Reward-based, fear-free dog training for pets and their people.
13/02/2025
An important concept to understand. Recognizing potential situations that can lead to trigger stacking can help prevent a dog from feeling overwhelmed and acting in a way that for some people seems "out of the blue."
Terminology Tuesday ~ Trigger Stacking 🐶
Have you ever had one of those days that nothing seems to go right? 😔
The same thing happens with our dogs when it comes to things that cause them to have reactions or moments of over excitement! 🐾
Think of it as this…
Your dog gets up after a night of your baby or toddler crying (they didn’t get enough sleep) and then the mail person startles them (which wouldn’t usually cause them to bark but today it did). Then, you take your dog for a walk and there is a dog across the street that they can usually walk by no problem. But today, they bark at them and lunge. This is trigger stacking. One thing on top of the other on top of the other until they can’t take it any longer.
The next time your dog is having a harder day with being more reactive or barking, ask yourself, what may have happened earlier in the day? Could it be trigger stacking?
Is your dog having a harder day? Take some time to give them moments of relaxation and decompression by…
1️⃣ Providing opportunities for tasty enrichment activities that promote licking and or sniffing!
2️⃣ Take your dog somewhere quiet to go for a walk rather than a busy area where many triggers may be!
3️⃣ Focus on things that bring both you and your dog joy. This could be snuggles on the couch watching your favorite TV show while your baby or toddler is napping or a quick game of fetch in the yard!
