Understanding Reactivity Thresholds in Our Dogs

A common thought process that I encourage a lot of people to consider is what I call, “Reactivity Threshold.” This is something that I explain to many of my students with hyper, friendly, fearful, or sometimes aggressive dogs. Stay with me. Understanding how a dog functions on either side of this reactivity threshold can be essential in understanding our own dog’s reactivity and can play a pivotal role in helping us achieve our goals with our own dog. There are many variables that contribute to our dog’s reactivity, such as distance, tolerance, environment, distraction. Every dog and every situation will be unique.

Have I lost you yet? This is usually the moment I look around at a sea of blank stares. Before we go any further into how understanding our dog’s threshold can help us with training, let me start by explaining what Reactivity Threshold is. First, what does threshold mean? What is a threshold? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, threshold is,

“a : the point at which a physiological or psychological effect begins to be produced…

b : a level, point, or value above which something is true or will take place and below which it is not or will not. ”

When we think of Reactivity Threshold, it is a physiological or psychological response to a stimulus. “Reactivity” can be manifested in many ways, such as fear, aggression, anxiety, or even hyperactivity or excitement. It is not always aggression. I will further explain reactivity later. The definition also explains that there is a point or level that can be reached where crossing that point, or exceeding that level, elicits some effect, and below that point nothing will happen. Again, the effect can be physiological or psychological.

We often think of doorways when we think of thresholds, which can also be true in this sense. Think about it this way: there are three parts to a doorway. You’re either on one side of the doorway, at the doorway, or have crossed the threshold to the other side. I mentioned that Reactivity Threshold is the response to a stimulus. The response can be temperate or severe. The response can be displayed by hyperactivity (excitement) or hypervigilance (frantically looking around). The response can be fight (usually aggression) or flight (usually fear). Between our dog and every stimulus is an imaginary line. The line can be close to the stimulus or far away. On one side of that line, our dog acts normal and is responsive to us and the commands we give, but when you cross that line, or “threshold”, our dog is unable to focus or respond to commands. We call this being “over threshold” or “under threshold”.

When our dog is “under threshold”, they will act normally. This is the “green zone”. The dog will be calm and responsive to training. This is the ideal situation for our dog, and the goal for many of us is to keep our dogs “under threshold”. We might be able to achieve this most of the time, but realistically, this is not always practical. For those with reactive dogs, our goals often require us to gradually push our dog’s limits and systematically take them outside of their comfort zones. Going too far can put us in the “red zone” or, “over threshold”.

“Over threshold” gets tricky. Once the dog reaches this point, the ability to focus on the handler reduces significantly. Any further and our dog will react. What qualifies as reactivity? Mardi Richmond, CPDT-KA explains in an article in the Whole Dog Journal, “A dog’s threshold isn’t always marked by barking and lunging. When talking about ‘going over threshold,’ most people picture a dog that suddenly becomes reactive: barking, lunging and snarling. But there are many other expressions of being over threshold.” While reactivity can be barking, snarling, or growling—usually caused by fear, anxiety or uncertainty—dogs can also shut down and become stoic, and some can become hyperactive, hypervigilant, or restless. Our dogs can be reactive to people, cars, other animals, and the reactivity can be situational.

Many dogs display “leash reactivity” where they act differently on a leash than they normally do. There are two students who specifically come to mind when I think of leash reactivity. One dog is an adult Akita that shows leash reactivity during greetings when tension is applied to the leash. If the leash was loose, often the greeting would go smoothly, but if there was tension and the leash was tight, she would give a warning growl and sometimes snapped at the stranger. Another student is the personal dog of a friend. This young male has met literally hundreds of dogs off leash with no problems, but one thing we found out in class was he would react to other dogs that invaded his personal space while he was on leash. He would sometimes snarl, growl, and give a warning snap at the dog when his leash was tight. During one interaction, this dog was on a long leash and greeted another classmate, gave the dog a kiss and had no issue. My friend was frozen in her shoes.

I mentioned that a stoic response where our dog seemingly “shuts down” in response to a stimulus. This is very common. I can think of two dogs that have each started classes in the last week that would stuff themselves under their handler’s chairs, or pancake to the floor and not budge. We see this almost weekly at puppy playtime, where the pup will pin itself in the corner and show avoidance behaviors. These are also examples of being over threshold.

Being over threshold can also be triggered by over excitement. One of the most common struggles that clients bring to me is the over excitement their dog shows in the presence of another dog or people. This can be a high level of reactivity, which can include lunging while on leash, jumping, whimpering and panting. Or a low level (casual interest in the other dog; lack of focus on us). If we backed away from the distraction, we would eventually reach a point where the dog can focus and is responsive to commands. The change in distance can be a five-foot change or a 50-foot change; either way, we are back “under threshold”. The best advice I can give when our dog goes “over threshold” is to stop, and immediately create space and try to get back into the “green zone”. Distance is often the best tool we can use in this kind of situation, then we ease back into (what I call) our “working distance” (I will explain more later).

While distance is one of the easier variables to measure when it comes to our dog’s reactivity, there is another phenomenon that we also have to consider. Our dog’s tolerance during events or interactions also plays a role in reactivity. Personal space is a good example. I remember when Hezekiah was still a puppy and would pester Berkley to play. Berkley was so patient with him, but there were times where Berkley would start to show his teeth and give warning signals, and if Kai did not pick up on those signals, Berkley would give a warning snap to send a message. At this point, the threshold is not measured in distance, but it is measured in tolerance. I enjoy studying dogs that resource guard because I try to pick up on what triggers elicit what responses. Very often it has more to do with the dog’s tolerance than anything. Dogs might snap at another dog for getting too close, or maybe a child is roughhousing with the dog while the dog is trying to eat. Some dogs are super patient, others are not.

Right in between being “over threshold” or “under threshold” is what is called being “at threshold”. Being at threshold is what Ines Gaschot describes as, “the point at which the dog may go from showing no fear or anxiety to showing some awareness of the stimulus.” If we think about that imaginary line, being “at threshold” would be right on that line. This is the point where the “green zone” meets the “red zone”. This is what I call the “working distance”. Our goal is to use this area to help desensitize our dog to the stimulus and gradually work closer to the distraction. We want to progressively move the dog’s “reactivity threshold” and condition the dog to the stimulus. Sometimes these are big leaps in progress, other times they might be baby steps. But our goal is progress, not perfection.

How does all of this apply to us? How do we apply it? The best thing we can do is understand our dog and realize what is too much for him or her. Too frequently I see a dog go over threshold and the handler will continue to bellow out commands like “SIT”, “LEAVE IT”, or “STAY”. To expect the dog to cooperate at this point is to set the dog up to fail. It is unreasonable. If they have already reached the point of failure, why are we keeping them in that range and asking MORE out of them, presuming they will eventually oblige? The best thing we can do is acknowledge our dog’s limits, and work within their limits to help build their confidence and abilities around and near what distracts them.

Works Cited

Gaschot, Ines. “What Is a Threshold?” The Crossover Trainer’s Blog, 13 Dec. 2014, www.thecrossovertrainer.com/what-is-a-threshold/.

Richmond, Mardi. “5 Things to Know About A Dog’s Threshold.” Whole Dog Journal, Whole Dog Journal, 1 Apr. 2013, www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/16_4/features/across-a-threshold_20726-1.html.

“Threshold.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/threshold.