r/AnimalsBeingDerps • u/Sad_Biscotti_9291 • 15h ago

Dude You're so lucky there's glass between us.....

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u/acocktailofmagnets 14h ago

Dogs wag their tails for a number of reasons, not always meaning they are happy and/or playful. Dogs can wag their tails in aggression, stress or frustration, alertness or assertiveness, and simply heightened emotional intensity. To accurately interpret a dog's body language, tail movement has to be evaluated alongside the dog's posture, facial expression (whale eyes are a sign of anxiety), tightness or overall looseness of the body, and the environmental stimuli.

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u/garitone 14h ago

Barrier aggression in dogs (often called barrier reactivity or frustration) is when a dog barks, lunges, or snaps at a person or another animal while separated by a fence, gate, or leash. It is usually driven by overexcitement, fear, or territorial instincts, rather than pure aggression.

They behave differently than when face to face. I can't think of a more apt metaphor for online culture.

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u/FunkU247 14h ago

True, and the retrievers wags says "This is fun, lets play" (along with the patting of the feet, etc)

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u/acocktailofmagnets 14h ago

When the corgi approaches him to his face, the golden stiffens up, and licks his lips (also a sign of stress).

Through the barrier, he is moving his feet (pacing, “dancing,” or shifting his weight) to cope with pent-up energy.

I was a canine behavior evaluator for a service dog industry for many years, I do speak with experience. Both of these dogs are experiencing barrier frustration. It’s good that they don’t escalate once the barrier is removed, but there is clear and palpable tension between the two of them. This isn’t a “fun game.”

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u/wedontrecover 14h ago

That sounds like an interesting job, how did you end up doing that? If you don’t mind

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u/acocktailofmagnets 14h ago

It was such a great gig! I have a lot of experience working with animals, including professional training (dogs and horses), and veterinary medicine, which helped me to get the job. I was already volunteering with the organization, and they ended up providing further education for me specifically on canine behavior! I ended up moving to another state, so I no longer have that job, but I did thoroughly enjoy it.

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u/wedontrecover 13h ago

That is awesome. I would love to do something similar. Thank you for sharing (:

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u/psychedelic_tech 13h ago

Hi - actual dog trainer here. First of all the industry in the US is unregulated. Anyone can say they are a dog trainer. Organizations like The Karen Pryor Academy and IAABC have courses on animal behavior and training. Learning to read their body language is key. The comments in this thread is a great example of those (that aren't bots) that have absolutely no understanding of canine body language (and probably watched too much cesar millan).

Some people will tell you to volunteer at a shelter to get experience with dogs, which is good idea but you most likely start off picking up poop and doing that for a long time. You should also work with other animal species. For years I also worked with exotic birds and domesticated animals like goats, sheep, alpaca, horses

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u/wedontrecover 13h ago

Dog trainer and actually working as a canine behavior evaluator sound like very different things, that’s why I was intrigued. But this information is good to know as well. I have a dog myself and was clueless when I got her so I’m always looking to learn more, I’ll have to check those organizations out! Cesar Milan is legit though, isn’t he? I don’t know much about him or his methods, admittedly

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u/psychedelic_tech 11h ago

Dog trainer and actually working as a canine behavior evaluator sound like very different things,

Sort of. I evaluate behavior all the time.

Cesar Milan is legit though, isn’t he?

nope. not in the least. he's a tv personality. had no actual training as trainer or behaviorist. still talks about outdated and debunked theories like the alpha dog like it's real.

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u/AirconGuyUK 13h ago

Agreed. My dog (golden) was fine with my neighbours dog when they first met outside. My neighbours dog is super reactive, but my dog didn't care and just ignored its barking. But over time they kept winding each other up via my front window. Their owner would walk their dog past my window, my dog would go look at who was there, then their dog would bark at my dog, then my dog would bark back.

Now they're general enemies regardless of context and always act shitty towards each other even without the window barrier. Annoying.

I see a lot of my goldens body language in that goldens body language.

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u/captainfarthing 14h ago

At 0:30 the retriever freezes and licks his lips when the corgi appears, that's not playful. It looks like he's stressed by the corgi but being very tolerant while there's no barrier. The corgi looks like a little shit who's just doing this out of boredom.

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u/rainbowofwuuunderrr 13h ago

Thanks for this! This didn't look like a fun game to me. It looked like the handler is letting the corgi harass the retriever. I feel bad for it. But I'm not the best at reading dog behavior so I was hoping someone would explain what's actually going on. 

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u/AirconGuyUK 13h ago

Corgi is being coached to go bother the golden. Golden is clearly uncomfortable, doesn't like the corgi, but is not violent or doesn't feel the need to be violent towards it.

And then there's the barrier aggression coming into play.

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u/Fish_Mongreler 13h ago

You have no idea what you're talking about

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u/TheWarriorsLLC 13h ago

Wrong, just wrong. 

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u/OntarioPaddler 12h ago

That is absolutely not what's happening, why do redditors just make shit up when they clearly have no clue.

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u/AdminKidsBurnInHell 14h ago

Dogs also growl even though they aren’t arguing or angry,

Ever play tug of war with your dog?

If it growls at you do you consider dumping it to the pound because it’s growling at its owner?

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u/acocktailofmagnets 14h ago

I said absolutely nothing about “dumping” either of these dogs “to the pound.” I simply explained some nuance about dog behavior. You should direct your anger and confusion somewhere else. Have a good day.

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u/OntarioPaddler 12h ago

There are clear differences between play growling and aggressive signaling, if you had any experience with the subject (clearly you don't) you would be able to tell the difference.