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Three Subtle Signs That May Indicate Your Dog is Under Stress

Friday, November 12, 2021 | By: Tracy Allard

A key skill for any pet photographer is understanding canine body language and recognizing signs of stress. Some are more apparent like a tucked tail or flat ears, but others can be more subtle and an uninitiated photographer might think it's cute to capture a dog lifting a front paw, but as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer as well as a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP), I know this is a sign of stress and I would not make that image and would stop the session to help make the dog more comfortable. 

I've been training at Camp Bow Wow in Coppell, Texas for nine years now. The process to earn my training certification was more arduous than that for my photography certification (ask any CPP and they'll tell you it was hard!), and it should be, you're working with another living being. 

I'm a believer in science-based training methods that encourages a dog to think and problem solve while learning from the choices they make. There's no punishment for wrong answers. The worst that can happen is, well, nothing. No treat, no pet, no toy. That's it The dog learns as much from getting it wrong as they do from getting it right because they learn what doesn’t work. This is also known as positive reinforcement training.

Dogs are master manipulators so I use that inherent nature and strategically set up the environment in such a way that it's easy for the dog to do the behavior I want and then I add reinforcement to it. Every dog will revisit behaviors which have paid him well in the past. Whey do dogs put their butt on the floor when you make the sound "sit"? Because you give them forty seven treats in a row the day you trained it. Why do dogs counter surf? Because they scored that delicious hunk of stew beef that time. 

Positive reinforcement training should be fun for the dog, but even with no "wrong answers", some dogs may not be totally comfortable with a new person actively engaging with them, or with a particular behavior (i.e. tiny dogs are notorious for being difficult to train "lay down" in a group class environment; it can be a vulnerable position for them and with so much going on around them, they'll take a hard pass on that), so it's important to be able to recognize that and accommodate accordingly. As a dog training professional, one of the professional organizations I belong to is the Pet Professional Guild whose motto is "No pain. No force. No Fear." I extend this to my pet photography as well. We are going to create beautiful images of your dog while keeping them comfortable. Full stop. 

There are some very comment displays of stress for dogs that everyone recognizes, but here are three that you may not have know about. 

(click on any image to view full screen)

A Lip Lick, Out Of Context, Is An Indication Of Stress

What do I mean when I say something is out of context? Think about it like this; it wouldn't be surprising to see a dog lick his lips (or "lick his chops") after a meal. They do that to get every last morsel of their meal and to clean their mouth (and in my house it precedes them rubbing their face on the living room carpet - but that's another story). But licking their lips seemingly out of nowhere is out of context and is valuable information for us; it's a sign of stress.

Once we finished photographing his sister Tessa (see below), it was Case's turn. Case is friendly. VERY friendly. He loves nothing more than a good belly rub. Problem is, the new person (me) can't rub his belly from so far away and behind a camera lens. This is a problem for Case. He was stressed because he couldn't get to me. He was on a leash being held by his dog dad and couldn't get petted and loved by the fresh meat that was in his own backyard. 

In this case I decided that the allowing him to come to me for some love might be releasing the Kraken and we'd have a hard time getting any good images of him afterward. 

Sidebar for those of you that didn't get the "release the Kraken" reference. "Release the Kraken" is a catchphrase based on a memorable quote said by Zeus in the 1981 moving "Clash of the Titans" when he instructs his men to unleash the legendary squid-like sea monster. It's one of the first things I ask a client at the beginning of a session; can we use food, or a ball during the session to help get your dog's attention and keep them interested during the session? Or will that be releasing the Kraken? Meaning, will we loose them? Will they then be SO FOCUSED on the food or toy that we can't get them to do anything else? If so, then we don't want to introduce those things into the session.

Knowing how to keep an animal happy and motivated during a session is an important skill for a pet photographer, but knowing how to do that while also capturing a variety of great images is where my experience as a dog trainer sets me apart. 

So, back to Case. In this instance, having met him and seeing how much he loves people, I knew this stress was coming from his not being able to get to me. Giving him a small taste of some photographer love likely wouldn't fill his need and he'd only try harder to reach me as we continued to photograph him. I decided to delay that gratification until we were done photographing him. So when I noticed his lip licks, we stopped for a few minutes to let his pet parents give him some love and reassure him. I knew it wouldn't be a problem to get him to look at the camera afterward (some pups, when stressed, can't disconnect from their humans). That did the trick and afterward we made a number of terrific images like the one to the right. 

