FOSTER GUIDE

When we rescue a dog, what we expect is for them to be happy. We like to think that
they get whats happening and that its all going to be okay now. We tell ourselves that
they know whats going on and that theyre going to love it.
What we think our rescue dog is thinking:
Lady, you are the best person I ever met. Im going to be such a good boy! We are going
to have the most amazing adventures together! Im just going to kiss you and be the
best dog ever. Thank you! Thank you so much. See my waggy tail? Thats how happy I
am!
What our rescue dog is most likely thinking:
Who the hell is this woman? She seems very nice. I wish shed stop looking at me. Dont
look at me. Dont touch me Dont touch me. I dont even know you!!! Shes touching
me. I dont like hands. Hands hurt. Why is she touching me? Where are we going?
Whats going on? Whats this tiny thing? Whats that noise? Whats she doing? Where
does she want me to sit? It sure smells funny in here. What the f@*&s that noise? Why
is the seat moving? OH MY GOD this thing is moving!!!! I want to get out. Can I get out?
How do I get out? Where is the door? How can I get out? Stop touching me! Stop looking
at me!
Not only do we put him in the car, we take him to a new house with new smells, new people, new
surroundings and new animals ~ all being done by someone they dont know!
The modern world is stressful to a dog. They are living in a world that does not always make sense to
them. Its akin to moving to a different country with a different language and very different customs.
Notch that discomfort up a little and you get a sense of what it must be like to live in a dogs world. If
your dog has ever barked at anything new, you may have laughed it off, because we simply dont know
what will freak our dogs out. Its common for dogs to bark at hoovers, lawnmowers and other animals.
These are fearful responses to things that dont make sense to dogs.
But barking is not the only way that we can see an animal is stressed.
Creatures feel fear and have a stress response. This we know. When something makes us feel afraid,
our bodies have surprisingly similar responses as a dogs. Adrenaline is produced. Our heart rate
increases. Our brains become less capable of making choices as our fight-or-flight response kicks in.
Once the brain says, hey I dont like this! the thalamus gives us a shot of hormones that set us off on
a very typical stress pathway. Ever tried to reason with someone whos red in the face? Ever tried to
get your dog back under control when theyre barking at a stranger? Youll know how hard it is to
overcome the stress response.

What normally happens in a dogs day is that they meet a series of stress-inducing triggers. If youve
socialized them and introduced them to these triggers when they are young, they will most probably
learn that these things are nothing to be afraid of. If you dont, youve got an uphill battle to show
them that a strange man in a hat is nothing to be afraid of. When we rescue an adult dog, we have no
idea what they have been socialized with, what is a trigger or any of their past history.
For the most part, our dogs meet an unfamiliar trigger and then they move on. They may growl, show
their teeth, snap or bark at it as they attempt to fight the trigger, or they may run away to a safe
distance and hide if they are in flight mode. Example: The other week, someone dropped a sack of
fertilizer by the side of the field. Heston did both of these things: he stood, he stared, his hackles went
up, he growled. The thing didnt move. He went a little closer and growled more in case it hadnt
heard him. Then he barked at it. It didnt care. He went closer, barked and then backed off. He did
this progressively, getting gradually closer until hed decided that it was nothing to be scared of,
barking, retreating, barking, retreating.
When we start down the stress response pathway, adrenaline is produced to help us run or fight.
Cortisol is also produced. This is important and well come back to it later. Normal responses to stress
include avoidance (not looking at it, backing off, seeking shelter) defense aggression (growling,
snapping, barking) looking for contact with humans or other animals for reassurance (hiding between
your legs, often!) seeking attention from a bonded human or animal. When dogs cant escape or
attack, you will see other behaviours too. Lip-licking, flat ears, tense faces, panting, low body
posture, seeking escape, slow movements. Theyll be reluctant to take a treat (which has implications
for positive training and counter conditioning to overcome the response). Additional behaviors listed
below
Normally, the trigger goes away and the situation returns to normal. The body stops making stress
hormones and within 70-110 minutes, most of those hormones have dissipated. The dog learns to
tolerate these small events and episodes. Cats in the garden, postal workers, teams of cyclists going
past theyre strange and unfamiliar events and your dog will have periods between them to recover.

