Perhaps you’ve seen Amy Cuddy’s viral TED talk about Presence, or read her inspiring book Presence: Bringing your Boldest Self to your Biggest Challenges? While I was re-reading the book this morning I was reminded of Ranger, a large dog I worked with years ago who was agoraphobic and refused to leave the house. The owner and I tried everything I could imagine to help the dog, including a vast range of classical and operant conditioning sessions, every leash/collar system on the market, to western and eastern medicine. Nothing seemed to be working, and in desperation I recalled reading an old psychology study that improved people’s moods by having them smile, no matter how they felt when first asked.
Well, we’re all mammals I thought, so if it works on people, maybe it could work on Ranger. Noticing that Ranger’s tail was clamped to his hindquarters, we began to train him to lift up his tail on cue in hopes of lifting up his internal emotions. It took awhile, I suspect in part because most dogs aren’t aware of where their tail is in space. In addition, Ranger wasn’t uh, the smartest dog in the class. But we managed it, and darn if it didn’t work. It took awhile, but eventually the owner would ask her dog to Flag your Tail!, the feathered plume would rise, and they’d stride out the door together. Of course, once the tail cue was solid, we first asked Ranger to walk only one step out the door, then two, then three… but soon enough that turned into the dog being comfortable leaving the house, going in the car and visiting the vet.
I thought of Ranger this morning when reading the section in Presence about a trainer of Icelandic horses who used the concept to turn “just a trail horse” into a show champion who pranced proudly around the ring. I also recalled Karen Pryor talking about a conformation show dog who she clicker trained to walk around the ring with the kind of “presence” that is sought by judges.
Three things come to mind here, related to us and our dogs:
First, I wonder why we don’t use this technique more often to change a dog’s internal affect. The science behind the power of posture in humans is overwhelming. As Dr. Cuddy (a social psychologist at Harvard Business School) and a multitude of others have shown, simply moving one’s body into what Cuddy calls “high power postures” increases a sense of confidence and calm, makes people more articulate, thoughtful and compassionate, and decreases their levels of cortisol. Sitting slumped with your hands clasped around your chest can depress you, while sitting up straight, arms and legs taking up space, does the opposite. Cuddy relates this to the concept of “presence,” or the ability to be your “true self,” to being confident but not arrogant, assertive but not aggressive, and unencumbered by the kind of negative mental talk that plagues most of us like a bad song that won’t shut up inside of our heads.
Although I know of no research on the effect of body posture on emotion and behavior in dogs, there is good reason to believe it is equally effective. The emotional brains of dogs and people are wired in similar ways, andย there is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest it’s a worthwhile. The way I’ve used this most often is to teach dogs a play bow and use it when they begin to look stressed. It’s hard to be nervous when you’re feeling playful, and I’ve taught dozens of dogs to play bow as a way of calming themselves and dispersing nervous energy. I tried it first with Willie, when he was at his worst phase of being aggressive to unfamiliar dogs, and now he often does it himself, I presume as a form of emotional regulation. It’s especially effective in dog-dog encounters, because it affects not just the bower, but any dog who views it. Just this morning I realized I hadn’t thought of it with Maggie, who still needs work when she sees an approaching dog out of a sheepdog context. Time to get to work; she knows the rudiments of a bow, so it won’t take long to teach her to use it in a variety of contexts.
I’ve done less “change your tail position” training, but I think it could be extremely effective in certain kinds of dogs. Dogs whose tails are clamped surely would feel more relaxed if their tail itself was more relaxed. Dogs who approach others on their tip toes with head and tail high could be taught to lower their tails and dampen their oft-times excessive energy. Granted, it takes more work to teach a dog to change his or her tail position than to teach a play bow, but there’s a clicker sitting in your pocket or on your counter just begging to give it a try.
Second, beyond the act of training body posture to instill a positive emotion in a dog, can we use the term “presence” (or a lack of it) to describe our dogs? I would argue yes, absolutely. Surely we know dogs who have the exact same qualities that we think of in a human with presence: Dogs who project calm confidence, who other dogs are attracted to, but rarely, if ever, get into fights with. I had a dog like that, Cool Hand Luke. I wrote about him in The Other End of the Leash and For the Love of a Dog (and who was Willie’s uncle by the way). Everyone loved Luke, dogs and people alike. Luke was an intact male who not only was never in a fight, he worked with dog-dog aggressive dogs and invariably they ended up like best buddies in a “guys-on-a-road-trip” movie. I realize that some will argue attributing “presence” to dogs is being anthropomorphic, but I’m going to take a page from Frans de Waal’s extensive writings, and argue that being in “anthropodenial” is just as bad as being “anthropocentric.”ย Just because a human has a particular trait doesn’t mean an animal can’t. Given the highly social nature of dogs, and our similar neurobiology, it makes little sense to imagine that dogs don’t have personalities that grants some of them what we would call presence. What about you? Have you known a dog with what you’d call “presence”? Or the opposite? I used to call dogs with the opposite of presence ” “Richard Nixon dogs,” because they projected unease and nervousness, but also appeared to desperately want to be in control.
Third, what about the effect of our presence, or lack of it, on dogs? I’ve always wondered what it was about people who dogs are instinctively drawn to. We all know them, the people who dogs chose to go sit beside and not want to leave. I’ve noticed that these often aren’t the people who coo and make a big fuss of the dog (although that gets lots of points with many dogs). Often these canine magnets are relatively quiet, but people I’d describe as “comfortable in their own skin.” Does that mean that our dogs will be more comfortable around us if we practice a Wonder Woman” power pose for two minutes each morning? Food for thought. I’d love to hear yours.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Hot. Humid. Ugh. Maggie and I worked sheep this morning before seven AM, and even then I kept it short for the sake of Maggie and the sheep. (Okay, for me too.) But much of the weekend was gorgeous, with lower temps and humidity. Willie, Maggie and Tootsie joined us and slept overnight in the tent camp Saturday night, and we all woke up to the most glorious of sunrises. Jim took this photo while he was building a fire to make me hot water for tea. Yeah, I lay in bed while he did all that. Have I mentioned how lucky I am?
The Day Lily garden is extravagant, that’s the only word I can think of that fits all the colors in the 50 day lilies we planted three years ago from White Flower Farm. Here’s one whose blooms are at least six inches across.
One more thing: Willie just turned 10. Oh my, hard to believe. Seems like just yesterday….
Chris from Boise says
Fascinating ideas, these! What a great story about “Flag your tail!”
We taught Habi “happy tail”, which helped a lot when we first started acclimating her to our front yard. At first she’d crouch in the grass with her tail tucked and a stressed expression on her face. Lots of ‘verbal candy’ might elicit a tiny flick of the tail tip, which we captured and built on. It didn’t take long to get to actual wags, which led to general relaxing of her posture. That plus lots of front yard games changed her whole attitude toward public places.
And a brag: yesterday she really wanted to get out on a walk (unusual in itself!); as a rainstorm was threatening I grabbed her leash and out we went. Only after leaving did I realize the treat bag was still in the house. Habi said “Forward”, so forward we went, and enjoyed a lovely mile-long loose-leash happy-tail walk sans treats – even when two dogs passed us on the other side of the street and several dogs barked from behind fences.
It took us four years to be able to walk at all in public with treats, and another couple to have good walks with treats, so I was fully prepared to use treats forever. And I still am (yesterday may have been a one-off) but maybe they’re now more my crutch than hers. I am so proud of our girl; she’s come a long, long way in our eight years together.
Terry says
Great article – it puts into words something that I do but haven’t thoroughly thought through. I work with horses and often if I can change their body posture, down to things as subtle as ear pointing, I can help the horses overcome fears or have a more cooperative engagement with the training. Works with my human students, too. Get them to breathe, smile (even if they’re feeling frustrated at the moment and if feels false to them) and sit up through their core, and everything changes for the better ๐
Monika & Sam says
Fabulous sunrise and garden shots! Your little Willie was a completely adorably pup 10 years ago. Happy birthday, Willie.
Kat says
I hadn’t realized that Ranger and Willie are the same age. Ranger turned 10 June 1. Happy Birthday Willie, and many many happy returns of the day.
Ranger is one of those dogs with presence. Other dogs naturally defer to him, follow him, want to be with him, look up to him. However you want to describe it he’s a magnet for other dogs even the highly reactive ones that want to fight all other dogs. A couple of night ago my husband had Ranger out for a walk and an extremely reactive Yorkie who has fits every time he sees another dog was out for his walk and broke away from his person charging at Ranger with what appeared to be every intention of doing as much harm as he could. As the Yorkie got closer and closer you could see more and more of the ‘fight’ go out of him. My husband described it as the Yorkie eventually coming up to Ranger and saying “oh, it’s you. sorry to have bothered you sir, you have a nice day now and if there’s anything I can do for you don’t hesitate to ask.” Ferocious to appeasing in 40 feet. Ranger hadn’t done anything except observe with mild interest but his presence was enough to calm the out of control Yorkie. I’ve seen it quite often. We have animal control on speed dial at my house because loose dogs in the neighborhood almost always follow Ranger home. Dogs with collars and tags we call their people to come get them. Dogs without tags we call Animal Control, if they find a microchip they contact the owners and return the dog otherwise it’s off to the shelter. Since we have an excellent shelter I don’t feel bad about turning them in.
I don’t know how much presence I have. I generally get along well with any kind of animal. Dogs all like me, especially the way I smell. I’m not sure what it is but every dog I meet can’t get enough of sniffing me. It’s a little concerning considering other things dogs love to sniff. Cats on the other hand think I’m amazingly wonderful. Cats that don’t socialize with strangers come to sit on my lap when I visit. If I’m willing to sit quietly for awhile feral cats will come and cuddle up with me. My sister says I’m the Cat Whisperer.
LisaW says
OMG that is one cute Willie pup. Happy Birthday.
Thanks for the link to Amy’s Ted Talk (I am standing up in my best Wonder Woman pose as I type this). My first question is how do the 2 minutes and the 10,000 hours mesh? Interesting to ponder how long it takes to really become the confident presence.
Our first dog as a couple many moons ago was Sadie — the queen of dogs. She had a presence that calmed any situation. She never had to actively diffuse or persuade or cajole. She just was and people, other dogs, other animals responded to her in a positive way. Our friend had a dog that loved to fight other dogs, but he didn’t feel the urge to pay any attention to other dogs while she was with him. She had hordes of people come to say goodbye to her whenever we moved, and neighbors would “dognap” her to feed her oatmeal and watch her sleep on their living room rug (we spent many hours looking for her when in fact she was in the house next door asleep from eating too much oatmeal ๐ She left a deep impression on so many people who still tell Sadie stories 30 years later.
I read somewhere that smiling can help lessen anxiety in dogs in certain situations. Your voice as well as your facial expression and probably your body posture change when you smile and it may have a calming affect on dogs. I have tried it with Olive and it caught her attention, but I’m not sure how much anxiety it relieved. I do smile at her a lot so maybe it’s not such a noticeable difference.
em says
Wow! I’ve been out of the loop for a while lately, and what a wonderfully interesting post to come back to.
I’ve mentioned it many times before, so I’ll try not to be too much of a broken record, but Otis is definitely one of those dogs with “presence” and like Luke and Ranger, he is the opposite of a bossy, pushy, micromanaging sort. He radiates a sense of calm awareness – he’s not fearful or reactive, but he misses NOTHING, and I wonder if that sensitivity helps him communicate in whispers rather than shouts.
I have used physical manipulation to affect his emotional state, too. When he was an adolescent, before he fully grew into his adult personality (he’s a baby compared to Willie and Ranger- only nine and a half ;-)) he was bitten times while leashed, by other dogs who were leashed but had been brought rapidly up to him by their owners.
Unfortunately but understandably, Otis decided that he did not wish to be approached by leashed dogs when he was on leash and would stare, freeze, and generally make a spectacle of himself if it seemed like one were approaching. His focus was very extreme and it was nearly impossible to distract or redirect him. However, I found that it often helped if I used the fingers of my free hand to gently push his ears out of their up and forward position. Once his ears were back in their relaxed position, much of the tension would ease and he’d be much more amenable to turning away.
On the topic of the type of person/dog dogs and other animals seem drawn to, I have to concur that it seems to be calm, comfortable, confident energy that they respond to. I’m reminded of a distinction once drawn by the fifth century Pope Gelasius, who argued that there are two kinds of power in the world, “force” and “authority” (potestas et auctoritas), and that while both could command obedience, force relied on fear, while authority was derived from trust and respect. Now Gelasius has his own motives for drawing this distinction between his own authority and the emperor’s force, but I find the notion rather compelling in a broader way.
Maybe dogs are smarter than we are- they know by instinct what many humans have learned the hard way- aggression and leadership are antonyms, not synonyms.
Kat says
Ha, now I remember what I was going to comment on. The small yap dog that lives in a house we must pass on our walk is consistently barking and growling when Finna walks past his house. I’ve been seeing Finna work herself up as we near the house–and why wouldn’t she? She’s on a nice walk when this house barks and growls at her. The houses that occasionally bark she doesn’t worry about but this one has been becoming a problem. I love the idea of trying to change her mind about this by changing her posture. On walks she’ll almost always do a play bow when asked for a down. I’m going to make use of that and see if a couple of play bows and maybe some tug relieve the stress of walking past the barking/growling house. Thank you for the idea!
AL says
With regard to the “Flag your tail” bit, Tellington TTouch does a lot of work on an animal’s tail, manipulating the tail itself, which helps to restore the animal’s physical and mental balance, as well as make them aware of their tail’s actual existence! It helps the animal carrying tension in the hindquarters to relax and feel better about life!
Jackied says
Ranger’s agoraphobia – did he always have it, or was it triggered by something?
I have a spaniel who often refuses to leave the house. It may have been triggered by a UTI originally so that she associated going out with peeing/pain (and we’ve had trouble getting that cleared up) but there is clearly a psychological component too, as how resistant she is to going out depends on who is going on the walk.
Debbie says
Your description of the tail work reminds me of the results of the tail wrap I saw used in a Tellington TTouch workshop. Complete change in an unstoppable golden retriever in about 30 minutes. A fascinating practice with far reaching results.
Info about TT: “In 1975 Linda realized the potential for influencing behavior by affecting the nervous system of the horse using the principals of the Feldenkrais Method. The Feldenkrais Method is a form of bodywork for humans using gentle, non-habitual movements with the intent of activating unused neural pathways to the brain. ”
http://www.ttouchtteam.co.uk/TTouchHistoryof.shtml
Trisha says
Congratulations Chris on your success with Habi. I love the term “Happy Tail” and your application of it. I think I’m going to borrow it for Maggie, thanks!
Thanks horse trainer Terry for the application to horses. I used to ride a lot, still love horses deeply and miss them terribly in my life. I love hearing about your posture work with horses and would like to hear more–tell us how you change a horse’s ear position? I think of a horse pointing its ears forward as a sign of attention, flattened as potential aggression. Would love to hear what you did specifically and in what context!
Kat, your description of Ranger is so perfect. I hope you didn’t mind the name match–I never use the real names of my clients or their dogs to maintain their privacy, and I wonder if I came up with “Ranger” because the name has become such an important part of my lexicon. Tell him thanks for me, and that I would so love to meet him someday. (you too, can I follow you both home sometime?)
Trisha says
LisaW (I’m smiling as I write. And I just sat up straighter. I’d put my hands on my hips, but then it’d be hard to type…) What an amazing story about Sadie, thanks for sharing it. I wish I’d had a chance to meet her. Sounds like a true ‘one in a million’ dog.
To em: What would we do without you? I can’t tell you how much I love reading quotes from Pope Gelasius in the fifth century, and his always relevant reminder that force is the absence of real power.
And thanks to Debbie and AL for reminding us about the Tellington Touch work with tails and its effect on behavior and affect. I should have thought of it myself, so thanks for the addition. I was lucky enough to record Linda working with horses at a weekend seminar and was impressed by her compassion, her eclectic interest in the body/mind connection and the effect on some of the horses in the clinic. I’ve done some of the work myself on animals but don’t seem to have the patience to do it well enough (just ask my physical therapist how good I am at doing exercises). This is a good reminder for me to go back to that work and use it with Maggie. Question for everyone: Can I take a few months off to do all the things that you readers inspire me to want to do?
Trisha says
To Jackied: The client dog I talked about, “Ranger,” didn’t always have agoraphobia, but there was no one event the owner could identify that triggered it. That seems to be relatively common–phobias coming on seemingly “out of the blue,” although, of course, they are always caused by something, we just don’t know what it is. Good luck with your spaniel. A couple of things I used with other client’s dogs are 1) teaching dogs to heel, and then walked in circle toward the door, a circle inside the doorway, and eventually circling farther out of the house. (An old trick I used from a cowboy for horses that balk at moving forward). 2) Teaching “Find It!” Show the dog treats, toss them a few feet forward and let the dog run to get them. Play this where the dog is comfortable as the most fun game in the world. Then toss some treats toward the door, then inside doorway, etc. I just used this method on Tootsie, who had developed a habit of standing on the bottom step of the tent camp, and refusing to walk down the hill with us. No amount of coaxing, putting treats on the ground in front of her, or even just walking away and deserting her was effective. (It wasn’t safe to ‘desert’ her for too long, she could easily walk through the fence into the woods and never be seen again.) This weekend I didn’t ask her to “leave the steps,” I just stood beside her, said “Find It!”, which we’ve played probably 20 times in the last month, and tossed some treats. She bolted off the step and followed us all the way back to the house (a good 150 yards at least). I think the key was getting her out of her head about LEAVING THE STEPS and putting her in a completely different frame of mind. Give something like that a try and keep us posted.
Andy says
Like Debbie and AL, I’ve found T-Touch tailwork really useful. Mostly I haven’t used it with tucked tails, though, but with tails perched high above the back of a confused, aroused dog. It’s funny how high tails get associated with dominance sometimes – and I understand how that works in resource negotiations – but because of my experiences with shelter dogs I associate it with insecurity. That forward-leaning, high-tailed posture feels like massive overcompensation to me and I love convincing such dogs that they’re really just big babies ๐ .
Re: presence, one of my favorite trainer friends recently told me that his mentor told him to “be the prom queen” to get dogs to like him. Not being a prom king himself, he took that to mean be aloof and act like he didn’t care. I suspect that kind of role playing gets us to offer exactly the type of behaviors that invite dogs’ affection and interest. My dog certainly seems to think my friend is a walking Disneyland.
Bruce says
Sandy originally belonged to my mother, who loved the magnificent โhappy tailโ that Sandy usually displayed outdoors. Indoors, however, Sandy rarely displayed her โhappy tailโ. Sandyโs tail posture reflects her mood, and for whatever reason Sandy has always been much less confident indoors.
When Sandy became our dog I started running my hand gently along her tail and lifting it up when I petted her. Sandy did not seem to mind this, and after a few repetitions often maintained her โhappy tailโ inside the house. I found this surprising at the time, but the smiling study lends a plausible explanation.
As Sandy has settled in her indoor tail posture seems to reflect her growing confidence. I certainly would not attribute tail repositioning as the primary factor, but the technique probably helped in certain situations. Another tool in the toolbox, as a wise woman once said.
In unrelated news, Red Dog has started displaying an interesting and positive behavior. When a new dog arrives at the dog park (a VERY exciting event), I call Red Dog away from the gate, give her treat reward(s), and have her wait until the new dog gets unleashed. The goal is to avoid high-arousal mob scenes at the gate.
Initially Red Dog recalled away from the gate with great reluctance, but recently she has started auto-recalling when a new dog arrives. Yay for positive rewards!
Sandy has much less interest in new arrivals at the dog park, but launches into a perfect sit at my feet the moment my hand approaches the treat pocket . . . greedy beggar. ๐
Trisha says
Love this story Bruce, and here’s a HUGE congratulations for your progress with Red Dog. Little do some people know how much work steps like this take and how amazing it feels when we succeed!
Helena says
I love so much about this post–how it describes dogs I know, how it applies to horses too, and all the references for further reading. Thank you.
Beth says
Great blog piece! In agility, I know some people who have trained their dogs to bark at the start line. The reason or this is the common thought that a stressed out dog that is starting to shut down cannot bark with glee, but putting it on cue allows them to engage. The people I know who have done this recognized that their dogs were stressed and starting to shut down. Playing tricks before entering the ring is another common thing to work on engagement and to add confidence, although some of us work on tricks before entering the ring for other reasons too. And yes, I fully agree some dogs have a certain presence that others lack. Lastly, I strongly suspect that the presence of the owner can also be passed down the leash to that of the dog!