A lip lick is like a dog licking it's chops, only it doesn't follow a meal or snack

After some reassurance from his dad, Case turned on the charm and his megawatt smile

Yawning Is Often The First Signal Of Unease

River is Melissa's heart dog. They've been together through thick and thin and she wanted to commemorate their relationship. River gets out and about with agility training and accompanying her mom to lots of different places, but even with that background, a confident dog like River might still be a little uncomfortable with the process of a photo session. 

I thought we'd start with some beautiful headshots of this gorgeous girl and her soulful face but a couple of frames in, she started yawning. I put the camera down and suggested that Melissa - who came prepared with her training treat bag and lots of yummy treats she knew River loved - do a little training with her. Run her through some behaviors she already knew so she could build some confidence and earn reinforcement. A great way to keep a dog from getting emotional is to keep them in their thinking brain by asking them to perform behaviors. 

Once River did a few tricks, I suggested that we come back to photographing her by herself later in the session and capture the two of them together now so she could be close to her mom.  That worked like a charm. She was happy to cuddle up with mom and we made some absolutely gorgeous images of their relationship. About forty minutes later when she realized that this wasn't such a bad gig at all (lots of cuddling with mom, snacks, a nice lady who pets me whenever I walk over to her), we were able to take some beautiful images of River by herself that I know Melissa will adore. 

A yawn, out of context (i.e. the dog didn't just wake up or isn't tired), is a common sign of stress

This image says everything about Melissa and River's relationship; they're each other's rock

A Tongue Flick, Similar To A Lip Lick, Is Another Sign Of Discomfort

The picture on the left is a throw away for two reasons, the first is that it's blurry (hey, it happens to the best of us), but the second reason is the tongue flick that I captured. A tongue flick is similar to a snake's tongue darting in and out and its one of the more common signs of stress in a dog.

I was told that Tessa was a bit nervous so we decided to photograph her, and her brother Case, in their own backyard to make the process as easy for her as possible. Even with that, I'm still a stranger, sticking a big, black "eye" in their direction and making a lot of really strange noises - some they may find curious and others make them think "What the...?".

Tessa was a little nervous after the first few frames so I had her parents let her off the leash we were using to hold her in position and I called her over to where I was laying on the ground and we had a little snack fest. I always have the best treats on me during a session, so the freeze dried beef liver and tripe flowed while Tessa mauled me on the ground. We snacked, we played, we cuddled and after a few minutes we resumed the session and she was perfectly at ease and we captured adorable images the one on the right. I needed to make a positive association with me and the camera in order for her to feel comfortable with the process. 

A tongue flick is similar to a snake's tongue when it darts in and out of the dog's mouth

Beautiful Tessa after a little break (and some snacks)

All Around The Circle

The things I do to ensure that your pet is comfortable during a session is not limited to nervous or timid dogs. I'm always on the lookout for any signs of stress. Sometimes it's the shrieking children playing nearby in the park. Sometimes is the trash truck that just drove by. No matter what, my spidey senses are always on the alert for the subtle signs that your dog may not be having fun and we'll adjust things as needed until they are again. 

We're sure to learn a lot this week in the blog circle about canine body language so lets kick things off with Syracuse photographer Nancy Kieffer discusses body language your dog may portray during a portrait session and ways to alleviate your canines stress and then continue clicking on the link at the bottom of each post for more valuable information from some of the world's most talented pet photographers. When you've landed right back here, you will have completed this blog circle. 

Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography is a Certified Professional Photographer with the organization Professional Photographers of America; a designation held by fewer than 2,000 photographers nationwide and a hallmark of consistency, technical skill, artistry and professionalism. Tracy is one of less than a dozen Certified Professional Dog Trainers - Knowledge and Skills Assessed (CPDT-KSA) in the state of Texas. She prides herself on her science-based approach to dog training and behavior modification. Tracy trains at Camp Bow Wow in Coppell, TX. 

Penny Whistle specializes in both on-location and studio photography providing pet, equine, family, couples & engagement and high school senior portraits as well as corporate headshots and commercial photography services in her studio located in historic downtown Carrollton as well as on location in Coppell, Grapevine, Southlake, Flower Mound and surrounding communities in Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas.

Contact me to talk about photographing your nervous pet!
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