|
Seeing and understanding the importance of the details, CP Zander’s
Mom was able to train him and turn his life around! |
"
Generally speaking, I don't care what position a dog is in until I also know
the specifics of the body language."
Suzanne Clothier
Dog is in the
Details
One
trainer wrote: “A dog who puts its
feet on you, a dog who seems to like pinning you down in your chair with its
head on your lap is not being affectionate but rather treating you like a
member of the pack that can be pushed, stepped on, and held down. Dr. Karen Overall warns that such signs should
be read for what they are. Dominance
aggression in an overt form should come as no sudden surprise if this kind of
behavior has been observed in the past."
It
is unfortunate that this sweeping condemnation of dogs seeking contact is
fairly often heard. What’s lacking here are the details, because details
make a difference. Not all nose nudges, head in lap, climbing on you,
sleeping on your pillow, etc, means “dominance.” But how do you know the
difference?
This
strikes me as yet another problem with "labels" - they do not
accurately describe the nuances, context, interactions. In my seminars, I pose this question: "A woman is running towards you screaming
- is this good or bad?" Reflexively, many answer "Not
good!" (especially the men, for some odd reason...). I point out
it's just your grandmother who is delighted that you've finally arrived for an
overdue visit.
“A
woman is running towards you screaming and she has a knife! Is this good or bad?" Again, the
reflexive answer is "Bad!" I point out it's the same
grandmother who happened to be chopping vegetables for your favorite soup when
she heard you had arrived and dashed from the kitchen with knife in hand.
Generally speaking, I don't care what
position a dog is in until I also know the specifics of the body language:
- Body compressed
or expanded? Curving or straight?
- Flexion of joints
or no flexion? Movement with the
flexion??
- Angle of head? Angle of neck?
- Is the dog is
moving and how it is moving (speed, rhythm, amplitude)?
- All these points,
and many other bits of information, that taken together provide the
meta-message of the full communication.
Each of these interact with the other
signals to provide the total message, and a shift here or increase there or
absence of or presence of all combine to create very specific information.
I
once had a mature German Shepherd perched on my head and shoulders. Was he dominating me? Hardly! He had been knocked over by a wave at the
beach, and in his panicked response to being knocked off his feet, he climbed
the only available safe place: me. Anyone
observing the dog's body language would have known there was nothing aggressive
or challenging in his behavior.
We
all know this in our human/human interactions. A simple bit of eye contact with someone can
be inviting, challenging, flirting, warning, threatening, etc, etc, but it is
hardly covered by the label of "he made eye contact with me." Take a moment to think about the multitude of
other signals that accompany just the act of making eye contact any of the
conditions I've listed above. Someone who was flirting with you would also
be doing what? Someone who was
threatening you would be doing . . . what?
People
often mis-read or misunderstand dog language, relying instead on a crude
understanding of basic postures (the dog was leaning on me) and categorizing
them as bad or okay without any sensitivity to the gorgeous complexities of how
dogs convey, in precise detail, what they are trying to say.
Tell
me the dog leaned on you, and tell me he did so with ears laid softly back,
soft eyes, normal blink rate, normal breathing, little muscle tension, relaxed
lips, curves in his body/head/neck, flexion (often active) of the joints and
many other signals, and it's one thing (a good thing!).
Tell
me the dog leans on you with a slow or absent blink rate, with muscle tension
throughout, with altered breathing, no active flexion in his joints, etc, etc,
and then I'll say it's something else altogether. A dog could be plastered on top of you while
you're lying on the floor and be absolutely 100% friendly and affectionate (ask
me about my German Shepherd blankets!). Or
you could be in very big trouble. But
the gross posture is not the clue; the complete, detailed picture is what's
important if you want to know what's going on with that dog.
This is why I'm disturbed and puzzled
by the scales used for determining aggression by so many top professionals
& researchers.
This
from Dr. Karen Overall's aggression assessment form:
NR=no
reaction; SL=snarl/lift lip; BG=bark/growl; SB=snap/bite
What
I find incredible is that in the absence of a snarl/lip lift (the first level
response noted), bark/growl or snap/bite, the dog is rated as not aggressive! Perhaps
not overtly to the average untrained eye, but I am dismayed that top researchers
appear to be content with this rather coarse scale, instead of more accurately
ranking the very specific behaviors that long precede a growl, snarl or snap. Long before a snarl/lip lift or growl, a dog
may stiffen, hold his breath, head/neck movements may cease, and cut his eyes
towards the person. Push past that clear
warning, and yes, you'll probably encounter a snarl, growl, lip lift or worse.
Seems
to me as trainers, we are people who deliberately journey into the territory
known as Dog. Unlike casual tourists, I feel we have an obligation to become
fluent in the native language, lest we misunderstand and, without meaning to,
respond inappropriately to those we seek to understand. To become fluent requires that we never fail
to see - really, truly, accurately see - the dog before us, in all his glorious
detail and nuance.
They
say God is in the details. So is
Dog.
"Copyright © 2013 by Suzanne Clothier. Used
by permission of Suzanne Clothier. All rights reserved. For more information about
Suzanne please visit SuzanneClothier.com"
Read More Training
Tips from Suzanne Clothier: