Walking with my children through a car park, moving between the parked cars, my daughter jumped as a dog in a car we were passing erupted into a flurry of snarl, bark and growl. Through the window we could see him loaded backward, like a coiled spring on his haunches, his tail low and wagging with his vocal explosions.
"Look at him! These people should never bring a dog like that into a public area!", my daughter was frightened, edging away from the car, "Look! He's vicious!"
I caught her arm and quietly moved her back toward him, "No, he's not vicious. He's anxious. He's scared."
"Scared? Are we looking at the same dog, Mum?"
"Apparently not. It seems you're looking at some idea of what someone else has told you...", I looked in at him and he became louder, "I'm looking at fear."
Already contained in a confined space within the car, he had nowhere to go or run if anyone were to enter or threaten his space. "Flight" was not an option, "fight" is all he had left. He had to make his threat as aggressive, as alarming as he could in the hope it would be enough to discourage any intruder and avoid the fight.
" Do you see, babe?" We looked in at him snarling, his little back against the wall furthermost from us, "The most frightened is often the noisiest. The guy with his back to the wall and nowhere to run."
Dog trainers working with military, security or police forces often measure the capability of a dog recommended to them by this first reaction upon meeting. It is requested that they enter the dog's yard or space without introduction to gauge the response.
The loudest is often not quite right for the services. It is the quiet dog that holds mind under pressure that they will take into training.
The loudest is often the most fearful.
In all animals.
Including we humans.
MHH
"Look at him! These people should never bring a dog like that into a public area!", my daughter was frightened, edging away from the car, "Look! He's vicious!"
I caught her arm and quietly moved her back toward him, "No, he's not vicious. He's anxious. He's scared."
"Scared? Are we looking at the same dog, Mum?"
"Apparently not. It seems you're looking at some idea of what someone else has told you...", I looked in at him and he became louder, "I'm looking at fear."
Already contained in a confined space within the car, he had nowhere to go or run if anyone were to enter or threaten his space. "Flight" was not an option, "fight" is all he had left. He had to make his threat as aggressive, as alarming as he could in the hope it would be enough to discourage any intruder and avoid the fight.
" Do you see, babe?" We looked in at him snarling, his little back against the wall furthermost from us, "The most frightened is often the noisiest. The guy with his back to the wall and nowhere to run."
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| Photos of "Little Holly" care of Hope For Paws animal rescue organisation www.hopeforpaws.org |
Dog trainers working with military, security or police forces often measure the capability of a dog recommended to them by this first reaction upon meeting. It is requested that they enter the dog's yard or space without introduction to gauge the response.
The loudest is often not quite right for the services. It is the quiet dog that holds mind under pressure that they will take into training.
The loudest is often the most fearful.
In all animals.
Including we humans.
MHH
