Has your dog ever done something suddenly and without warning? A growl, snap, bite, or behaving in a way that is of character? Sudden behavior change could be the result of trigger stacking. Stacking triggers is your dog accumulating stress. All the small stressors become a big thing, and that last trigger in the stack is the equivalent of the straw that broke the camel’s back. We’re looking at stress reduction and trigger stacking prevention to help dogs have a long and happy life.

In the episode you'll hear:

  • How different triggers have different intensities for dogs.
  • That we also experience trigger stacking.
  • The way dogs can express trigger stacking.
  • Examples of triggers getting stacked for your dog.
  • About adrenaline, cortisol and over threshold dogs.
  • What to look for in your dog’s body language.
  • The things that could create trigger stacking.
  • How our dogs take on our emotions.
  • What to do when you see your dog is stressed.
  •  About stress recovery and your dog’s cortisol level.
  • How the way we train reduces stress in dogs.
  • About generalizing positive conditioned emotional responses.
  • Why to counter condition and desensitize to remove triggers.
  • That stress reduction helps dogs have a long and happy life.

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