                 wants to increase
                     distance

Canine Ladder of Aggression

• A depiction of the gestures that a dog
  might give in response to perceived stress
  and threat, from very mild to severe social
  interaction and pressure

• It’s important to note that each dog will
  take a different ‘route’ up the ladder based
  predominantly on what they have learnt
  are the most effective gestures to increase
  distance

• If we respond appropriately to the lower
  level behaviours (appeasement gestures)
  the dog might not feel the need to escalate

Canine Ladder of Aggression

        (Shepherd, 2009)

Appeasement Gestures

• Also sometimes referred to as “calming signals”

• Their purpose seems to be to defuse potential conflict

• Some of the most common appeasement gestures we see:
   •   Yawning
   •   Lip licks
   •   Avert gaze / turn away
   •   stretching
   •   Lowering / curving body
   •   Smiling (submissive grin)
   •   Ears flattened / ears back
   •   Head low
   •   Tail dropped with tip of tail wagging

Displacement Behaviours

• Normal behaviours performed out of
  context
• Can occur when a dog is frustrated or
  conflicted
• What are some examples of these?

What Happens Next…

• …mostly depends on you!

• Appeasement gestures and displacement behaviours do not
  always mean that a dog is going to bite but they do indicate the
  first signs that the dog may be feeling uncomfortable in a situation
  and, as such, they need to be noticed and heeded

• What to do if faced with a potentially aggressive dog:
   • Remain calm, stay on your feet and back slowly away
   • NEVER adopt a confrontational approach or stare at the dog
   • NEVER scream, shout or run

*Should you crouch down to make yourself smaller to a fearful dog?

How to ‘Read’ Dog

Canine Communication

• Dogs use three main systems for
  communication:
   • Visual

   • Vocal

   • Olfactory

• We are mainly focusing on the visual
  signals as these are the easiest for us to
  learn to recognise

• It’s our job to take note of what dogs are
  telling us!

Does Breed Make a Difference?

What Should We Look For?

• Positions and movements of features
  indicating emotional state and motivation

• Appeasement gestures

• Displacement behaviours

* Entire body must be observed and read as a
whole but for ease of discussion we will look
at the individual areas of the body

Ears

• Pushed forward

• Erect

• Flicking/moving

• Flattened back

Spot the difference

Eyes

• Pupil dilation
  = sign of physiological
  arousal

• Direct eye contact
  = threat, confident

• Looking away, whale eye
  = avoidance

Eyes

• Wide, rounded

• Narrow, closed, ‘look away

• Tension in the eyebrows

Mouth and Muzzle

• Open or closed mouth?

• Tense or relaxed?

• Visible teeth? Lips pulled back?

• Shape of mouth – narrow
  and long slit vs pulled forward

Mouth and Muzzle

• Play face

• Panting

• Excessive salivation

• Not taking food

Body Posture

• Look for position of the
  dog in relation to the
  ground and speed of
  movement

Body Posture

• Look for muscle tension,

• ‘The calm before the storm’

Body Posture

• Also consider where the
  weight is held in the
  body

• Or is it shifting?

What Can You See Here?

Body Posture

• Don’t forget laying down… spot the difference:

-   An appeasement roll is also often referred to as
    a ‘submissive roll’ and can be described as a
    dog rolled over onto their side or back to avert
    conflict or demonstrate that they pose no
    threat. This appeasement roll differs from a
    more relaxed ‘belly rub’ invite in a few ways:
     o we commonly see tension throughout the
         body with one back leg (or sometimes
         both) raised and held tense,
     o the tail is often tucked,
     o ears are held back with the dog looking at
         the person or dog who is interacting with
         them. In the image above, the dog is also
         lip licking to indicate that they are feeling
         fearful or wanting to increase distance or
         diffuse social conflict.

Tail Position and Movement

• Look for tension in the tail
  and its position
   • Tucked
   • High
   • Straight
   • Tail flag

Here we see the dog
communicating they are fearful
about something ahead, or
something that might be
approaching them. The dog’s
body weight is shifted
backwards, the tail is tucked and
the ears are set back. We also
see the eyes looking towards the
perceived threat, with a
furrowed brow and closed,
tense mouth.

Tail Position and Movement

• Harder to read docked tails and certain shapes

Physiological Arousal

• Other signs of arousal:
   •   Increased breathing / panting
   •   Piloerection
   •   Pacing / not settling
   •   Sweaty paws

What Can You See Here?

What if We Don’t Listen?

• You are about to see a video that shows what can happen if we
  don’t respond appropriately to a dog’s behaviour

• What differences can you see between the dog when he is off-
  lead versus on-lead?

• What does the dog do to communicate he is uncomfortable?

• What is the final ‘straw’ that triggers the last behaviour we see?

*Warning: this video is quite graphic (there is no blood involved
though) https://youtu.be/PHLnjiISsOo

Mixed or Conflicting Emotions

• Fear and interest in the environment
   • E.g. wanting to engage with a person but also being fearful of them

• Fear and frustration
   • E.g. wanting to avoid or escape something but are prevented from
     doing so, leading to frustration

• Interest in the environment and frustration
   • E.g. wanting to engage with something but are prevented from
     doing so, leading to frustration

Fear and Interest

What About Motivations?

• Emotions and motivations are intertwined – we are motivated to
  do things by how we feel, what we do influences how we feel

      Are they wanting to gain access   Or, to avoid something they find
         to something they desire?                  aversive

          Distance decreasing                Distance increasing

• Animals are likely to be experiencing a range of motivations at
  any given time – may also see some conflicting motivations

Motivational Conflict

• Approach – avoid
  • E.g. wanting to engage with food being offered but avoid the
    person offering it

• Approach – approach
  • E.g. wanting to engage with more than one thing at once and not
    sure which to attend to, such as their handler and another dog

• Avoid – avoid
  • E.g. wanting to avoid more than one thing at once and not sure
    which to attend to, such as weighing scales and the vet

Approach – Avoid Conflict

What Can You See Here?

What Happens Next?

Please Remember…
• Look closely at the subtle body language

• Don’t push the dog beyond its threshold

• Behaviour is context specific- just because the dog was fine
  with you in the garden doesn’t mean they will be inside the
  house…….

• Set the dog up to succeed!

• Dogs do try to communicate with us, we just need to learn their
  language and not rely on them understanding all our words and
  complicated rules

Thank You!
Any Questions?