24/01/2025
Something to be aware of, especially in multi pet households.
Social Pressure in Dogs
We are all familiar with the idea of personal space, and hopefully most of us recognise that our dogs have a sense of personal space as well. But another related concept that is not so commonly discussed is social pressure. Social pressure refers to the sense of discomfort created when another animal gets too close, causing us to seek distance from that individual to increase our sense of safety. This may not always escalate to a full flight-or-fight reaction, but experiencing this invasion of space can still often be an unpleasant experience. Usually, these situations involve conspecifics or animals that have adapted to live alongside each other (such as dogs and humans) rather than animals whose presence would immediately elicit a full-blown threat response.
On a broader scale, free-living dogs provide a lens through which to examine the concept of social pressure. These dogs often demonstrate an acute sensitivity to human proximity and behaviour. For instance, Bhattacharjee & Bhadra (2020) observed declines in free-ranging dog abundance and activity levels in response to increased human foot traffic, highlighting how dogs adjust their behaviour based on changes in perceived social pressure. Free-living dogs in urban environments are often reported to be remarkably adept at navigating human-dominated spaces and adapting to human behaviours.
There is a neurobiological basis for dogs' sensitivity to social pressure. The amygdala, a region of the brain involved in threat detection, is highly sensitive to the spatial proximity of perceived threats (Faul et al., 2020). This heightened sensitivity underscores the importance of respecting a dog’s individual thresholds for tolerating social pressure.
In our interactions with pet dogs, social pressure is almost too easy to use to our advantage. It is common to see people herding their dogs into a crate, car, or specific direction by using their own body language and proximity. While effective, this practice raises some important ethical questions. Do you want the reason your dog likes their crate to be because it offers relief from social pressure? And of course there are risks involved, as if a dog is feeling trapped and unable to escape that social pressure, they feel forced to resort to a fight response.
This is not to say social pressure is necessarily a bad thing, social pressure can contribute to healthy communication between dogs and humans. However, when possible, understanding and respecting a dog’s individual tolerance for social pressure plays a role in the formation of a healthy human-dog relationship.