Cathy Balliu says
As a herding instructor, I see “presence” all the time in the dog’s approach to sheep. I encourage my students to have “presence” as well to convey that authority to their dogs. So many owners have dogs that work better for the well-trained trainer than they do for the owner. It’s a difficult concept to explain – one of those where you know it when you see it. And it is authority over force – very elegant way to distinguish between the two.
Beth Harwell says
Inspiring read. Our Daisy Mae, a lovely Brittany is a somewhat anxious dog. We adopted her 3 years ago after she was picked up as a stray. She has beautiful point postures and hunting instincts. We adopted her as a family dog and do not hunt. But we believe she was tied out and either escaped or was dumped.
She clearly is thunder and fireworks phobic and gun shy. Her fear is escalating. She hides under the bed during storms and growls if you walk by. She has now started hiding and growling even when there are no storms.
This article has given me ideas about Ttouch and body posture. We have implemented a calming collar this week and have an appointment with the vet to rule out any physical issues. Thanks for the added tools to our tool box.
Marguerite says
I’m a judge in the Companion Dog Sports Program (CDSP) obedience and UKC rally venues. After I heard Amy’s TED talk, I decided that Power Posing was a perfect application to help reduce ring nerves! I made a handout from her material, cover the technique in my judge’s briefing, and post it somewhere at each trial I judge.
Kevin Johnson says
My Siberian husky, who died two years ago, had so much presence that patrons of the city park in Chicago, where he spent a lot of time, nicknamed him “The Mayor of Rogers Park.” I’ve attached a remembrance I wrote
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0cx7z05qtwwja2a/The%20Mayor%20of%20Rogers%20Park.doc?dl=0
Marianne Cyr says
I actually saw Cesar Millan (I know, I know) lift the tail of a dog that was afraid to leave his yard. He had to do it several times, but it worked for him too.
Pam B says
In the military, you have to respect the office but not necessarily the person. The concept of force and authority are rife in such organizations. We have a lot in common with the other creatures we share this earth with. Probably more than we don’t have in common!
Anne & Sarah says
The tail-up concept has worked with my shy/fearful dog who encounters monsters on the walk (men, men with hats, men with beards, something different in a yard). When my limited training taught me that the tail down is a sign of stress/fear, I started playing a game at home (away from the monsters) where I gave her the command (okay, request, this girl doesn’t do “commands”) to “get your tail up” in a bright voice. Lo and behold, when I tried it on the walk as she was passing a monster, her tail went up and her head followed suit. Sometimes it takes a bit of time depending on the size of the monster but it definitely helps her recover and move on to enjoy herself.
Dian says
This is what we have been saying in TTouch for years. Change the posture you can change the dog. Also visualize what you want the dog to be doing for e.g. imagine a dog with a soft wagging tail, open mouth and relaxed. These techniques can cause a shift in your dogs behaviour.
Adrienne Wood says
We worked with Chelse Wagner of Dogs Best Friend with a highly reactive and fearful dog for several years, and she taught us “chin.” Seems to be a similar embodied solution for calming a dog by changing his body language. As a PhD Psychology student at UW studying embodiment and emotion, I loved that Chelse intuitively used the technique. I love the play bow idea!
Diane Mattson says
Fascinating article, lots of great ideas. We have a dog living near us that has absolutely zero presence. I walk past him every day on my way to work and every day he barks and runs away. I am the person who makes friends with all the dogs in my village but not this little guy. Even other dogs seem a little exasperated with him.
Happy Birthday to Willie.
Alex Johnson says
I found this worked brilliantly with my poorly socialised ex show beagle rehome. She was initially scared of sudden noises, trucks etc when out & about & would clamp her tail. She was used to having her tail handled for the show ring so lifting it up again wasn’t odd to her and it worked a treat. We would walk a few steps, I would let go and up it would stay, along with the mood. I didn’t need to shape it so it was instant results (if you exclude the show handling, which I probably shouldn’t, but gut feeling was it would have worked anyway).
d says
FYI Dr. Cuddy et al’s study has come under criticism because other researchers have not been able to replicate it, even with a far greater sample size. (Cuddy et al’s sample size was quite small, around 20 subjects for each sex). A follow-up study with around n=100 for each sex showed no effects (as described in the original article) of posturing. The jury’s still out, apparently.
Trisha says
Thanks for the update d. Do be aware though that there are dozens if not hundreds of studies showing that posture can create emotions, just as emotions can create posture. But it’s great that the specific “wonder woman posture” study was replicated, that’s the beauty of science. It might turn out that that particular posture only works in specific situations, or with a certain type of person, or that some other methodological detail was changed that turned out to be significant. But I’d love to read the study you mention, could you cite it for us?
