Calming signals

A dog displaying the lip/nose licking behavior.

Calming signals is a term conceived by Norwegian dog trainer and canine ethologist, Turid Rugaas, to describe the patterns of behavior used by dogs interacting with each other in environments that cause heightened stress and when conveying their desires or intentions.[1][2] The term has been used interchangeably with "appeasement signals."[3][4] Calming signals, or appeasement signals, are communicative cues used by dogs to de-escalate aggressive encounters or to prevent the development of aggressive encounters completely.[5] Calming signals are performed by one dog (the sender) and directed towards one or more individual(s) (the recipient(s)), which could be dogs or individuals of other species, such as humans.[4] When calming signals are ignored, a dog may display warning signals of aggression, and this has the potential to escalate to outright conflict between individuals.[6]

The domestication of dogs by humans has significantly altered the behavioral patterns observed in ancestral species, such as the wolf (C. lupis).[4] Dogs have developed changes in body language, as well as changes in auditory and olfactory displays over the course of some 30,000 years, and many of these modified behavioral patterns, or calming signals, can differ in meaning depending on the intended signal receiver's species.[7] Calming signals can be released by an individual voluntarily, or they can be an involuntary response to environmental stimuli as a result of stress-induced changes to body chemistry, such as the release of an odour from the body when anxious.[7]

  1. ^ Rugaas, Turid. "Calming Signals - The Art of Survival".
  2. ^ Rugaas, Turid (2006). On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals (2nd ed.). Wenatchee, Wash.: Dogwise Pub. ISBN 1929242360.
  3. ^ Overall, Karen (2017). "Appeasement, calming signals, and information capture: how do our subjects tell us what matters to them?". Journal of Veterinary Behaviour. 19: v–viii. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2017.04.001 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  4. ^ a b c Mariti, Chiara; Falaschi, Caterina; Zilocchi, Marcella; Fatjó, Jaume; Sighieri, Claudio; Ogi, Asahi; Gazzano, Angelo (2017). "Analysis of the intraspecific visual communication in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris): A pilot study on the case of calming signals". Journal of Veterinary Behaviour. 18: 49–55. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2016.12.009. hdl:11568/835281. S2CID 151850637 – via Elsevier.
  5. ^ Mariti, C.; Falaschi, C.; Zilocchi, M.; Carlone, B.; Gazzano, A. (November 2014). "Analysis of calming signals in domestic dogs: Are they signals and are they calming?". Journal of Veterinary Behavior. 9 (6): e1–e2. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2014.09.008.
  6. ^ Firnkes, Angelika; Bartels, Angela; Bidoli, Emilie; Erhard, Michael (2017-05-01). "Appeasement signals used by dogs during dog–human communication". Journal of Veterinary Behavior. 19: 35–44. doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2016.12.012. ISSN 1558-7878. S2CID 151351008.
  7. ^ a b Siniscalchi, Marcello; d’Ingeo, Serenella; Minunno, Michele; Quaranta, Angelo (2018-07-31). "Communication in Dogs". Animals. 8 (8): 131. doi:10.3390/ani8080131. ISSN 2076-2615. PMC 6116041. PMID 30065156.