This blog post is from a book I'm writing on redesigning reactivity for our beautiful dogs who have big feelings, so they can enjoy the World a little bit more.
Let's look at triggers and glimmers.
Identifying Triggers (Signs of Danger)
Triggers are things that create an emotional reaction in our dogs.
The label is given to them because they cause a cascade of emotional chemicals which quickly change the way a dog feels. When a dog feels differently, they act differently, and this is how we can identify what has triggered their response along with how they feel about the trigger.An example might be a dog is scared of other dogs and is wandering around an empty field nicely, in a relaxed way. Her body might be loose and her gait flowing freely.
Then another dog enters the field, and this triggers a fear response in her body. The first thing that happens is that her stare becomes fixated on the other dog. Her pupils will dilate, and her body will tense. Next, she will default to her own coping strategy.
If she is an overt reactor, her tail will lift higher, and she will start to bark. The closer the other dog gets, the more she will bark, simply because she will feel much more scared. The more scared she gets, the scarier she will try to become. It’s all about sending the other dog away.
If she is a default freeze reactor, she will try to leave or hide.
Her tail will go down, she might even tuck it between her back legs, and her entire body language will drop. She might try to climb up you to stay safe.
Our dogs can be scared of anything. The reason for that fear might not be that they have been harmed or traumatised by the trigger in the past. They might simply have never experienced it and therefore find it scary.
When a healthy puppy learns about the world, they see something new at the same time as feeling entirely safe. They get to observe for as long as they need to, they can tick that thing off their puppy list of scary things and move on.
If they don’t get to see many things in that way, or are rushed around their social learning becoming overwhelmed, they will probably show some kind of emotional fear towards new things later on.
Trigger Accumulation
Often called trigger stacking, the dog’s nervous system can be fine or recover fairly easily of there is one single trigger but if they pile on top of each other the dog may not be able to cope at all. This can be a source of great confusion to dog guardians because the dog might cope with one or two things but then a third thing, even if it seems exactly the same might send them over the edge into reaction and fear.
People often say that their dog was fine with the first two people then barked at the third. This is an example of what triggers stacked on top of each other look like. A nervous system that is rolling forward with every perceived danger will eventually create a survival response.
The opposite to danger is safety and that’s where glimmers come in.
Glimmers
Glimmers are little moments of safety that rebalance the body and mind into a healthier state. Like triggers, glimmers are unique to the dog and what helps one dog to feel safe might feel like danger to another. Being touched is an excellent example of this. A dog who has felt safe around humans will usually not consider touch too much of a big deal. Yet a dog who has been harmed around humans is likely to be much more worried about hands coming towards them.
Darcie for example – my tiny rescue not long arrived – is very scared of unknown dogs but completely trusts people. So when a new dog is around, she asks to be picked up.
My little puppy farm rescue, Holly, was initially completely happy around even the biggest dogs, but hands were another matter. The difference in their triggers was significant but the response in their little bodies exactly the same.
Poor little Holly got attacked by an off lead JRT a year or so after joining us. Her triggers changed in that moment. She became terrified of dogs and as the years went by, she became braver around people. She mellowed a tiny 1% around dogs eventually too – but it was a long hard road.
To better explain glimmers and how they feel I ask you to consider what makes you feel safe, connected and able to truly relax. It might be settling down for a film at home with your dog and a full belly. It could be a hug from loved ones that you really lean into, or it could be walking in the woods with the sun on your face.
Dogs will have their own glimmers which affect them in the same way. Their glimmers will help to rebalance their triggers. So if something triggers a feeling of danger for our dogs and we have awareness of their glimmer (what makes them feel safe, comfortable and connected) we can then start to reverse their journey towards their safety response of fight or flight.
Try to consider your dog's reactions as a way to tell how they feel about different things. That way you can adapt to their needs, from an informed place, providing more glimmers and much fewer triggers.
Learn more about how your dog's body guides their reactions and responses through the webinar below.
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