Want To Protect Your Dog’s Peace? It’s Time To Talk About Trigger Stacking

Ever get that anxious feeling when you’re in a loud restaurant and you can’t hear a word that your friend next to you is saying? And suddenly, a glass breaks in the background and someone knocks into your chair as they pass? Maybe it’s hot, and you’re starting to sweat. It’s a jumble of sounds and sensations that can leave you feeling overwhelmed and on edge. At a certain point you might think to yourself, “I have to step outside to get some air.”

This is a similar experience to what trigger stacking can feel like for dogs. It happens when a succession of sensations and stressors overwhelm your dog, putting them in an anxious state or even tipping them over into reactivity. Oftentimes, owners will describe this moment as seeing a switch flip in their dog. One moment, everything is good. The next moment, their dog is nervous, whining, acting out, barking, or even biting. The tipping point might have even been something small that their dog normally wouldn’t react negatively to.

This is a phenomenon called trigger stacking or sometimes “flooding,” and it’s helping dog behaviorists, trainers, and owners to understand how dogs deal with stimuli and stressors. In this article, we’ll break down the signs of trigger stacking, and how you can lower the risk of your dog reaching their tipping point.

Signs of trigger stacking
Often, your dog will pass through a few different levels of discomfort before getting to the tipping point stage. So, let’s go through them step-by-step:

• Mild discomfort. The early warning signs of trigger stacking in dogs are typically the most subtle. Your dog might start licking their lips, turning their head away from loud noises or anyone in their space, or pacing around restlessly. Another easily missed signal at this stage is dilated pupils, which indicates activation of the sympathetic nervous system, or the fight/flight/freeze response
• Moderate discomfort. At this stage, your dog may attempt to make their discomfort more obvious, with signals like yawning or making themself appear smaller. Panting and whining is also common at this stage.
• Close to “losing it.” This is where you might notice communication breaking down between you and your dog. They’ll start becoming uninterested in treats and unresponsive to the sound of your voice. You may also notice more direct signs of discomfort, like growling, body stiffening, or more concerted attempts to flee.
• The tipping point. At this stage, the sympathetic nervous system is in full activation mode and your dog may be barking, lunging, or snapping.

Ideally, we’d like to prevent our dogs from ever reaching a level of discomfort that is distressing for them and dangerous to those around them. So, becoming familiar with what your dog looks like at each stage is an important step in lowering the risk of trigger stacking.

Identifying your dog’s triggers
In addition to learning your dog’s discomfort signals, it’s helpful also to identify what triggers them. Every dog is different, but some of the most common include:

• Other dogs, this can be either the presence of other dogs or dogs that have a more intense play style or high energy
• Strangers
• Loud noises, such as thunder or traffic
• Children. Children often don’t know how to read dog signals, which can make dogs feel uneasy
• Feeling trapped, such as being in a crate, wearing a muzzle or being on a leash
• New places
• Grooming or vet visits
• New people or too many people in their space
• Skateboards, bicycles, and other equipment
• Anything that triggers prey drive, such as small animals or fast-moving objects.

As we mentioned, these are not universal, so you’ll want to take note of your dog’s unique sensitivities.

What to do when the triggers start stacking
On the one hand, there is a benefit to building up your dog’s resistance to triggers so that they can live in a stimulating world without reaching their tipping point. Indeed, positive reinforcement training and exposure therapy are two methods that dog behaviorists and trainers use to help sensitive or reactive dogs learn how to remain calm even in the presence of triggers. We would absolutely recommend bringing in a professional to help you with this process.

But, in your day to day, how can you help to prevent trigger stacking? Here are a few tips:

• Make some adjustments. Maybe you opt to take your dog to the less crowded dog beach instead of the always busy dog park. Or, you might take them for walks early in the morning, before most of the other dogs are awake.
• Plan ahead. You’ll never be able to remove all triggers from your dog’s life, but you can arrange your schedule to anticipate days that will be more difficult than others. For instance, maybe you don’t schedule a vet visit on the same day as a trip to the groomers.
• Get the right equipment. There are a few tools that can help dogs who struggle with triggers. Leashes that let others know to give your reactive dog space are a great tool, as well as stress-reducing toys like chews or snuffle matts. We would also recommend installing BreezeGuard Screens on your car windows to give them the chance to smell their environment (which can be calming) without putting them at risk for jumping out of the car or being touched by strangers.
• Have an escape plan. When you see your dog showing signs of distress, one of the best ways to prevent a full-blown reactivity response is to remove them to a place that is quiet and familiar. This might mean returning to the car or walking back in the direction you came (away from the trigger.)
• Remember that brain rewiring takes time. Again, training plans specific to reactivity will do wonders to build up your dog’s resilience to trigger stacking. But, something important to remember is that brain rewiring takes time. Stay calm, give your dog plenty of reassurance, always prioritize safety, and take setbacks in stride. With patience and care, your dog can learn to navigate multiple stressors without reaching their tipping point.