Over the threshold, (in-)tolerance threshold, several names are given to designate a boundary that the dog establishes, involuntarily, with regard to what he is unable to manage emotionally.
Involuntarily
Over that, and I dare say even at its limit, the reactions denote a high emotional level. Emotions are uncontrollable physiological reactions. Doggy doesn't wake up one morning and say to himself, "Hey, today, if I see a garbage truck, I'm going to bark at it frantically, I'm going to pull at the end of my leash until my owner's shoulder is dislocated". He sees the truck, he reacts. The emotion is spontaneous.
The triggers
These are elements that provoke strong emotional reactions in dogs. They can inspire positive as well as negative emotions ; for example : the dog who sees another dog he adores and wants to reduce the distance between the two of them, the dog who sees a child running and screaming and wants to maintain or even increase the distance between the two of them.
They can come from a lack of familiarization with these elements, from an experience that the dog had, from a state of health influencing his perception of these elements, and from many other causes (sometimes combined).
The dog is likely to react to them by seeing them as much as by hearing them, or even by smelling them as well.
Learning
A high emotional state impairs cognitive skills. Doggy is then no longer as easily able to observe, to analyze what he is observing, to remember adjustments to make and how to make them.
The instability in which this “trigger” puts him makes the learning more opaque. His listening is more limited because he is mainly focused on the trigger. His attention passes through a funnel over which he has very little, if any, control.
By working under a trigger threshold – whether out of fear, excitement or frustration (the moment when he is no longer paying attention, when his body freezes, when his muscles are tense), we are able to modify the emotion, and his behaviors follow on their own because they will then no longer be fueled. The work will bear better fruit as long as it does not go beyond what he can handle emotionally.
Adjusting to the threshold
I would compare it to a traffic light : if he behaves calmly or happily and readjusts to the situation, the light is green ; if he starts to get tense, it's already at the threshold limit and the best thing is to back off to give him space and time to re-assess the situation (this may only be a few meters and seconds) ; if he is in “crisis”, unable to change strategies or communication signs, the red light has run and the best thing is to secure the situation and come back later for work.
That threshold fluctuates, which means that it can sometimes be twenty meters away from a trigger and sometimes three meters away. However, it is not because Doggy is triggered at ten or five meters that he was feeling well at nine or four meters ; this is just what I can see at this moment.
My objectives are that, depending on the underlying emotion and the function of the implemented behavior, Doggy is able to be in the presence of certain elements without them triggering strong reactions in him and that the distance can be reduced as the training goes on.
Why not confront the dog directly ?
My interest is not just in the dog's behaviors.
I move on with him, not in spite of him.
I don't want him to be on the lookout or resigned.
I want him to be able to think about his environment and make decisions (sometimes guided) that make him better to fit in serenely.
Because regularly experiencing high stress has not been proved effective in inducing strong resilience in dogs.
The more he repeats those behaviors linked to high emotions, the more likely he is to memorize and anchor them ; however, I want the opposite.
You will therefore not see any changes appear spectacularly while working with me. And yet, they happen. It is my choice to approach certain issues in this way, whether they are reactive behaviors or linked to separation anxiety.
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