We talked first about managing your dog’s behavior so as not to practice bad habits. Next, we went over your end of the leash, how your example – your emotions, beliefs, and actions (or lack of them) affects your dog’s feelings and behavior.
In Foundations, we look at things from the dog’s perspective. How the dog’s lifestyle and environment can cause stress, anxiety or defensiveness. Addressing these things in the big picture can ease baseline stress and can often reduce reactivity noticeably across the board.
Credit for Foundations and many thanks to Jay Jack of Next Level Dogs, who presents this information in nationwide seminars as well as private sessions. He has encouraged me to share. Watch/listen to his overview of the Layered Stress Model here.
The Layered Stress Model
We’ve all experienced it – a hard day of work, traffic, bills, exhaustion… and then that “last straw” moment when you have a meltdown over something that would otherwise be fairly trivial. Dinner is burned and you freak out.
After you calm down, do you and your partner sit down and have a discussion about your problems with burnt meatloaf? Do you come up with a plan to gradually expose yourself to burnt meatloaf to improve your attitude toward it, and come up with better ways to handle it? No. You both realize that it was the stress-on-top-of-stress of the day that was the problem, and the meatloaf was just the last straw.
With many dogs, there are layers of stress in daily life that lead to meltdowns in situations that would not necessarily be a trigger on their own. This is also called trigger stacking. Focusing on a single trigger is not the solution when stress is an issue in the big picture.
Always start with The Layered Stress Model and return to it often. When things are not going right, check these things off before trying to problem solve the specific issue.
The Layered Stress Model is like a volcano. Start at the base and work your way up before focusing on the explosion. At each level, how do we address issues and improve them?
Health
Genetic baseline: Some individuals are more reactive than others. there are also specific traits that have been purposely bred into various breeds.
Pain and Discomfort: When a dog doesn’t react as expected always do a quick check before addressing the behavior. Is there an injury or illness? Has his food been changed (or should it be)? Is there a chronic condition that could be flaring up? Is the collar or other gear adjusted properly? Is the dog thirsty, hot or cold, itchy, or needs to poop?
Just a bad day: We always think of chronic or acute conditions under Health, but might the dog just be having an off day? Even dogs probably get headaches from time to time. Evaluate whether this is a teaching moment or time to take a break or leave off for the day.
Probiotics are never a bad thing. Daily probiotics can help improve a dog’s behavior by improving their gut and brain connection. Dogs with behavioral issues often have weakened intestinal flora, which can make them more susceptible to stress and anxiety. A good probiotic for dogs can help strengthen the immune system, reduce anxiety, and improve mood and behavior. It is not a cure-all, but there is no downside to supplementing as directed.
Lifestyle
Is there stress in the home? Is it a multi-dog household? Is home life chaotic? Does the dog get regular, dependable care? Does he have his own secure place to be comfortable and relax, and is that place respected by other household members, human and canine?
Second, does the dog have access to a biologically appropriate lifestyle? Lack of access to things the animal, the dog, the breed and the individual need to be happy can be a huge underlying source of stress.
- As a dog, does he get outlets to dig, bark, run, explore, sniff, play, rest, and be included as part of the family? Or to flip this, for example, if an owner has a problem with a barking dog, WHEN does the dog get to bark? You can’t say never… it’s a dog. They bark. There needs to be a daily outlet for all of the natural dog behaviors.
- As a member of a breed or mix, does he have genetic drives that he was bred to express? Not every individual of a breed will express the instincts of that breed, but many do. As owners, we need to figure out how to spin those dials and give fulfilment for genetically inherent traits.
It is a disservice not to fulfill biological drives where they exist, either in a similar activity (retrieving, herding, scentwork), or in a surrogate activity. A member of a bull breed may enjoy something as technical as weight pull or as simple as ripping up a cardboard box.
You can (and should!) combine drive fulfillment with game play – You and your dog interacting in fun play, with rules and a way to win. Game play improves relationship, engages your dog’s focus on you, motivates, and provides a meaningful reward. It helps dog learn impulse control, accept rules and boundaries, deal with frustration, and self-regulate in drive. There are so many good things that can come from play.
