Lesson from herding dogs: the use of "body blocks" in establishing status
in canine/human social systems.
Patricia B. McConnell, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dog's Best Friend
Consulting Service Black Earth, WS
This slide and video presentation will discuss the use of "body blocks"
in establishing appropriate status relationships between canines and humans.
Body blocks are primarily a visual signal that dogs and wolves use in both
inter and intra-specific communication: from shoulder slams between individual
canids to herding actions from canine predators to prey. Indeed, it was
observations of Border collies herding sheep that first suggested the importance
of using body blocks in solving status related behavioral problems: regardless
of the extremity of the stalking posture adopted by individual dogs, sheep
moved most readily away from dogs whose center of gravity was forward of
their shoulder girdle. Dogs with their weight squarely over their shoulder
girdle are often ignored by sheep, while dogs leaning backwards are often
attacked. Anecdotal reports from clients in an applied ethology business
suggest that the incorporation of this posture is one component in a successful
resolution of status related behavior problems. Many trainers and applied
behaviorists have noted the importance of posture, body movements and the
use of space in communicating with domestic dogs - this work benefits from
that knowledge and is presented in hopes that it can be extended and even
better understood.