Kerri from Boise! says
We adopted a rescue, the first dog we’ve had that wasn’t socialized properly, requiring extensive and lengthy training. She’s quite happy, but reactive towards certain dogs of a particular energy. Going to try the “bow” to overcome her “frustrated greeter” nature.
ltk10 says
I’m intrigued by all the comments about physical manipulation (TTouch, et al). I’ve always stayed away from “moving things around,” now I’m wondering if I pet down hackles or scratch the base of a raised tail to lower it, will that decrease reactivity? Thinking specifically about window/door barking, and no fears of redirection. Interested in any similar experiences…
Terry says
About doing this with horses: Often with a tense horse that look of confidence is fleeting. They also tend to face what they fear, with head high and muscles taut. If I see a slip of a moment of relaxation, or if the horse turns towards me (or even just flicks an ear my way) I’ll reward. This is surprisingly effective. However, timing is key. Reward the tension and you’ll get more. (I’ve written about that in a blogpost: http://cooperativehorse.com/2016/05/you-get-what-you-click/) Riding a horse is even more complicated – communication is body to body, and a rider’s tension can feed a horse’s, so you both have to do the equivalent of power poses! Allowing a horse to move boldly under you is a hard-learned skill, but leads to confident, thoughtful, partnership with your horse.
d says
Hi Trisha, thanks for your response, sure thing! I agree that poses have an effect (I practice yoga and there is no denying its effects on body and mind), but like you mentioned the wonderwoman power pose’s ability to confer confidence and change hormones many not work in certain cases, and also the evidence to support this effect (for this particular pose) is questionable. Here’s the replication of the power pose experiment showing no effect: http://datacolada.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/5110-Ranehill-Dreber-Johannesson-Leiberg-Sul-Weber-PS-2015-Assessing-the-robustness-of-power-posing-no-effect-on-hormones-and-risk-rolerance-in-a-large-sample-of-men-and-women.pdf . ALso, here’s a riveting analysis (I used to be a statistics nerd) of the original study, the replication, and a review of similar studies that showed no effects of power posing and engaged some of the authors to comment: http://datacolada.org/37 : “While the simplest explanation is that all studied effects are zero, it may be that one or two of them are real (any more and we would see a right-skewed p-curve). However, at this point the evidence for the basic effect seems too fragile to search for moderators or to advocate for people to engage in power posing to better their lives.” This area of research fascinates me, and I am always looking for applications to my reactive dog. I recently read a book by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk about how body work, neurofeedback, and other less conventional therapeutic methods help trauma victims by addressing stress at the physiological level. I am a huge fan of TED and On Being with Krista Tippett to hear some of these cutting edge ideas, even if there isnt a lot of (statistical) evidence to support them, I do think they are great to explore. Thanks ๐
Mireille says
Hi all, have been lurking not posting for a while. One of the reasons was lack of energy: crashed = burnout. I am on the way up again, but felt very tense & anxious & tired for a while. Off course everybody says “good that you have dogs, they keep you active, go, walk them, relax”. But walking Spot is not always relaxing. And when I am hyper he is even more hyper than usual. At the times when my resilience was at it’s lowest, he was at his most hyper. On top of it, I hurt my finger (dislocation) and felt insecure & uncomfortable holding the leash. So no, walking the dogs was not the most relaxing of times (and did I mention that we had the wettest spring since >100 years, paths were transformed to mud pools & more hares than I have seen in years. Crazy hares that would sit on the path, run away, stop, run away again).
So, I took a deep breath, got the head halter out thinking I deserved a break & a crutch. That calmed Spot a lot. Then we started training on impulse control (following some of the exercises form “Fired up frantic and freaked out”) and one of the things I did is ask for a sit. When Spot is very hyper, that is difficult for him, so occasionally I had to use a hand on his back near the tail to guide him. But it helped tremendously. When he sits, he can watch a running hare without sprinting & lunging at the end of the leash. I also rewarded EVERY time he showed control. I don’t know if it has something to do with what you describe, but it appears that the sit is in conflict with the ‘fast forward” moving impulse.
But still, I can see in Spot a reflection of my good & bad days. When I mentioned it to my therapist, she advised me to tell him. Tell him that it is my burden and although he notices it, he does not have to carry it. I felt rather silly doing so. But I was amazed to see the effect. I suspect that my energy and posture changes, and he picks it up.
As for energy: I do yoga and I suspect that being more aware of body posture and tension in it, helps me regulate it. So it makes it easier to keep my body loose & relaxed. I do have to have the feeling that I can control my dogs no matter what. That confidence helps. If I arrogantly refuse to aknowledge another dog, exuding “we are going to pass this dog in a relaxed fashion” the dogs will respond less.
And presence, yes…. I have been lucky. We had Chenak, aka “the King”. Another dog that did not need to fight or growl or lunge. Well, this pic just says it all ๐ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OMfsoDCn4nU/UsFx7obmgQI/AAAAAAAAB50/0fwaPWe3c8w/s1600/chenak.jpg
I also met Gorby, a friends dog, also sadly passed away http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aOYkBtgAo1w/VCx06b8sXoI/AAAAAAAACVY/CN_KFCBWngM/s1600/Gorby-sepia.jpg
I find it kind of sad that sometimes people refer to their dogs as “wimps” ” because they never growl or fight back” when their dog is socially so adept that they do not need to fight.
As for being a dog person: is part of it not truly seeing and noticing dogs? I almost always say hello to a dog, often non-verbal. And they respond to that.
