Stress signals

A session rarely goes wrong without warning. The dog blinks, yawns, licks its lips, turns away, goes still — and a handler focused on the exercise misses all of it until the growl.

The growl is the last signal, not the first

Punishing it removes the warning, not the feeling. A dog taught not to growl is a dog that goes straight to the next rung.

Why record it

It trains your own eye, and it gives an owner something concrete instead of “he was a bit unhappy”. Most owners have never been told their dog was communicating at all.

Peak, not count

A session full of level-one signals is a dog coping. One with a single level-three is a dog pushed too far. Counting alone would rank those the wrong way round.

FAQ

Is a yawn always stress?
No — context is everything. A yawn on a sofa at ten at night is a yawn. A yawn as another dog approaches is not.