Deciphering Dog Body Language: Understanding Spatial Pressure

Deciphering Dog Body Language: Understanding Spatial Pressure

Dogs are physical. Sometimes we forget that. Besides barking, their primary means of communication with us and other animals is through their body language. They make themselves big. They make themselves small. They appease. They push. They raise their lips. They bear their teeth. They paw. They jump. They invade space or pull away.

This became abundantly clear to me one day when I was walking Riley and I noticed how she directed me. Yes, she was directing me, and all the time I thought I was leading the walk!

When she walked on my left she would move her body closer to me to get me to go right. She would pause, just slightly, and look left to get me to go left. She would move ahead faster hoping I’d keep up when she had somewhere she wanted to go but didn’t think that’s where I was going to lead. And all of it was communication. She was not pulling on the leash. She was using her body, eye contact, and pace – what trainers call “pressure”.

This one walk taught me so much about how she communicates and how I could use the same kind of pressure with my body, eyes, and pace to communicate with her. I felt like I finally understood what learning to work with pressure in dog training meant.

There are all kinds of pressure: eye pressure, vocal pressure, social pressure, and spacial pressure to name a few. What I described with the walk above was all physical or spacial pressure.

BASIC SPATIAL PRESSURE

She moved closer. She sped up. She slowed down. She created distance. It’s all about space. She wants us to move together (this is “pack drive” in action, which we’ll talk about in another post) and she’s using her body to not only lead the walk but keep us moving in the same direction.

Using spacial pressure like this, she creates a sense of safety and it gives her confidence. The pack moving together, seamlessly following the spacial pressure created by one another as needs and wants are communicated physically, without words, protects.

Looking at how she did this with me, I began applying the same principles on our walks.

Yes, sometimes I let her lead and follow her but there are also times that she needs to follow me, for any number of reasons. In those cases, I step closer to her to get her to turn to the left. I create space to get her to turn to the left. I slow down to get her attention so we can recalibrate. I speed up when I want her to go somewhere she may not necessarily want to go and wasn’t as cute as I thought it was.

I also listen to her. If there’s a direction she absolutely does not want to go no matter how much pressure I apply and I can’t see any reason not to go that way – I trust her instincts. I remind myself that she can hear, see, and smell things that I cannot and if she doesn’t want to go a certain direction, I pay attention. Pack drive. Safety. Confidence. She trusts me and I trust her. That’s the goal. And part of that is speaking the same language.

HEAD AND PAWS

Sometimes dogs use their head or paws to communicate and create pressure.

When Riley was a puppy, if she wanted to initiate play with a dog that was ignoring her, she would go up and put her head over their back or a paw on their back. Even though she was usually much smaller than them. I learned later this was her asserting dominance and trying to force them to do what she wanted.

Another way she would initiate play was to lay in the middle of the park on her back and flail her paws around. She was baiting the dogs into thinking she was submissive and weak. It was remarkable. They would circle her like prey and when she was ready, she would spring into the air and go after them.

She was communicating, faking them out, but communicating. “I want to play. I want to engage. And I’ll do whatever I can to get your attention.“

If she wants something from me and I’m not paying attention to her, sometimes she will put a paw (or two) on my leg or lay her head on me. She’s not being adorable and cuddly, she’s asking for my attention. If I don’t see her body language then she can’t communicate, so this is one way she gets me to look at her so she can communicate with me.

Observing this taught me that I can use my hands to communicate with her, too. I can put a hand on her shoulder or her chest to gently get her attention. If I want to get her to play and she’s not being very playful, I’ll put my hand on the middle of her back (like she would do with other dogs and her paws) or lay on my back on the floor. One of these almost always gets her attention, and always makes me laugh as I realize I’m doing to her what she used to do to other dogs.

GUARDING

Spacial pressure can also show up as guarding.

When Riley does not want another dog, person, or other animal or thing in my space, she tries to put herself between me and whatever the “intruder” is. This is spatial pressure, too. She’s putting pressure on the other person or critter to back away from me.

This is not a type of spacial pressure I allow. I won’t let her guard me like that. And we’ve worked hard on that. That’s a choice I have made about what I will and won’t allow in our relationship. This kind of pressure creates tension and anxiety and that’s not the kind of energy I want to foster.

With that said, I do “guard” her. I do this as a means of advocating for her and creating space so she can make good decisions, but also so she knows I have her back. I will step between her and strangers or other dogs. I will step in front of her when we are approaching a new object or environment and scope it out first. All of this communicates to her that I am the one guarding her and she can relax.