But I am not as special as a friend of mine who is a dog trainer. He has a problem: as soon as he takes over the leash to show a client what happens & how to influence behaviour, the dog calms down and doesn’t show the problem behaviour. Even when we evaluated Spot by him cycling towards me with his young male dog running beside him, Spot showed no tension at all…. (usually in this situation I would have a lunging monster on leash… )
Cynde Van Vleet CPDT-KSA says
I am so happy to see this going main stream. As a TTouch Practitioner we have been teaching this for decades! We do tail work to bring awareness to the tail because as you said many times a stressed dog is disconnected with anything behind his shoulders. Bringing the tail away from the back end changes their posture, flattens the back and allows the head to come up, thus allowing for a more confident dog.
The opposite is extremely helpful as well. An over excited dog tends to calm down by degrees when we do a long pet down the back and briefly pause at the base of the tail. This brings the tail down for a few moments and you will see the excitement come down as well. One of the many TTouch sayings is “Calm the tail, calm the dog! Along with “Change the tail, change the mood”!
HFR says
Quick question: Is presence inherently a positive thing? I looked up the definition and I see it usually doesn’t have a good or bad connotation. Not splitting hairs, but I just think some people (and dogs) do have a strong presence, but it’s not necessarily one I am attracted to. For instance, I usually have a negative reaction to people who hold themselves like Wonder Woman. Some people just suck the air out of the room with their presence.
Dogs also can have a presence that can change the entire chemistry of a dog park. But it makes sense that changing their body language would help change their state of mind. Especially because they probably aren’t thinking “Well, just changing the position of my tail is a stupid way to change me” as people would most likely think if you suggested jutting out their chests would change how they feel about themselves.
I am lucky enough to have a dog with a beneficent presence. Like @Kevin Johnson’s Husky, my dog was called “The Ambassador of the Park”. Such a gentle soul who can not only calm an excited dog, but also diffuse tension among multiple dogs. Very lucky, I am.
d says
*Sorry, in my previous comment I meant to say the researchers and reviewers found that power posing had no effect on behavior or hormones — but it DID have an effect on self-reported feelings of power. Bad scientist — I didnt make that clear. I was thinking mostly about behavior since that’s what I base a lot of my decisions on with respect to my dog’s stress (or confidence) levels. Thx again.
Trisha says
No, not “bad scientist,” d, thanks for the information and the update. Love it. I’ll read the other studies sometime soon, so glad that you are contributing to the conversation. (Of course, I would love it if standing like Wonder Woman for 2 minutes a day changed my life, but am stuck with a stronger need to know the truth… darn.)
To Mireille: I’m sure I join many to say how sorry I am that you are going through a rough patch. Good for you for hanging in there, and being so thoughtful about what works, what doesn’t, what you have control over, and what you don’t. We’re all on a journey here, and all sympathize when the weather turns nasty and your map is hard to read…
To HFR: Excellent point that “presence” isn’t always a good thing. I’d add that it does indeed convey a sense of power, and that power isn’t always used for good. I had a trainer come into my office once, a tall, imposing man who had most likely killed a dog in his care and was being sued by the owners. He had a lot of presence, but not in a good way, I’ll just leave it a that. We can all think of historical figures too who had presence, but weren’t exactly on the side of the angels. So good point HFR, presence can be a powerful thing indeed, and that can lead to many different directions.
Kat says
OK, reporting back on experiments with Finna and the house that barks. Of course the same Finna that has resisted down when asked for one on a walk and offered bows instead immediately dropped like a rock when I asked for a down as we neared the house that’s become an issue. I thought it was a fluke but no, since I decided to experiment with play bow postures in an effort to change her mind about passing this house I haven’t gotten a single play bow but she downs like a champ. Sigh, life with Finna. Down doesn’t have the same “this is a game” result I was hoping to achieve but I notice that she is more relaxed and does recover more quickly after the house barks and growls at her. She still reacts, barking back and leaping to the end of her leash–notice though I say she leaps and not she lunges, she is no longer at the end of her leash strangling herself trying to go further there’s more control in her reactivity if that makes sense. Last night we’d nearly passed the house without the typical explosion of barking and growling when it suddenly erupted and Finna reacted in turn. Curious to see if it would make any difference I brushed my hand across her hips and over her very erect stub of a tail. Focus on the house immediately ceased, posture relaxed and she turned to me. I don’t know if it was changing the position of her stub or whether touch redirected her attention but the changed was marked. Definitely going to add that to my toolbox.
We’ve also been experimenting with Susan Garrett’s Recaller’s program’s core games lately especially collar grab and it’s your choice. I’m curious if any one has used her program and what they thought. Finna is loving the games and it does seem to be helping. Last night I had my husband playing collar grab with her and she was actually letting him grab her collar–not dancing out of the way. And while he was walking her she was being polite and checking in every few feet. Typically, I’d expect her to be at the end of her leash totally ignoring him and pulling as much as she could get away with. Instead it was loose leash and regular check ins. It was lovely to watch.
Jann Becker says
I wonder if people who seem to have “presence” to other people are also those who seem to attract dogs?
