In this post, we are going to look at frustration behaviours and how to meet these.
There are 2 main causes of frustration –
- loss of/restricted access to something the dog perceives as of value
Frustration is the emotional reaction when the expectation of the dog is violated, such as an absent, reduced or delayed access to something. This may be through intrusion into their personal space and/or where there are barriers to prevent autonomous control (such as being on lead or shut in a room) and/or when the dog cannot keep the resource (such as resource guarding). This can lead to redirected aggression or displacement activities (such as lead biting, barking, lunging or even self directed displacement such as self mutilation (chewing paws)..
- Use what the dog wants to access as a reinforcer. For example the puppy wants to say hi to someone – work far enough away so that the puppy responds to you – then take them over to say hi
- Use the 90/10 rule – give them access repeatedly in exchange for something e.g puppy responds to you, then goes back to what they are doing…
- Learn as much as you can about body language – you can start to stop the early warning signs that your puppy is not comfortable. Responding to these prevents ‘louder’ more obvious warning signs such as when the puppy has a ‘treasure’ such as a sock – play a lot of ‘swap’ game until the puppy doesn’t want it any more. This reduces the likelihood that the puppy will then guard it
- Find ways to give the puppy access to the resource they want in the most accessible way – ask for something very small and then give them access.
- Frustration in not meeting the basic needs of the dog
This could be where a dog is confined (in a crate or small space) which reduces choices, movement and access to resources, being on lead a lot (reducing access to other resources such as dogs, smells, greetings), being physically restrained (such as at the vets or groomers) – even when being petted and not able to move away, the removal of a valued resource (leading to guarding behaviours) or barriers which prevent social contact (being on lead, behind a fence, behind a door etc) – this include separation issues (such as separation anxiety).
There is clear research which demonstrates that dogs with poor frustration tolerance are more likely to suffer with separation problems. Dogs with poor frustration tolerance can also demonstrate increases likelihood to eat poo, self groom (to the point of mutilation), vocalising, demonstrate lower body posture, paw lifting and to suffer with repetitive behaviours. All this means your frustrated dog can be more likely to be excitable, aggressive or uncertain.
Go back and read the other posts about how to meet their needs… Do you need to make any small changes? Giving the puppy more opportunities to sniff? Walking on a long line and allowing them to make choices around direction? A range of foods/textures and opportunities to use nose/eyes to locate and eat food? A range of opportunities of places to sleep? The right kind/amount of exercise? Any small change can contribute to reduced stress and lowered frustration.