Note: this is an oversimplified example of guarding. If your dog has guarding behaviors, I encourage you to talk to a trainer to learn how to address these behaviors.

CONCLUSION

Oh, we humans, don’t like the idea of using pressure to train and communicate with dogs. We have this idea that it is negative, bad, or mean. But the truth is, dogs use it to communicate all day long and it’s as natural and instinctual to them as breathing.

Part of the disconnect comes in because we think that dogs should figure out how WE communicate. They should figure out OUR vocabulary. And, it’s lazy. Sure, they will figure it out over time and with repetition, but if we want to invest in our relationship with our dogs, we’ll take stock of how THEY communicate with us. Their language. And we’ll mirror it back to them to communicate with them.

Think about it this way, have you ever started a new job in an industry you weren’t familiar with and suddenly found yourself facing a whole new vocabulary, new acronyms, almost like a whole new language? It can feel like you’re an outsider, never fully understanding what is being said and not really knowing what is being expected. That’s frustrating, lonely, and stressful.

The same thing happens with our dogs. They come into our homes – a whole new set of expectations and a foreign vocabulary. Even if they lived with humans before, they have never lived with you. They don’t know how you communicate, what your words mean, your unique tones, and hand motions and physical movements. Rather than stressing them out more than necessary, isn’t it an incredible kindness to learn their language so they can begin to put things together and make sense of the world they find themselves in (particularly when that world is your life)?

So, I encourage you to put aside the negative connotations and beliefs about pressure and begin to observe them, “listen” to their body language and spatial pressure, and as you learn what they mean, begin practicing communicating back with them in similar ways. It takes time and effort, but something amazing happens when we intentionally take the time to speak someone else’s language, even when that someone else is your dog. It’s one more way you can re-imagine dog ownership and enhance your relationship with your dog.

And, as always, I encourage you to work with a trainer to help you decipher your dog’s unique communication and enhance how you communicate with them.

Education

Deciphering Dog Body Language: Hackles

What is the first thing you think when you see a dog with raised hackles?

The average person believes that raised hair on a dogs back, neck, and/or shoulders means the dog is angry, aggressive, and ready to attack. And, while this may be the case, it is not necessarily true.

Watch this short YouTube video of Riley hunting for tennis balls.

Do you notice the raised fur on her back, the place where the fur is much darker? That is her “hackles” being raised. She’s not angry or aggressive. So why are her hackles raised?

Raised hackles on dogs (technically called piloerection) happen for A LOT of different reasons. Here are some things that might cause a dog’s hackles to go up:

Excitement
Curiosity
Fear
Tentativeness/Caution
Overstimulated
Focus
Hunting
Fight or Flight
Aggression

Raised hackles don’t happen voluntarily. It is an involuntary response to stimulation caused by the dog’s sympathetic nervous system, kind of like when a person gets goosebumps.

In the video, you see Riley doing something she enjoys – she’s hunting for and finding tennis balls. It’s very stimulating for her, but ordinarily not overstimulating. What you don’t know just by watching the video is that Riley had a vet appointment a couple of days prior and it left her a little off-kilter. She was just starting to feel like herself, but wasn’t 100% back to normal.

So what do her raised hackles, in this video, communicate to me as her owner? First, because I know they aren’t normally raised when she’s hunting tennis balls, I can see she’s still very sensitive to stimulation. Knowing this allowed me to dial back what I had planned for her that day because even though she was feeling better, she still needed recovery time. Second, it tells me that she is having fun, it’s just a lot for her tired nervous system.

Here are some other times I’ve observed raised hackles on Riley, what it tells me, and what I do in response. Every dog is different so you may not notice raised hackles on your dog in the same scenarios.

AT PLAY

When Riley is playing her hackles often go up when she’s getting overstimulated or overly excited. This isn’t a bad thing and ordinarily she will take a break within a minute or two of her hackles going up, shake it off, and then re-engage or take a longer break and go chew on a stick. As her owner, I watch her when she’s at play and if I see her hackles up but she doesn’t take a break relatively quickly, then I intervene and ask her to take a break. (Literally, the command I use is “Take a break“.)

