And then my blood pressure skyrocketed
As you should hopefully know by now, I run a workshop under Translating Dog. The point of this workshop is to teach people basic dog language, help them teach their dogs several commands, and work with issues they’re having, all in a one-day event.
It starts indoors with a presentation on dog language. These are two of the images I use for “stress.” (Note: a dog is showing stress any time the whites of their eyes show. “But my dog is just built that way; she always does that!” Yeeaaaah, you dog isn’t built that way; she’s always stressed. By this time it’s probably at least a mild anxiety disorder. “But my dog is always happy!” Okay, yes, you can be happy and be stressed. You can also be over excited, which looks like happiness but is very, very stressful.)
First, I use this image:
Most dogs don’t actually like hugs. They tolerate them, and of course there are exceptions, but overall hugs are something that are rewarding and reassuring for us, not them.
This newfie is tolerating this hug really well. In dog language, you can see the stress in the whites of his eyes. He’s telling whoever he’s looking at, and the room in general, that he’s stressed out. When I stumbled across this image I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly fell out of my head. Someone needs to teach this little girl not to hug dogs before she hugs the wrong one and gets bitten.
Then I came across this image, and my reaction wasn’t so calm:
As soon as I looked at this photo, I could feel my heart start to pound. My blood pressure rose. My skin got hot and prickly. My reaction to this was, “Separate them, NOW, that dog is at her breaking point!”
I really hope nothing ever happened with this dog and baby, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out the dog repeatedly snapped at the baby, and very likely eventually bit her in the face. Why?
This language is a little different. There’s the whites of the eyes saying, “I’m stressed.” But the dog is LOOKING at the baby; it’s not just “I’m stressed,” but specifically, “YOU are stressing me out.”
Now look at the way the dog is leaning away from the baby. That sort of lean away is just the same as if I lean away from a too-interested guy on the bus. “I’m not interested. I don’t want to be near you. Don’t engage with me.” But the baby’s arm reaching around might just be enough to hold the dog in place, so she can’t escape.
If I lean away from someone, and then tell them outright, “You’re stressing me out,” or, “You’re freaking me out,” and they hold me in place… what do you think my response would be? I’d act out in some way. Maybe I’d call for help. Maybe I’d jerk away. Maybe I’d shove the guy, or put a knee in his groin. This dog has already passed the point of telling everyone, “I’m stressed,” like the Newfie above. This dog is at the “act out” point. The only saving grace in this photo is that the man isn’t holding the dog in place. She still has the option to leap away, and I hope she did. As the baby starts walking, that might not be an option anymore.
Now that you know a little more about dog language, take a close look at your dog. And remember: dogs don’t tell you one thing when they mean another.
Jenna
