In another series of dog-friendly training secrets for enlightened dog lovers - Chief Cheery Officer (CCO) Kiyo recommends that we pay lots of attention to understanding if a dog is stressed. Theres good and bad stress. Good stress prompts a dog to continue learning, bad stress causes a dog to shut down, or it reacts to get out of the situation. Just because a dog is still and seems obedient, it doesnt mean that its comfortable. So read the signs carefully.
An important part of being a good dog owner is being able to read how our dog is responding to us or to being in a certain situation. That means that we need to be able to identify our dog’s stress signals – they tell us if our dog is still enjoying itself, it’s merely tolerating what’s happening, or it has had enough. Here are 8 common situations that may cause your dog to be stressed, and could turn into bad moments, if nothing is done to help your dog.
Dog Stress Alert #1: Turning Away
In this photo, the girl appears to be gently restraining the dog. But the dog has turned its head away and its body language suggests that it’s trying to move away from the girl. The dog is merely tolerating being held – turning its head away is a stress signal, which has been ignored.
 |
| Photo from Dreamstime |
Dog Stress Signal Alert #2: Yawn
We love to hug our dogs, but do they really enjoy being hugged? Often they don’t, at least not right from the start. With positive, reward-based, force-free training methods, we can gradually help our canine buddies be more comfortable about being hugged. In this photo, the dog is displaying at least 2 stress signals – its head is turned away, and it’s stress yawning. Again, the dog is just tolerating being hugged – it’s not enjoying itself at this moment.
 |
| Photo from Dreamstime |
Dog Stress Signal Alert #3: Closed Mouth
We go “ah” at photos like this one, but watch the dog – its mouth is closed, a stress signal that communicates that the dog is merely tolerating being trapped and kissed on both sides of its face. It’s not enjoying it.
 |
| Photo from Dreamstime |
Dog Stress Signal Alert #4: Closed Mouth, Ears Pulled Back, Rounded Back