The stress of modern society means that many of our dogs are having a negative experience. A lack of socialization, rehoming, a lack of off-lead exercise, and being left home alone for many hours at a time, mean that many of our dogs are stressed and anxious. We live in a much faster paced world than we did 50 years ago. Many of us work long hours five or six days a week, live in tiny flats in a built up city, and have access now to any breed we want as a pet regardless of what it was originally bred to do. All of these changes have placed stress on the human-dog relationship, and often, people seems to think about dogs almost as a convenience or disposable item, rather than a sentient being. All of these stresses and our own busy lifestyles mean that our dogs are more likely to exhibit problem behaviors, and we're more likely to look for a quick fix. To really ensure good dog welfare, we have to make an effort to listen to our dogs and communicate effectively, in a way that they understand. And this is positive, not just for dog welfare, but also human welfare. Rates of reported dog bite injuries in the UK are increasing, and children are the members of society most likely to be bitten by dogs. But the majority of dogs are not naturally aggressive. It is important that we understand how our dogs communicate, so that we can avoid putting them in situations where they feel like biting might be their only option. Biting is a last resort, just like a human punching another human is a last resort. So, by recognizing and understanding the behaviors that precede it, we can prevent both dog and children from being put in difficult situations. There are lots of myths surrounding what some dog behavior means. For example, a wagging tail always means a dog is happy and raised hackles means they're aggressive, but this may not be the case. Hackles start from the neck and go all along the dog's back, to the base of the tail. Raised hackles can be caused by excitement, stimulation, arousal, being startled, fear or interest. It is rare that hackles are raised in an aggressive manner, though it does happen. Some dog owners have even noticed that different areas of their dogs' hackles rise in different situations. Interpreting a wagging tail relies on observing the height of the tail, the speed of the wag, the breadth of the wag, and even which side the tail appears to wag more on. For example, tiny high-speed movements that give the impression of the tail vibrating, are signs that the dog is about to do something, usually run or fight. If the tail is held high while vibrating, it is more likely an active threat. A broad wag is friendly, saying I am not challenging or threatening you. This can also mean I'm pleased, which is the closest to the popular concept of the happiness wag, especially if the tail seems to drag the hips with it. Research has also been done now to show that when dogs feel generally positive about something or someone, their tails wag more to the right side of their rear ends. And when they have negative feelings, their tail wagging is biased to the left. The BSAVA, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, has created the ladder of aggression. This is an extremely useful aid into learning the signs that a dog usually exhibits before it ever has to reach the biting stage. If we look at the very bottom of the ladder of aggression, we can see that a dog that is ever so slightly anxious will yawn, blink, or lick its nose. These are displacement behaviors. We can often see the whites of the eyes here, too. As the anxiety level increases slightly the dog will turn its head away from the situation or object causing the anxiety. Next, it will turn its whole body away and sit or start lifting its paw. If the situation doesn't improve for the dog, it will try and walk away from it. This must always be respected. The dog is being sensible and trying to escape the stressor. If the dog is not allowed to get away, then we'll see the ears go back and often gaze averting too. This is all being done in an attempt to communicate that it is anxious. And now, as they get more anxious, we will start to see some very obvious body language changes, standing crouched, with their tail tucked under. You can see that this dog is also showing the whites of her eyes, is gaze averting, and has her ears back. Now this one confuses a lot of people, lying down, leg up, is a sign of anxiety. Look how this dog shoots up the ladder in a matter of seconds. It's anxiety level will already be high because it is at the vet's. He is using, in his mind, very obvious body language to communicate he is scared and would rather be left alone. This is not submission, which is what we used to believe. This is appeasement. This is a dog's way of saying, I don't want any trouble, please leave me alone. This dog does not want a belly rub, even though this is what it looks like. Some dogs do enjoy this. In the past, they may have made this appeasing gesture, been given a belly rub and enjoyed it, so have now learned to ask for them. But, not this dog in this situation. And now, we are getting into dangerous territory as the dog is feeling the need to have to defend itself, rather than give off appeasing signs. So we will see the dog stiffen up and stare. Next, we have the growl. The dog is now very close to having to finally bite, but it is still communicating with us. If your dog does this, don't punish it. It's telling you how it feels. Stop doing whatever it is you are doing that is making it so defensive. If a dog is punished every time it growls, it may not bother growling in the future, and go straight for the bite. Remember, the dog is not trying to dominate you or the situation, it is communicating how it feels. Next, we have the snap. Often this is enough for us to finally realize the dog was really anxious, and we should have listened sooner. But if we still don't get the message, then the dog is left with no choice but to bite. Dogs will usually use all these signals in the ladder of aggression on us, dogs, and even other species. Smaller dogs will often climb up the ladder of aggression much more quickly than bigger dogs, missing out altogether many of the signals that we usually see just before a snap or a bite, like a growl. This is because many of them have learned that there is no point. If a German Shepherd or a Doberman growls, then people will usually back straight off. But if a Chihuahua or a Yorkie do it, then we're often amused by it, and don't take it seriously saying, aw, look at you, trying to be all big and brave, but we still try and approach them. They've learned that it doesn't work to go through all the signals, and they have to escalate to the top of the ladder immediately. Now we need to learn. By recognizing what dogs need, observing these changes in body language and how they behave, we can then respond to them in an appropriate manner and help to prevent some of the problems we see in today's dogs. This will lead to an improved relationship with our dogs and hopefully reduce the number of fear-related bites that happen each year. This, in turn, will reduce the amount of dogs that end up in rescue shelters or are euthanized each year.