Clarity
Humans language and behavior is really confusing to a dog. Humans are inconsistent, use too many words or words with multiple meanings. Humans are unclear – they expect the dog to figure things out without explanation, or with unclear, inconsistent and even conflicting instructions. It is amazing that some dogs are able to decipher all this on their own and be stable, well-behaved dogs with a minimum of training and management.
For most other dogs, it is a huge source of stress. The dog is confused, unsure of how its world works, their role in it, and how their behavior can influences dependable outcomes. Inconsistency causes nerviness and bad behavior. Some become fearful, unsure in any new or potentially stressful situation. Others become pushy – in the absence of clear expectations, they will decide what behavior will be, like it or not.
Structure is a kind of clarity. Getting a on a schedule, crate training, formal training sessions, mealtime rituals, door and gate rituals, these can all help a dog feel more secure with his place in the world and that he can depend on it to make sense. Structure is a kind of clarity, but it is not the only kind.
You don’t wean a dog off something they need. As a puppy grows, it might gradually learn to not need to sleep in the crate anymore. But the puppy/dog will always need clarity: what the ground rules are in order to be allowed to sleep outside the crate. You can think of the steps a puppy might take to gradually earn that privilege and how structure is reduced as clarity on behavior expectations increases. Dogs need clarity.
In general, less structure means more freedom and a better lifestyle. To move from Management (controlling trigger exposure) to improved life skills, more freedom, and a better lifestyle, clarity is essential:
- Clarity of action: the ground rules are always the same. The rules are fair, the rules are predictable. When this happens, then this happens next, and the dog knows what his role is. Also, when the dog makes a mistake, the owner communicates “wrong answer” and shows the dog what the right answer is.
- Clarity of language: People are terrible with this. Start with a handful of cues and use them consistently. Don’t use the same word for different things, don’t use different words for the same thing. When you use a cue, always follow through (kindly) to make sure “sit happens”.
Some dogs need more clarity than others. But for all dogs, having a foundation of clarity helps them deal with new and potentially stressful situations.
The Leash (Frustration)
There are many arbitrary and unnatural things a dog must deal with in daily life. Frustration is a source of stress. The leash is a prime example. It can create a whole category of reactivity – Leash Reactivity.
First, recognize that the leash is arbitrary and unnatural to the dog and that people don’t usually teach it properly. Dogs have a faster gait and a wider personal distance than humans do. They rarely travel in a straight line from A to B, but noodle around and explore. The leash is like being hobbled. With other things that suck, like crates, muzzles, etc., people spend time conditioning the dog to it, training them, rewarding them. But they’ll just clip a leash to the dog’s collar and go. The dog has no idea what is expected, and a lot of conflict can ensue about speed, proximity and target. We should stop, forgive and help instead of getting frustrated.
Pulling is self-rewarding. It’s weird that a dog gasping and choking itself on a collar is self-rewarding, but there you go. Condition your dog to the collar or harness. Teach that yielding to pressure leads to reward, and that putting pressure on the tool means not going anywhere. Never. If you allow the dog to pull sometimes, the dog will pull whenever he feels like it. Practice clarity – give an explicit cue when an attention walk is required, give a specific release cue when the walk is finished. Be consistent. Practice.
There are other arbitrary aspects of a dog’s life that can cause frustration, conflict and stress. Examples include barrier frustration and fence fighting. Separation anxiety may also be related to frustration. It’s important to recognize the symptoms of frustration and find ways to address it.
Triggers
After going through the other layers of the Layered Stress Model, the number and intensity of triggers may be greatly reduced or eliminated altogether. Clarity alone can make things immensely better. But some triggers will probably still need to be addressed. As you start addressing the triggers directly, there are a variety of tools that will be used individually and in combination.
- You will be conditioning a happier and more relaxed emotional response
- You will be engaging in activities with your dog that are more rewarding than being reactive
- You’ll be teaching the dog what behavior is expected by default, and how to actively make better choices.
Windows (Implementing Clarity)
There are four basic states that a dog can be in at any given moment.
