-
Body Language
Case Discussion:
2-year-old female Maltese, with the family since 6 months old (parents, a 12-year-old boy, a 6-year-old girl, and a helper).
When we arrived today, the kids had just come home and the dog greeted everyone happily. A moment later, when the boy squatted down to pet or carry her, she suddenly yelped (we didn’t see what triggered it).
Right after that, she showed clear fear signs—trembling, ears back, crouching, and she ran into her playpen to hide, still shaking. She wouldn’t take treats as she seemed too overwhelmed.
The helper took her for a short walk, which she enjoyed, but she was triggered by dogs barking. When she returned home, she started taking treats again, though less enthusiastically.
Later, the boy carried her (video attached). The dog showed visible stress: whale eyes, stiff body, head turning away when he tried to hug her. She also avoided the dad when he walked past.
Background: 2 days prior, she was chased by monkeys and stray dogs but the family escaped unharmed. She appeared fine afterwards—still playing and cuddling as usual. She’s also currently on heat.
Question:
How would you advise the family that she’s not comfortable being petted or carried right now, especially by the kids, and that she needs space? Any insights on how to guide them through this period?
-
5 Replies
-
Hi Patrick,
First, chased by monkeys!? ???? Where are you, again? That’s not something we’d experience here in the US, usually. lol
Thanks for the videos. I agree. Poor little Biscuit is not comfortable at all in the child’s lap. I would teach body language. You can share photos or videos of other dogs to teach basic stress signals, then ask the parents to observe their dog, in various situations. On the walk, her expression is very different than in the child’s lap. Ask them “what do you see?” If they can’t see it, then compare the videos you have and point it out frame by frame.
Watching Biscuit walk is informative too. To my eye, her gait seems off in her hind end. Has she had a vet check for rear end pain?
-
Hello @catherine ,
It’s on an island of Singapore.
Could the gait cause Biscuit to sit this way at times?
-
Hi Patrick.
Yes. It may be a tad tricky to chat with the owners about this while staying “in your lane” since you are not a veterinarian, but you can point out signs of discomfort, different body positions and odd gait. Between us, you can look at her overall conformation and note that her joints are not supporting her body well. Discomfort and pain can cause escalating signs of “leave me alone”. … which, with children in the home can be even more risky. Since this dog is only 2 years old, it’s imperative that they get some support for her joint health and mitigate risks to the kids.
If you want to “nerd out” on the topic of anatomy and functional movement, there’s none better than Chris Zink. Here’s one article with some illustrations: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.559055/full
frontiersin.org
Frontiers | Working Dog Structure: Evaluation and Relationship to Function
Working dogs help to keep society and individuals safe, secure, and healthy. To perform their varied functions, it is critical to select dogs that are struct...
-
-
@catherine Thank you for your supporting links.
-
@pkoh I’m happy to help, it’s why we are here! Please keep us posted on Biscuit’s progress.
-
Log in to reply.