I ask for a break if she doesn’t want to take one because it’s my responsibility to keep her safe and to advocate for her and the other dog she’s playing with. It’s easy for play wrestling and chasing to go too far when one or both dogs become overstimulated. Raised hackles are an easy clue that it’s time for a break. How long the break is depends on the needs of the dog. In Riley’s case, she often just needs a quick shake – which releases tension from the body and resets the nervous system – and then she’s ready to go back. That can be as short as a few seconds. If she needs a longer break, she’ll take it. Thankfully she’s good at regulating herself that way most of the time, not all dogs are. Some dogs need support to know when it’s safe for them to re-engage.

HUNTING/CHASING SQUIRRELS

Often Riley’s hackles are raised when she’s chasing squirrels. Rarely does it happen while she’s stalking them, but it almost always happens once she begins chasing them or has them treed. The more time she spent stalking the squirrel or the more squirrels there are, the more likely her hackles will go up.

This is excitement and part of her prey drive. Raised hackles make dogs look bigger than they are, increasing the intimidation factor, which protects them while they are focused on their prey.

In this case, I don’t ask her to take a break. It’s just part of her body language when she’s chasing squirrels and I’m okay with that. She’ll shake it off when she’s ready to.

Let me clarify this a little further, there are times that I intentionally take her places where she can hunt and chase all the squirrels she wants. There are other times when we’re walking and chasing a squirrel or other small prey is not the point, her hackles up are not the first sign that she’s ready to chase but if I see anything in her body language that indicates she’s in hunting mode/prey drive during these times, I get her attention. This is part of impulse control and it’s vital.

For my purposes with Riley, I want to be able to give a command and have her transition from prey drive back to attention on me (sometimes called pack drive but also an element of handler awareness) even if she’s mid-run after a squirrel she has been actively stalking. We work on this regularly and most of the time she’s very good at it. There are still occasions where the hunter wins and she tries to take off (or does take off) but that is 1 in 1,000 times and is part of owning a dog.

NEW OBJECTS IN A FAMILIAR ENVIRONMENT

If we’re in a familiar environment and there is something out of place or something new often Riley will get rigid and her hackles will go up. Her body is saying, “There’s something here that I didn’t expect and I don’t know what it is. I need to be cautious and prepared to fight or run away.”

Depending on what the thing is, where we’re at, and what we’re doing, I let her explore it. As soon as she deems it not a threat, her hackles go down and her body softens. How quickly that happens depends on what the thing is and her state of mind before seeing it.

Let me give you an example.

A child leaves a toy in a grassy area where we frequently walk.

Most of the time Riley’s body will stiffen, she may even stop completely while she looks all around to see if there are other changes. Her hackles will rise and she’ll begin walking toward the unrecognized object in a weaving pattern, puffing out her chest making herself as big as possible. (Note the hackles and puffing of the chest are not voluntary responses. It’s a protective mechanism.) She sniffs the area near the object as she continues approaching and when she’s satisfied it’s safe, she relaxes and moves on.

I’ve seen this behavior with tools landscapers have left lying beside a building, toys, napkins, or paper bags lying on the sidewalk or parking lot, portapotties, traffic cones, etc. Once she’s ascertained there is no threat, she’s good to go.

Not every dog is skeptical or cautious about new items in their environment, but I know Riley is, and her raised hackles let me know she’s feeling uncertain. I can use this information to walk with her toward something that is scaring her to help show her that it’s safe if it’s not something she’s willing to approach on her own. Doing this increases her confidence and allows her the opportunity to safely explore new things with less stress.

NEW ENVIRONMENTS

A new environment might be a place we have never been, a place we have not been in a very long time, or a place we go often but under different circumstances. For example, if I take her to do public access training at a store when it is not busy but one day take her to that store where there is a lot of activity (maybe it’s freight day, or a sale is going on, or there are just more people than normal) it may as well be a completely new environment because so much in the environment is new or different.

Sometimes I see her hackles go up in this scenario and sometimes I don’t. It depends on how she feels about the environment and how she’s feeling generally. It’s easy to forget that dogs have off days too, and something that wouldn’t be a problem most of the time, can be an issue when they aren’t on top of their game. Raised hackles can communicate that this might be too much, depending on the rest of their body language.

In new environments, I give Riley time to acclimate. I also do a personal check-in – am I nervous, anxious, or on edge? I try to do that personal check-in before we go somewhere new because I know she feels about new environments how I feel about them and if I’m impatient, anxious, or not feeling great then I’m not going to be a good resource for her in a new space.