But what we do with a shelter dog is take an unfamiliar dog and give it a short, sharp shock of
everything we know to be stressful. We take a dog who is already stressed. Even two weeks in the
shelter is enough to have long-lasting consequences on the stress hormones and body, especially if
they have been kept on their own.
Shelters are good at recognizing unnatural stress responses for dogs, but there arent often solutions
to this. Displacement activities may be evident (licking, grooming and eating stuff they shouldnt) as
well as stereotypical responses such as circling, excessive grooming, tail chasing, tail biting, excessive
drinking, fence-line running, anorexia or excessive eating (yes, dogs comfort-eat too) and dogs may
even hallucinate, chasing imaginary flies or staring into space.
But there are many dogs who do not exhibit such behaviours in kennel environments, and we may be
unaware that they are very close to the point at which they cannot control their responses or when it
all becomes too much for them. We call this point the threshold and its marked in red on the
diagram below.
When we take a dog and subject it to a range of new and stressful experiences, we stack those triggers
all together, and we are not allowing their bodies to deal with the triggers we are subjecting them to.
In one short hour, everything changes. They go from an austere environment where the majority of
dogs show some signs of stress, and we think that what we are doing is comforting and reassuring. It
isnt. We introduce them to new people. We may put them in a car, which they may never have

experienced except for a brief trip to the pound or their journey to the refuge. We take everything in
their world and turn it upside down.
And instead of being able to tolerate the stress, we dont allow sufficient time between all of the
changes, and we stack the triggers so that they build up, one on top of another.

Once they pass the red line, you are going to see exaggerated stress responses. Stares and teeth
displays or pinned ears and avoidance techniques can turn into defensive attacks. This might just be a
good old bark or grumble. They may urinate. They might give in completely, overwhelmed by fear.
They may try to run away or hide. In French, we say se sauver, which literally means they try to save
themselves.
There are lots of things you can do to avoid this situation.
When possible, visiting the refuge often to meet the dog and spending at least an hour with the dog
before you rescue them is one of those things. For dogs showing signs of an unnatural stress response
(licking or circling, bark displays) you may want to sit in with them for a couple of hours, doing
absolutely nothing until they are ready to approach you for a high-value treat. Giving them a small
amount of high-quality treats will show you that their stress levels have gone down enough to think of
moving on to the next stage. But take your time. Though the adrenaline will have dispersed, the
cortisol will not.

I was also really glad to see a lady taking the time to introduce her new dog to her car, spending a
good few minutes over a few days getting him used to being in it, then turning the engine on, and so
on. Not all dogs will need this if they have been used to getting in cars as a puppy. Im pretty sure
Heston would hop in anybodys car given the chance. Cars mean adventures to my dogs because
what happens after being the car is 99% good (except those vet trips!) But for a fearful or anxious
dog, the guidance shed received will certainly help the dog feel more comfortable.
If you have other dogs, be careful how you introduce them and take your time. See some guidelines &
recommendations below. It is much easier to take your time with proper introductions; it is more
difficult to undo a negative meeting and requires much more time than taking it slow to start with!
Avoid stacking those triggers and youll avoid pushing your dog to the limits of its tolerance. Time and calm is
your best friend. Although everyone will want to come round and say hi to your new dog, what is best is a
recovery period. Although you may want to give your new dog toys, treats and love, what they need is calm.
Perhaps the very best thing you can do is sit very quietly for a couple of hours and read a book whilst they make
some sense of their new environment. Its not exactly what you envisioned, Im sure, but itll help break up
those triggers into manageable blocks.
**This article was edited to provide a guideline for foster dogs/foster families & new adoptions. To see the
original article in its entirety: http://woofliketomeet.com/2016/03/trigger-stacking-how-we-set-our-dogs-upto-fail/

STRESS SIGNS IN DOGS

Stress is a normal part of life for any animal. For example, hunger is a form of stress that reminds us to eat, fear is a stress-related
emotion that helps us avoid potentially harmful situations. However, when we put our dogs in stressful situations that they cannot
escape, problems can occur.
Few dog owners recognize the most common signs of stress and anxiety in their dogs before it is too late. Learning to recognize
these common signals can help you prevent serious problems.
NOTE: Context is important! Your dog may yawn when they first wake up, shake off after a bath, or pant on a hot day. But if your
dog is in a new or difficult environment and you see these behaviors together, either as a group or in a sequence, and they happen
repeatedly, they are very likely an indication that your dog is experiencing stress or anxiety.

