Episode 7: All About Dog Training Thresholds

Hello everybody, and welcome back to Let’s Go for a Walk. Today we will be discussing a topic called thresholds.

A threshold is the point at which a dog can no longer effectively cope with a situation. That situation is usually somewhat stressful, whether for better or worse. It could be a dog remaining calm while greeting a new person, or it could be the point at which a dog reacts aggressively toward another dog.

Dogs, just like people, have thresholds in many different areas of their lives. When they are in a situation that creates stress and things begin to feel uncomfortable, it is similar to the idea of a cup slowly filling until it eventually overflows. If you have a dog experiencing any type of behavioral concern, even something as mild as overexcitement, it is important to start thinking about your dog’s thresholds.

When something triggers your dog to respond in a certain way, the key question is this: at what point do they actually begin responding?

For example, imagine you are walking a reactive dog on leash and another dog appears. At two hundred feet, your dog may notice the other dog but remain calm. You may be able to redirect them easily and continue walking. However, if a dog suddenly appears around a corner only twenty feet away, the situation changes completely. Now your dog may be barking and lunging at the end of the leash.

So why are thresholds important? Because when you understand where your dog’s thresholds are, you gain the ability to change their behavior.

Once a dog goes over threshold, their body initiates a stress response. This usually looks like fight, flight, or freeze. When the body enters this physiological state, the dog is no longer able to think rationally. Their focus narrows, everything else fades away, and they stop responding to cues. Often they will not take treats or even acknowledge them. People are often confused by this, but the reason is simple. The dog is no longer able to think.

If you can keep your dog under threshold, you prevent the nervous system from entering that fight, flight, or freeze state. This allows you to maintain access to your dog’s attention and learning ability. You still have their focus, and they are still capable of responding.

When working through a behavioral issue, it is critical to recognize your dog’s threshold. This is the point where you can no longer get their attention and where they enter what many people refer to as the red zone. The goal is to begin working with your dog before they reach that point.

You might be wondering how to tell when your dog is approaching threshold, especially when it feels like they are fine one moment and reacting the next. If you observe carefully, most dogs will show subtle body language signals indicating rising stress.

There are exceptions, particularly when something unpredictable happens, such as a dog suddenly appearing around a corner. Even in those cases, dogs will often hear collar jingling or footsteps first, and you may still see small behavioral changes.

Common signs include increased vigilance, lip licking, paw lifting, yawning, or shaking off. When you see these signals, it means your dog’s stress level is increasing.

Using reactivity as an example, if your dog reacts consistently to other dogs at forty feet, but at sixty feet you notice them locking on, staring, lip licking, or showing tension, those are early indicators that their stress is rising. These are important signals to acknowledge because they show that your dog’s threshold is approaching.

Dogs can only tolerate so much stress before it becomes too much. You want to work with your dog in the stage where these early changes are appearing. This is the optimal zone for desensitization, counterconditioning, or other behavior modification strategies. At this point, your dog can still think, process information, and learn.

This is the sweet spot. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and there are many nuances. Sometimes dogs need to be taught specific skills in calm environments before those skills can be applied in real-world situations.

Once you learn your dog’s early warning signs, the next question becomes what to do with that information. The answer depends heavily on the type of behavioral issue you are dealing with.

Resource guarding, aggression toward unfamiliar people, leash reactivity, and overexcitement all look very different and require different approaches. That said, resource guarding provides a clear example of thresholds. Dogs who resource guard almost always display warning signs before growling or biting.

These signs may include lowering their head over food or an object, muscle tension, or side-eyeing nearby individuals. These behaviors indicate that the dog is approaching a point of no return.

If the dog does not yet have access to the resource, the behavior may look different. They may search for the object, fixate on it, or attempt to control the movement of other dogs in the household. Regardless of the context, these subtle signals indicate rising stress.

Once you have identified the point before your dog hits threshold, all of your training and behavior work should happen in that zone. Work when your dog is calm or just beginning to feel stressed. Over time, as you build tolerance and increase the threshold, you can gradually reduce distance or increase difficulty.

When done systematically, this approach can lead to real improvement and, in many cases, resolution of the problem.

That is all for today. Thank you so much for joining us. If you enjoyed what you heard, please like and subscribe, and we will see you soon.