With that said, depending on where we are, if her body language doesn’t relax after several minutes, I won’t keep her in an overstimulated state. We’ll leave and go somewhere that she can relax and try again later. Sometimes it requires multiple exposures to an environment to get her to a place where she can navigate it calmly and I’m okay with that.

YOUR DOG

I encourage you to take some time in the coming weeks to observe your dog and take note of when you see their hackles raised. What are they doing? How do they seem to be feeling? How quickly do they shake it off and the hackles go back down? Are there environments where raised hackles happen more often than others? Are there people or dogs you see the hackles go up around? What are the people doing? What are the dogs doing? What is the rest of your dog’s body doing?

If your dog is nervous or reactive, sometimes seeing raised hackles can be a stressor because you’ve seen them so often in reactive situations. But if you start to watch you’ll likely discover early warning signs that can help you support them successfully navigate high-stress situations; which could contribute to you being more calm and present.

The more you know about your dog and how they communicate – voluntarily and involuntarily – the better you will be able to communicate with them, and the more harmony you’ll find in your relationship.

READ THE WHOLE BODY

I’m going to do more posts about deciphering dog body language because I think it’s one of the most confusing things as a dog owner and incredibly valuable. Especially when you begin learning to decipher what your dog is communicating. Just keep in mind as we go through the series, that it’s rarely one thing that tells you what your dog thinks, feels, or needs but a combination of things. Raised hackles are a piece of the communication puzzle, but their eyes, tail, head, chest, neck, the way they are walking, and even the position of their body relative to you are components that need to be understood and considered as well.

Of course, the best way to know what your dog is telling you, is through intentional observation and engagement, and that takes time.

Encouragement

This is What Love Does

Look at this face

This is the face of an angel dog; an adorable, innocent puppy who brings wiggles and joy wherever she goes.

It’s true – ish. But there is so much more.

This is the face of intelligence.

It is the face of a fighter, a survivor, the runt of the litter who made it and ran the show despite being separated from her mom at 2 or 3 weeks old.

This is the face of raw instinct. Of a puppy who has been figuring it out as she went for most of her short life because, without a mother, she didn’t have clarity, direction, or insight.

This is the face of hope. Hope for structure. Hope for freedom. Hope for love and care and provision. Hope for purpose, leadership, and guidance. Hope that she could relax for once and trust someone else to be in charge.

I cannot tell you how much I wish I saw all of that when I looked into Riley’s beautiful eyes that day. I wish I had known what it meant that she had been separated so young from her mom and what it meant to provide clear structure and boundaries for her.

Instead, she and I learned together.

Oh, I’ve made so many mistakes, and I still make them. I get clarity and then we climb higher, and tweak things and start again.

Perhaps the best thing is that she went from figuring it out on her own to figuring it out with me. Together is powerful.

Our journey has led us both through many things. I didn’t know it that day when I said “Yes” to her. All I saw was hope, faintly flickering and begging me to take hold.

Today, I look into her eyes and am overwhelmed with gratitude.

She has changed the way I see, the way I love, the way I think. Life with Riley has brought new dimensions to my relationships with other people and with God. It has been so, so hard and we’ve walked through a lot of things together (PTSD, anxiety, Sensory Processing Disorder, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, broken bones, COVID, Long COVID and more. She is a gift from God to me and our life together has been a living parable that has inspired, encouraged, challenged, and humbled me.

I want to give you glimpses into the things I’ve learned and continue to learn. To share stories that will encourage and strengthen you – not only in your relationship with your dog or dogs but in your life. There have been so many things that have been so hard, but as I write this there is no pain, no regret, no disappointment, only joy and hope.

Because of her love for me and my love for her, we have both been transformed. This is what love does. It is the beauty of this gift we call “dog ownership”.

Education

What Do Colored Bandanas Mean?

Did you know that not all dog bandanas are cute accessories? Sometimes, dog owners use them to communicate important information, and while this isn’t universally known and understood, it is very valuable information, so I want to take a moment to introduce this to you. If you see a dog wearing a solid color bandana, it never hurts to ask the owner if it means something specific.

For example, I have a cooling bandana that I use for Riley that just happens to be red – while it’s true I don’t want people approaching her without permission and instruction, the bandana is simply a cooling device. She also has other cute bandanas that she wears from time to time. They don’t “mean” anything. I also know how to advocate for Riley and have a lot of practice telling people, “No, you can’t touch my dog.” And “Please don’t approach us with your dog, child, etc.”