Lip and Nose Licking

This type of licking looks very different than when you feed your dog a spoonful of peanut butter and, like all of the signs, are usually
accompanied or followed by other signs of stress listed below.

Stress Yawn
This usually happens repeatedly in stressful situations, and is done with more intensity than a "sleepy" yawn

Panting
Yes, dogs pant. But if it is a cool day and your dog has not been engaging in much physical activity and is panting as if she just ran a
few miles, this is likely a sign of stress.

In this image, the dog is uncomfortable with my camera. It is a cool, November day (Thanksgiving) and we had not yet taken the
dogs out to run. You will also notice the tension in her mouth and around her eyes and her ears are pinned back and low.

When a dog showing signs of stress suddenly stops panting and closes their mouth, that's a warning! Dogs
often close their mouths shortly before they escalate to a snap or bite.

Pinned Ears
Dogs' ears vary greatly by breed. Some stand up, some hang low and some are artificially altered to achieve a specific look. But no
matter what type of ears your dog has, if they pin their ears back against their head, it could be a sign of stress.
Deveron wasn't enjoying posing for the camera and pinned his ears back to show his discomfort.

In contrast, Arrow LOVED the attention of the camera and although his ears are pinned back, you see that his eyes and mouth are
open and relaxed.

The difference in the expression of the two dogs makes it easier to see which is stress-related and which one is not. Context is
everything!

Avoidance
Avoidance can look like many things. Common types of avoidance include:

Excessive sniffing

Inattention

Looking away

Turning away

Basically, if your dog is in any way avoiding interacting with people or other dogs, he is showing you he is uncomfortable. Avoidance
is always a better choice than aggression. If your dog is avoiding interaction with anyone, human or

canine, respect that choice. Don't force your dog to interact if they don't want to.

Adam, a newly-rescued dog, avoids a hand reaching out to pet his head.

This Doberman was not enjoying the attention of these two German Shepherds and is trying to avoid interacting with them. In
addition to the lowered head and body, notice the pinned back ears.

Here, Sparky turns away from the camera (in addition to licking his nose).

Avoidance means the dog wishes to discontinue the interaction. They are letting you know in the most polite way possible that they
want you to stop what you are doing.

Shaking Of
Dogs will shake their bodies for a variety of reasons, when they are wet or when they first wake up from a nap. But stress-related
shaking off almost always follows something the dog finds unpleasant. For example, many dogs shake off right after a veterinary
exam.

Low Tail Carriage

This is easier to see in some breeds of dogs, than others, obviously. It won't be as easy to spot in a dog that has a docked tail, for
example.
Many people are familiar with the idea that a "tail between the legs" is a sign of fear. But sometimes the tail gives less obvious
signals.
Here, the base of this dog's tail is mid-range, probably the normal position for this dog.

As other dogs approach, however, the base of the tail drops. Also notice her ears and the tension around her mouth.

Other Signs
These signs don't necessarily come across in photos, but are also common signs of stress.

Low body posture

Weight shifted to back legs

Excessive shedding

Excessive whining or other vocalization

Slow or tense movement

Refusal of food (especially when normally food-motivated)

Restlessness or pacing

Inattentiveness to owner

Sweating from paws

Dilated pupils

Tension around eyes and mouth

This Rottweiler looks tense, and her ears are pinned back. She has a lot of tension around her eyes and mouth, as well.

Closed mouth, pinned ears and looking away.

This Border Collie's ears are forward, indicating it is alert to something in the environment, but the tail is low, the mouth is closed and
tense and the dog is leaning backward.

The dog is leaning backward, ears are pinned back and tail is low. Add the dog's inability to get away because it is chained, and this
is a recipe for a bite!

This dog shows signs of extreme tension around the eyes and mouth. Her mouth is closed, her ears are back and her pupils are very
dilated.

Not all dogs will exhibit all of these signs. The better you get at recognizing your dog's signs, the better you can help him avoid
situations that could cause serious problems, while working with a qualified trainer to learn how to help your dog form better
associations in stressful environments.