This may be heresy, but I wonder if the way the Gentle Leader and similar head devices work is related to what we’re looking at here. “Where the head goes, the dog goes.” Once the dog’s gotten over pulling you along, they’re learning to respond to fairly subtle changes of tension on their face- if they’re being rewarded, of course, this goes much faster-until the Gentle Leader can be retired. Done right, you’ve taught the dog to notice where you’re going/looking by guiding its head to look at you.
LisaW says
So, I’ve tried the wonder woman pose a few times this week before a meeting and before a difficult conversation, and once just for the hell of it. I didn’t always do the full 2 minutes. Here’s what I unscientifically think: the ww pose is like “find it.” It works really well to change your brain and redirect you to something that is enjoyable and somewhat funny (the ww pose visual alone is funny). It works to change your current mode and gives you something else to focus on. Now, that may lead to improved presence and therefore a more positive outcome. Or it may be enough of a redirect to allow us to think the context is more positive. I know “find it’s” have worked wonders with Olive in almost every context, and her presence does actually change. Anyway, fun to think about.
Mireille says
@Jann Becker: although I use the head halter with Spot, I do not pull his face towards me. In fact, I found that it increases his resistance towards me & halter. He starts fighting it, which results in frustrated owner & dog. In fact, a dog does not need his eyes to know where we are. He has his nose. And perhaps some tension on the leash. When I let him look where he wants to look, he is more prepared to follow me. The advantage of the head halter for me is that he cannot pull with all his force. Actually, I feel that the head halter has so much control (power) that it requires extra gentle leash handling. Well, at least Spot my “maserati dog” needs gentleness & fitnesse & guidance, not force on the leash.
((little sidestep: I bought a leash that does not absorp water & dir & is leighweight.. When I started using it I was less concerned about it dragging through the mud, some my arms were moving less & posture more relaxed = dog more relaxed ๐ ))
@Trisha. Thank you, thank you very much ๐
@Kat: YAY! for Finna. What a huge step! Another tool on the box = valuable.
I wondered about the ‘presence thing” and thought about “energy”. Now I am a scientist, schooled in medical science. A sceptic about a lot of things. And then I started practicing yoga, at first because of back trouble and took all the “let the energy flow”-talk for granted. But I am experiencing that changing posture changes feelings & how much energy I have- and how much tiny changes in posture by my yoga teacher changed that. Then one day I had a massage by her. I was laying on the table and she did not touch me -yet. I was lying down, expecting nothing and suddenly felt a warmth start flowing though my back towards neck and shoulders. She explained that she was sending her energy towards me, to sense where the energy flowed or ws blocked. It was so weird. It ws not suggestion, I was not expecting it and she had not announced what she was doing. I can’t explain it – but felt it very clearly. So is presence also related to the energy flow from people? Energy flow can be regulated. And can you use it – or are people using it in their unconscious connection towards other people and / or dogs and can you learn to influence it?
Kelly Schlesinger says
About presence – I have seen many dogs who are not the most physically beautiful, but elicit comments about “being beautiful,” simply because they are calm, self-possessed, engaging and friendly. They radiate their inner beauty.
Samantha says
We have two LGD rescues who we have used body posture with to deal with their respective issues. Our 4 year old male Akbash was clearly abused by someone who took “dominance” training a bit too far. Using the word “come” would make him cower in fear and he was terrified to eat (he came to us at barely 70 lbs and is now still very lean at 105 lbs). When he would cower we would gently lift his tail and I would put my hand under his chin and tell him what a good boy he was while lifting it up gently. Six months later he is a calm, confident and absolutely wonderful dog who the rest of the doggie park denizens have taken to referring to as Cary Grant.
Our younger dog is a 2 year old Great Pyr who was seized for horrifying neglect. She had some moderate resource guarding issues towards our male when we first got her which we dealt with both with traditional operant conditioning and by gently lowering her tail or asking her to sit when she was around our male dog.
She is one of those dogs with “presence”. Our male is objectively a much prettier dog. Our sweet girl had horrible skin and matting issues when we got her and her fur is permanently damaged. She is perpetually rumpled. Still, when we are out with both of them, people gravitate to her. She literally attracts crowds at the pet store, dog park, on walks etc. Our male is sitting right next to her being his sweet, calm self, but she gets all the attention.
PD says
@Kat. Two thumbs up for Garrett’s “Crate Games” and “It’s Your Choice” game/variations. The rest of Recallers wasn’t as helpful for us (two adult whippets, low impulse control, not potty trained, and not attuned to people when first adopted), but I know others who liked that program too.
Jenny H says
I keep reading this advice (and remember a very funny CM video of him lifting up a dog’s tail with the leash), but don’t know that I agree with it.
Knowing about Social Anxiety and ‘putting on a brave face’ I definitely do NOT feel calm or relaxed even though people think I am. I can shiver and shake, have nightmares and/or get eczema/psoriasis if I overdo the ‘being brave’.
It might be different if the social anxiety/agorophobia was the result of learning rather than innate.
Robyn Fabiano says
I read this while drinking g and t and tears rolling…..I so relate to all of your comments and I just wish I knew all this before my two bc rescues came home. They are loved, cherished but still Rey reactive to other dogs….I’ll try the play bow. Sorry but I do t see it working with 7 yr olds but will give it a go …lol