With that said, here’s a review of the generally understood meanings of each of the different bandana colors for dogs.

GREEN

A GREEN bandana means the dog is friendly and sociable with humans and dogs. They are likely playful and enjoy both on and off-leash interactions. They might be young and energetic.

YELLOW

A yellow bandana means approach with caution. This dog may be nervous, anxious, or fearful. They may need space or require time and care when being introduced to new people. Ask before approaching but do so from a distance, respecting what the owner may be trying to communicate with the bandana.

ORANGE

An orange bandana often means the dog is friendly toward humans but is not okay with other dogs. If you’re out with your dog and see another dog in an orange bandana, give them and their owner some space.

RED

A red bandana often means do not touch or approach the dog. Give them as much space as possible. The dog may be nervous or fearful, they may also be reactive. It’s likely, if the dog is wearing the bandana as a communication to the public, that approaching the dog might trigger a reaction. Don’t look at or talk to these dogs and don’t approach them.

While this is just good etiquette around any dog you don’t know, it’s especially important with dogs whose owners are doing everything they can to work with them while communicating their needs to the public in a non-confrontational manner.

BLUE

A blue bandana might be communicating that the dog is working or in training. Not every working dog or service dog wears a collar or vest. The blue bandana lets you know to leave the dog alone and allow them to do their work, or practice doing it.

WHITE

A white bandana can indicate that the dog has issues with hearing or sight; they may even be completely blind or deaf. Talk to the owner to find out if it’s okay to approach them, and how to do so in a way that makes it a positive experience for the dog.

PURPLE

A purple bandana may communicate that the dog has allergies or food sensitivities. Don’t offer any treats of any kind to a dog wearing a purple bandana without clearing it with the owner/handler first.

Education

Your Dog is NOT Friendly

Here’s the truth: no matter what you think about your dog, their personality, and temperament, they are not universally friendly.

Some people are afraid of dogs. Some are a little afraid and others are terrified of them. Some have obvious reasons and others have none. Some are young and some are old. When your “friendly” dog runs up to them, off leash and out of your control; they are filled with terror and dread. Your dog is not friendly to them.

Some people are allergic to dogs. They are allergic to dander, fur, and salvia. Some are mildly allergic, and some will go into anaphylaxis shock if a drop of their saliva touches their skin. Some tolerate dogs anyway because they like them and some couldn’t tolerate dogs if they wanted to. You cannot tell that by looking at them. But when your “friendly” dog runs up to them, they see a trip to the doctor or a collision with life and death coming at them full speed. Your dog is not friendly to them.

Some people are working hard to support their reactive, fearful dogs. They are out there on a walk, on a leash, doing everything they know to do to get through the walk and back home. They are just praying they make it through without a reaction. Your dog is not friendly to them. Your dog is a threat. A threat to hours, months, maybe years of hard work, and hundreds or thousands of dollars. A threat who could set them and their dog back, who knows how far. Your dog is not friendly to them.

Some people have dogs who are old, sick, or recovering from an injury. They need to keep their dog calm, moving slowly, and very deliberately. Even if their dog is not reactive or fearful a high-energy dog, no matter how supposedly friendly, can cause fear, anxiety, and even permanent damage. Your dog is not friendly to them.

And guess what? Some people simply do not like dogs. And people who just want to take a walk or jog through a public park without being accosted by an off-leash, out-of-control, dog and they have the right to do so. People out with their kids who want to pay attention to them and not to your dog. And they have the right to do so. Your dog is not friendly to any of them.

So no, your dog is not friendly. You don’t have the right to let them off leash just because there is space. You do not have the right to allow them to run up to anyone and everyone and expect them to be okay with it. Just because they are a dog, does not give you the right to trample on everyone else’s rights to enjoy public spaces without unwanted and uninvited encounters with your dog.

Instead, you have a responsibility as a dog owner to train your dog. To walk them on leash and obey the law and respect others around you. And if you want to let your dog off-leash, then you have a responsibility to train them and perfect their recall; to ensure they can control their impulses and that they will come back to you the minute you call. It is your responsibility to teach them manners and to ensure that no one who does not want to engage with your dog, for any reason, has to do so.

