By Barbara Cannon
Recently, a friend and her dog stayed with me for a few days. We had big plans to go camping, but a day into our planning, several things started to go wrong. I was stressed, they were stressed, and ultimately, there was a minor meltdown. It didn’t occur to me until a few days later that I had experienced something that I tell dog owners about quite often: Trigger stacking.
A trigger is something – a sound, sight, smell – that causes an intense and emotional reaction. We, along with our dogs, respond to both internal and external triggers. Internal triggers can include memories, emotions, or physical sensations. External triggers could be smells, sights, and sounds.
Trigger stacking in dogs looks pretty much the same as it does in humans. It is the cumulative effect of multiple stressors that pushes your dog over the threshold and causes the dog to respond in undesirable ways. For example, your dog may be in a new environment where there are unfamiliar dogs, lots of unfamiliar noises, and/or people, and different routines than they are used to at home. All these changes can lead to dogs and puppies feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Some dogs adapt quickly to change, but for others who already experience some anxiety, all these changes can lead to behaviors such as repetitive barking, jumping, and even biting. For instance, trigger stacking may be the culprit when you are dealing with a dog that lunges and barks at one dog later during a walk, but not other dogs he saw before that uncomfortable incident with the delivery person. Perhaps your puppy suddenly snaps at an unknown person who is trying to engage with your dog after he has just had a scary (to him) meeting with an exuberant child.
Fortunately, humans can reflect on what troubles us, even though we may only make that discovery when we are calm. We can then communicate our discomfort to other humans if we choose. Dogs can only react in the moment. That is their way to communicate discomfort and stress. As their pet parent, we need to consider what triggers may be at play when we observe behaviors that seem to occur “out of the blue.” What is our dog or puppy trying to tell us? Where and why did this stress happen? What can we do to prevent it in the future? What are the body signals that we missed that may have let us know that our dog is stressed out? Ultimately, we want to give our dogs what we seek out when we are stressed: a calm environment and time to settle down. In the future, we want to learn to recognize our dog’s distress signals and pay attention to them by immediately giving them a time-out. We need to prevent trigger stacking by understanding our dog’s triggers, interrupting interactions, and redirecting our dogs before they are over threshold.
As I was writing this blog, I spoke with a client whose dog was overstimulated in a new environment with many of the stressors mentioned above. They asked what they needed to do for their dog in the moment. First, give your dog as much distance from the triggers as possible as soon as possible. Take your dog to a place where he can be quiet and calm, as far away from anything that might trigger your dog. If your dog is unable to focus on you or come with you as you move away, he is over threshold and needs to be gently encouraged to move with you. Keep calm yourself and remain nonchalant, acting as if nothing is wrong, and try to encourage him to move away from the trigger with you. Once your dog has started to settle, use whatever tools you have to create familiarity, such as a favorite toy. You could even try doing some training or training games that he has done before. Redirecting your dog can help lower his stress levels and focus his attention on you. As I mentioned above, know your dog’s body language, recognize your dog’s distress signals, and try to remove as many of those stressors as you can in the moment. If you are already in a strange or new environment, understand that your dog might be more sensitive to things he doesn’t understand or has previously triggered him such as other large dogs, cats, children, and certain sounds. The cumulative effect may end up stacking those triggers where your dog exhibits behaviors that you’d rather not see. It’s a good idea to plan ahead when traveling to bring some of your dog’s favorite toys or treats with you, which can help your dog stay focused on you as they settle. It can also be helpful to work on a focus cue such as WATCH ME or LOOK AT ME when you are back in a familiar environment.
For more information about body language, see Unit 3.4 in the STEP-BY-STEP PROGRAM on our website.
