# Behavioral signs of Stress....



## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

This is an excerpt from "Feeding and Training Dogs for Hard Work" (Harris Dunlap)

Peak Condition
- barks
- alert
- behaves well
- responds positively
- exhilerated
- seeks company
- eats briskly
- keen to run

Off-Training
- snarls
- remote
- misbehaves
- responds negatively
- irritable
- avoids company
- eats slowly, drinks little
- performs reluctantly

Distress
- mutes
- disassociated
- apathetic
- unresponsive
- depressed
- ignores company
- neglects food and water
- refuses to work

anyone have anything to add or comments?


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

squirts and runs when stressed


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

When distressed:

May chew on paws or legs

May hold tail down

May scratch at skin; skin may flake/itch, resembling thyroid deficiency

May vomit or exhibit othert digestive problems


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Stress- Lifting a front paw from the ground, Yawning, avoiding eye contact. Some dogs will even start grazing the grass when they get stressed.


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## Daryl Ehret (Apr 4, 2006)

don't some nonworking breeds squirt when happy/exhilerated?


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## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

ooh - that could get messy....


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## Debbie High (Jul 2, 2006)

pants excessively

shakes


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

The eyes are the mirror of the soul. Look for shifting, not wanting to fixate.

DFrost


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## Andres Martin (May 19, 2006)

Off the top stress?

Anal glands.

Too much prey work.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Greg Long (Mar 27, 2006)

David Frost said:


> The eyes are the mirror of the soul. Look for shifting, not wanting to fixate.
> 
> DFrost


Exactly,the eyes tell all.Watch for glazing or clarity of the eyes.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

So what does it mean..........eye wise.......

Cyra will stare right through me. No other dog I have owned has ever done this. She has never challenged me with any aggression though but she has a mind of her own and can be a bit defiant.

Grim opens his eyes REAL BIG when he sees his toy. You can see the whites all the way around but it is not like whale eye. He is looking straight at me. And his lids open and close a bit (fluctuate) when he is excited. Once again -it is different.

Our ESS (now gone, thank God (really - we had her for 14 years but she was not quite right)) her eyes would glaze over and she would have *rage* type fits. But that glazing was really easy to tell. We learned her triggers but she lived a VERY supervised life -- I could not in good faith rehome her and most of the time she was fine to live with.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Greg had a good discription. A dog that is stressed will not fix a stare, the eyes glaze and don't look clear. On the other hand, if you do bite work, look deep in a dog's eyes as they enjoy the bite. Open, shiny, eagar. There is a distinct difference. Stress is a symptom of fear, whether it's the unknown, too much pressure, weak nerve and the eyes, ears and posture will show it before anything else is visible. At least that's my experience.

DFrost


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## susan tuck (Mar 28, 2006)

I would add that a stressed dog also has a high pitched screechy kind of a bark.


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