There is a time and a place where your life with your dog is just about you and them; but if you are taking your dog in public that mindset doesn’t work. You have a responsibility as a dog owner to consider everyone you might encounter, their dogs, and their needs not just what you want. Yes, you have to advocate for your dog but you don’t have a right to insist that everyone around you accomodate them and their presence.

I don’t like being the bearer of bad news – but it’s true. Your dog is not friendly and keeping that in mind can help you decide what you want your life to look like and what training and support they need to get there.

Education

Re-imagining the Walk

I used to hate on-leash walks with Riley.

Off leash she was great. She would stay by my side, ask permission to run after squirrels, ignore people and dogs. On leash, she was a nightmare. Pulling, lunging, reacting to every dog or person, and completely ignoring me. And it didn’t matter if she was on a short leash or a long line.

So, I avoided on leash walks whenever possible. It was simple when I lived in a house with a fenced yard and could play with her back there. I lived close to several locations where I could take her on long walks off leash with plenty of freedom and opportunities to play.

I will admit it, I took the easy way out. I didn’t think about it at the time. Walking was miserable and I had ways around it, so why do something that neither of us enjoyed when I didn’t have to? And we had other priorities in training, so I didn’t prioritize it.

Then, one day we were living in an apartment, and I didn’t have a car and we had to figure it out.

It was a lot of work.

I started out by recognizing she had no idea what “heel” meant and that I had unfair and unrealistic expectations. So, we started from scratch.

I took the time to decide what I wanted a heel to look like. I had a good picture of it in my head. And then, we practiced several times a day, every day. It was tedious and often frustrating, but we persisted and in the process I began to realize that I might be telling the wrong story about walks.

What if they could be adventures? What if they didn’t have to look a certain way? Was it possible that she and I could do something that worked for us? What if it didn’t matter what trainers on social media said a walk should look like?

These questions allowed me to set everything else aside and gave me the freedom to ask what Riley and I needed; what would bring us joy and fulfillment. And, if I could say this to every dog owner I would – it’s okay to define what you want and need in the context of your life and who you and your dog are together and do that.

Today things are different.

I don’t dread going outside with Riley. I look forward to it, and the times I don’t look forward to it, we make it short and easy.

Riley has days she’s great on leash, and days she’s reactive. She can have a good morning and then a rough afternoon, or the other way around. But now, we take it one moment, one outing at a time. I stopped expecting perfection – from both of us. I stopped expecting every walk to look the same and started letting each one be whatever we needed it to be.

This change allowed me to breathe, relax, and start to focus on our relationship instead of what I thought a walk, or anything else we did, should look like – and that changed everything.

Here’s the thing, and I’ll likely drive it home again and again on this site: You are unique. Your dog is unique. Your life is unique. And it is okay for your relationship with your dog to fit your needs and your life. Your walks don’t have to look like everyone else’s. Your playtime doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. What matters is the health and well-being of you and your dog. Sure, there are basic foundational things that are valuable but how you use those skills and apply them in your life is completely individual and there is a lot of freedom in that.

Don’t let the “influencers” on social media rob you of the joy of enjoying your dog in the context of your own life. Breathe and discover what works for you. Sometimes that takes time and a lot of trial and error but it’s worth it.

Education

Definitions: What is “Handler Awareness”?

“Handler awareness” generally refers to the amount of attention or “awareness” a dog gives to the person who is their handler – whether that is their owner, trainer, dog walker, or someone else.

For example, if I’m out with Riley, I am her “handler”. If my mom is taking her for a walk, then my mom is her ‘handler”. If she goes on an outing with a trainer, the trainer is her “handler”. Basically, whoever is responsible for guiding the dog in their environment at the time is the handler.

Awareness is not just about whether they obey or not. It’s about check-ins and general attentiveness.

Does the dog look at you periodically? Do they even acknowledge your existence? If they are headed in a direction they have not been before, do they look to you for approval or do they plunge ahead?

Handler awareness is something that can be taught and it’s primarily about communication. Does the dog trust you and rely on you for guidance and leadership in whatever environment you happen to be in at the time? If they do, they will look to you and follow your lead.

This is where most definitions of handler awareness end – the dog is aware of their handler and responsive to them.

What I have discovered is that there is another, equally important facet of handler awareness that isn’t discussed nearly enough. And that is the awareness the handler has of the dog.

Awareness goes both ways.

Why should Riley be aware of me and checking in with me, if I’m not paying attention to her? If I’m on my phone or engrossed in conversation and not attentive to what is happening with her, then I’m going to miss her check-ins, her requests for permission or direction, and other vital communications. The more of these I miss, the less valuable I become and the more disconnected she becomes.

