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Anxiety, Fear & Stress terms
Fearful and anxious dogs: separation anxiety, thunder and fireworks fear, noise, stress and calming advice.
Aversive Anything a dog wants to avoid, from a leash pop or shock to a loud noise, when used to change behavior. Classical conditioning Learning that links two events so that a dog reacts to a signal in the same way it reacts to what the signal predicts. Desensitization and counter-conditioning A training plan that exposes a dog to a fear trigger at a level it can handle while pairing it with something good, to change how the dog feels. Fear period A stage, often described around 8 to 11 weeks and again in adolescence, when a young dog may react strongly to things it once ignored. Habituation A dog's learned reduction of its reaction to something harmless that is met again and again without consequence. Leash reactivity Barking, lunging or growling at other dogs or people when on a leash, often from fear or frustration at being unable to move freely. Noise phobia An intense, lasting fear of sudden or loud sounds such as thunder, fireworks or gunshots, shown by trembling, hiding or panic. Reactivity A dog's exaggerated reaction, such as barking, lunging or freezing, to a trigger like other dogs, people or noises. Separation anxiety Real distress shown by a dog when left alone or away from a particular person, such as howling, destruction, pacing or house soiling. Stress signals Small changes in behavior, such as panting without heat, yawning, shaking off or a tucked tail, that show a dog is uneasy. Threshold The point at which a dog goes from noticing something to reacting to it, often described as a distance or an intensity. Trigger stacking Several stressful events building up in a short time so that a dog that would normally cope reacts strongly to a small extra trigger. Whale eye A look in which a dog turns its head away but keeps its eyes on something, showing a crescent of white, and is often uneasy.