Threshold levels: Fear Freeze or Focused Curiosity?

[LauraHergott]

Hi Adrienne! I have a 13-week-old puppy (lab/shepherd/dober/rotti) that is very well-mannered and incredibly smart. From day 1, she's been either unphased or simply curious to any stimulus I introduce her to or she encounters (barking dogs outside, sirens, vacuum, food processor, bath, nail clippers etc.). But when it comes to observing cars/dogs/people/cyclists on our street, she is incredibly focused, attentive and I am worried she is over threshold. 

From our front window, she can observe the the street/sidewalk outside and is normally in what I interpret as her “attention” pose. She’s very focused on whatever she’s looking at, will track it with her eyes, and is generally pretty stiff. If she’s watching a dog or person, there may be a very subtle tail wag. As soon as I saw this reaction, I began to reward it because it is much more desirable than say barking at passing cars. She happily and easily will take treats like this, and she often gets bored or distracted by her toys after a minute or two and goes back to ignoring the window. We often do similar “observation” times on our front lawn on leash. When she’s not distracted by the sticks or ants on the ground, she’s intently watching the cars/cyclists/people/dogs. Often, she’ll put herself into a sit (loose leash) and just watch the thing go by: stiff and very focused. At first, I thought "Oh my gosh, what a polite pup just sitting and calmly observing the world." If it looks like a friendly person or dog, she will get up and try to go meet that person/dog, often with her tail wagging and it looks like she’s just being friendly. During this activity, she is often much more interested in the thing than she is with treats, but will make eye contact with me using her name or the "kiss" ~60% of the time. After reading about threshold levels, however, I am concerned her "polite behaviour" is actually a freeze response. She seems eager to be on the front lawn and observing the world (would rather be on the front lawn than in our fenced-in backyard) but I want to know if her “focused attention” sit pose is appropriate or if she is terrified. Since we live in a busy city, I wanted to introduce her to cars and passing people early so she gets used to it. Did I expose her too soon? Is her behaviour natural puppy curiosity or is she frozen in terror?

I'm sorry if this is a silly concern but as a new pup parent, I'm trying really hard to understand her "dog language" and want to set her up for success! Thank you!

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Interesting mix!

It sounds like you are doing a great job in socializing her and exposing her to everyday stimuli that she'll be likely to encounter in her life. 

If she is so focused on observing moving stimuli, such as cars, cyclists, people etc, if can be a bit of herding instinct mixed in there with her shepherd heritage. These dogs are very attracted to movement and have a strong, ingrained instinct to "herd " moving things from one area to another from an early age. These dogs get very still "giving eye'" as a way to control livestock. 

On the other hand, it could be that she's just still to evaluate the situation. Rottweilers have an instinct to take a "wait and see" approach. My Rotties would pant and then close their mouth and get very still upon seeing people approaching our property, carefully evaluating what to expect/do. If they realized the people were strangers, they would bark/whine and grab our attention, if they recognized them as friends, after a moment of stillness, they would shortly right after go into greeting mode with their rear ends wiggling happily. 

In any case, it's good that you are able to redirect her. If this happens often by the window and she is responsive to you already, you can do some "look at that" exercises every now and then: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

and then carry over that training outdoors on the porch.

If as she develops, she starts to obsess about the window or engages in barking, it may help to prevent access to the window area (or use window film/blinds) when not doing training. This to prevent a habit from establishing, which can happen often with working breeds who find a hobby of barking when they are just a bit bored and have nothing better to do. 

I doubt this would be freeze from sheer terror as a dog in that state won't typically take treats and the body language would show fear (tucked tail, ears back, shaking, whale eyes, panting, enlarged eyes etc more on this here https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/signs-fear-stress-dogs/) and you may start to see reluctance to want to go outside rather than eagerness, but just in case since I cannot personally observe this behavior and, to give the benefit of doubt, consider that by presenting these stimuli initially at a distance and giving treats every now and then helps create positive associations which can help dogs overcome their fears as long as these stimuli aren't presented at too intense levels, but rather going gradually at the pup's pace. 

There are no silly questions when it comes to our puppies and dogs. We love them very much and want the best for them!

 

 

[LauraHergott]

Thank you so much for your detailed response! I feel like your rotti "wait and see" interpretation totally hits the nail on the head. Your description of "if they recognized them as friends, after a moment of stillness, they would shortly right after go into greeting mode with their rear ends wiggling happily" is exactly what happens when a human or dog looks in her direction in a friendly way (breaks her stillness and is eager to say hello)! I'm going to follow your advice and play the "look at me" game at the window and keep these stimuli positive. Thanks again and thank you for creating such a wonderful resource for dog parents! 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome!

Happy training!