This is something you can see clearly at a dog park.

There are dog owners there who are attentive and engaged with their dogs. They know where they are, and what they are doing, and they are providing guidance – verbal or non-verbal. They are watching and they take responsibility for their dogs’ behavior and needs.

Then there are the dog owners who check out. They get their dog inside the park and they are immediately on their phones or distracted. These people don’t know where their dog is or what they are doing until something happens that gets their attention – usually something negative.

And some people are too much. They stress their dog out. They are continually in their space, talking to them, asking things of them, and the dog has no freedom or autonomy. That’s not handler awareness, that’s anxiety. There’s a difference.

Let me give you an example of what good hander awareness might look like:

I take Riley to a field where she can safely run off-leash. I remove her leash and before running off she stops and looks at me, waiting for the go-ahead. I nod or say “free” and off she goes.

She sees a squirrel but it’s on the other side of the field, much further than I usually let her go. I know she’s tracking something because I’m paying attention to her, and I see her look at the squirrel and then look at me. I check out the environment to make sure it’s safe and give her a nod or “Go get it”. She takes off at full speed after the squirrel while I follow, paying attention to everything that her hunting drive mind can’t even see.

When she has treed the squirrel, she looks at me to see if I’m happy. Usually, I encourage her to “talk to it” and she hops around the tree, barking happily at her captive prey. Then I call her “out” and she stops and comes to me, and we walk off in some other direction to see if we can find more squirrels. I’m watching and paying attention to her and the environment, she’s periodically looking at me while she’s looking for more squirrels.

Handler awareness is important in a dog-owner relationship. It helps keep the dog safe. It keeps communication open. It helps to build confidence and trust even as it deepens relationships. It also helps a dog develop impulse control. Just that single moment of stopping to check in before allowing the impulse to chase the squirrel or go say hello to a dog or friend makes a huge difference.

The fact that I know that Riley will not just take off without checking in even when we’re running around and she’s off-leash, gives me confidence in her. The fact that I also have backup commands for those times when impulse wins in her hunting dog brain, also helps. I know that 99% of the time Riley will stop on a dime if I say, “halt” even if she is mid-run after a squirrel, and I have the backup of an e-collar for that 1% where the adrenaline is too high for her to hear anything but the pounding of her own heart and the pull of the prey drive. That is all part of handler awareness.

It’s developed over time, and it requires intentionality and focus.

If you want your dog to pay attention to you, you need to pay attention to them.

Some dogs do this readily. They are naturally keyed into their handler. Some dogs are more aloof and distant, and they have to learn handler awareness. Some dogs can do it but choose not to.

Riley has had great handler awareness with me from day one, which has been a blessing. It has improved and grown stronger as we’ve established our relationship over the last six years. And I’ve worked hard and intentionally to help her build handler awareness with people I trust; friends and my mom who walk her; the trainer who used to take her on half-day pack outings. This matters because if there’s ever a time I can’t take care of her, I want her to be reliable for whoever is helping take care of her for me.

It’s not something we often think about when we first get a dog but helping them get used to someone else walking and leading them; to someone else caring for them, feeding them, and giving them commands is important. We don’t necessarily plan to be in a position where we can’t be there but if you have your dog for 10-16 years odds are there’s going to be a time when you will board them or have a dog sitter or a dog walker.

I broke my foot and couldn’t walk her. Then I got COVID and landed in the hospital for a month. When I got home it was a long recovery. I thanked God every day that I had a support system in place that included her. That I could trust her with the people taking care of her. I knew they knew her needs and preferences and communication style and that they would take good care of her; and that she would be okay. Not just because I built the relationships but because I was intentional about developing handler awareness with people other than me, with her.

I’m not bragging. Much of it was done without really realizing what I was doing. I’m sharing because it’s much better to do things like this on purpose, and half the battle is understanding what handler awareness is.

I encourage you to start paying attention to the subtle and not-so-subtle ways your dog communicates with you, both in the home and when you’re out and about. How much attention are they giving you? Are they uber-dependent and stuck to you like glue to the point where they get anxious if you take a few steps away from them? Are they so independent that it feels like they don’t even know you’re there?

It doesn’t matter where you are, it matters that you recognize it so you can begin making changes. This is something a good trainer can help you develop.