14/02/2025
With children spending more time at home with their four-legged friends during half term, it's important to be able to recognise the signs of stress in dogs 🚦
Kendal Shepherd's Canine Ladder of Communication is a useful guide, showing the different signals dogs show through their body language to communicate. As a dog gets more upset, their body language may change according to the steps on the ladder ⚠️
The quicker you notice the early signs of stress, the sooner you'll be able to remove your dog from the situation that is causing them stress and avoid them reaching the top of the ladder.
It’s important to note that context is KEY! Think about the situation that your dog is in to try and understand the signs. For example, if they're at home and relaxed as normal, an exposed belly is very different to a stiffened exposed belly in an unfamiliar environment. All dogs are different - not every dog will show every action on the ladder and they might not follow the same order.
Find out more here: https://pdsa.me/n2qx
[Visual description: Infographic showcasing signs of stress in dogs. The image features a ladder with a traffic light system of paw prints coloured green, yellow, orange and red. Red is at the top of the ladder and green is at the bottom. Next to the ladder is a list of actions a dog might present, starting with green (deemed as calm) and eventually reaching red (signalling stress).]
