The Ladder of Aggression:  What every dog guardian needs to know

Do you know the subtle signals that dogs give when they are stressed?  Did you know that if you don’t help your dog, they can escalate? Here’s a great way to see how your dog’s behavior can escalate into aggression.  Think of a ladder with many steps.  Each step represents a behavior that dogs will display when they are becoming more and more anxious, stressed and fearful.  If the dog continues to reach a maximum level of stress, aggression can result.  Aggression is the top rung of the ladder.  Since all dogs are individuals, every dog has a different way that he/she responds to stress, so we need to be aware of their individual behavior clues.

How a dog reacts to stress or a threat can be represented as a series of ascending steps on a ladder.  These gestures are responses to an escalation of perceived threat only and are NOT expressions of a ‘submissive’ or ‘dominant’ state.  The choice of strategy (whether to escalate to a bite or not) will depend on the circumstances (time, target, interactions, previous experience) and on the severity of any underlying physical disease.  Pain frequently converts a ‘flight’ response to ‘fight’.  – Ladder of Aggression by Kendal Shepherd

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The behaviors on the lower rungs of the ladder (yawning, blinking, nose licking, turning head away, etc.) communicate in dog language, “I am feeling worried”, or “please calm down”.  The behaviors on the higher rungs of the ladder (growling, air snapping, biting) mean “Stop! Leave me alone right now! Go Away!”

Understanding what dogs are trying to communicate when they are stressed is how we become Conscious Companions, and prevent our dogs from moving up the Ladder of Aggression. This included our felines, too!

I would like to share something else with you:  A dog bite NEVER happens out of the blue.  Let me repeat that; a dog bite never happens out of the blue.

Why is this important to know?  Well, it means that all dog bites can be prevented if we learn to recognize the stressors and behaviors that a dog exhibits as they are becoming stressed.  Dogs will display specific behaviors (listed above in the image) well before they lunge or bite.

Make no mistake about it; it’s our job, our role, and our responsibility as their guardians to learn these behaviors and recognize these stages.  Prevention and safety begins with you!  Setting ourselves up for success is how we do this.

Set yourself and your dog up for success!  You Are Your Dog’s Advocate!

• Avoid situations that you feel might upset your dog.
• Avoid people, dogs, and places that have created any of these behaviors in your dog in the past (until you can find a qualified dog behaviorist to help you and your pup)!
• Never punish your dog for these behaviors. Remember that the behaviors listed above are how your dog is communication what he/she is feeling.  If we punish a dog for growling, the dog may learn to no longer growl … Would you rather your dog skip the growl and go right for a bite?!? Think about it.
• Understand the meaning of these gestures, and then encourage your family members and friends to be more aware of them. This will help avoid the dog’s last resort – aggression.
• Understanding why a dog feels the need to act aggressively
• Recognize the subtle signals in your dog’s body language.

Can you think of a time when your dog was stressed?  How did you respond?  

Related Material about Body Language:

• Fearful Cat Behavior Transforming Into Aggression
• Signs of anxiety and fear
• Cat Body Language – moving from relaxed to fear to aggression
• Behavior to Watch for: Signs of Stress