- Play (with me) – engaging in a fun, intrinsically enjoyable activity or game together.
- Chill – being free of specific command, but in a relaxed, neutral frame of mind. No intense or hyper behavior; think “inside manners” even if outside.
- Free Dog – Go do what you want, bark, dig, run, pee, etc. If you want to chill, that’s ok too. There are still a few rules – basically don’t be a jerk.
- Work – any obedience command. Work is something that is not necessarily intrinsically rewarding – you expect reward or at least recognition at some point. Some types of work can be rewarding – depends on the individual and how they view it.
Every window has an associated cue to let the dog know what is happening, what is expected. Each of these words is a release — into another window. I use these cues:
- Ready? Opens the Play window. Yes! means the toy is on me. Get-It means the toy is away from me. Out pauses the game (with the promise to restart). Enough ends the game by opening the Chill window.
- Enough opens the “Chill” window, relaxed liberty.
- “Free Dog” opens the Free Dog / Find your own fun window. If we are on the long line, there are still a few rules in “Free dog”.
During the play session, I might pause the game (Out) and do a command or two (Work window), then return to the Play window (“Ready?”). At the end of play, I go to the “Chill” window with the word “Enough”. This word means that Play is no longer available, and we’re settling down now.
There is a side benefit to using this framework. If you become used to being clear with the dog and regularly letting him know what is going on, your obedience will improve. Look at an obedience command as a criteria to be maintained. When you say “sit”, it doesn’t mean sit and then bounce back up and take off. It means sit until I tell you something else. When you’re used to using Windows, it becomes natural to cue sit (or stay or down or whatever) and then when you’re done, release the dog into the next window. This will automatically make your obedience more robust.
The other part of Clarity is to have consistent words to give verbal feedback:
- Yes! You did it! You got the right answer. It often implies that the current task is over and reward is coming.
- Good…. You’re on the right track but keep going.
- Unh-unh Not like that. You can pause to see if the dog knows the right answer, if not just show them.
- No. Never do that. There may be a consequence to follow.
Unh-unh means it’s not okay to do that right now (Dog was starting zoomies when he should be in the Chill zone). No means it is never okay to do that (Dog was digging in the trash).
Clarity is something we’re return to again and again. See and listen to Jay Jack’s Windows talk here
Blue Ribbon Emotions & What Play Tells You
It’s common to evaluate whether a dog is over threshold or over-stressed by whether it will or won’t take a treat. This is actually a very low criteria. Transactional food can be the fastest easiest way to reach a dog, because it doesn’t necessitate that they are not stressed or in some degree of negative emotion:
- Rage (blockage from goal)
- Fear (fear of injury)
- Panic (loss of social attachment)
At intense levels, these look like what they are. At lower, functional levels they look like frustration, a flinch, protectiveness or clinginess.
There is a hierarchy of good emotions:
- Eat
- Mate
- Affiliate (express social connection, affection)
- Play
It is a hierarchy – if a dog won’t eat, he won’t do any of the other things. Mate is not relevant to our situation, but if he is stressed enough he won’t take a treat, he won’t listen to us (affiliate), and he definitely won’t play with us at that moment. These are indicators of the dog’s state of mind.
And it is an inverse relationship (see-saw). The more willing the dog is to affiliate or play, it MUST be that he is in little or no rage/fear/panic. So play is the best indicator of a dog that is in the healthy state of mind. That is why it is so important to build your play game with your dog, be able to take it on the road, and use play as a reward. The emotional state you are creating and nurturing in play is more important that what you are doing.
The game you develop engages the dog’s senses and drives. It builds your partnership and is intrinsically enjoyable. As you build your game and practice it, old triggers become irrelevant, because the new activity is awesome. There are many, many dog sports and activities that can engage your dog’s instincts and senses. And engaging in these can provide goal and direction for you, the owner, as well as the rewards of meeting people with similar interests and earning titles and winning awards.
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References
Dive Deeper in Foundations: See Jay Jack / Next Level Dogs’ video set here
Jay Jack’s reference for Blue Ribbon Emotions is Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin, based on Jaak Panksepp’s work.