Spatial Pressure

Dogs as well as many other animals are creatures of energy and body language.  Due to the lack of verbal communication, animals often communicate through spatial pressure and body language instead of, or in addition to vocalization.  This is an important difference between humans and animals when it comes to interspecies communication.

Spatial pressure refers to the proximity which something or someone is and the response to that pressure.  When someone is standing in your space, they are creating spatial pressure.  It is this pressure that makes dogs either regress or aggress.  We’ll talk more about this in the Radius of Temperament section.  

Using your body as a tool can help you better communicate with dogs.  For example, standing in the doorway and not allowing the dog through enforces your position as the alpha.  The alpha will stand wherever he wants, lie wherever he wants and basically do whatever he wants.  He doesn’t bark his commands at lower members, he just walks over and does it.  This is seen in other animals as well including gorillas and lions.  Another use of spatial pressure is moving into another animal and pressuring them to either move back or respond aggressively.  Based on their radius of temperament and their confidence and courage, they may either aggress or regress based on your spatial pressure.

Using spatial pressure fairly and consistently is a clear way to communicate with a dog.  Yelling commands at them is somewhat abusive, because most dogs don’t know what words mean until they are taught their meaning.  

We assume that the dog knows the meaning, because we do.  But, until we teach them, they don’t know, even if we YELL!  Through spatial pressure we can teach STAY, COME and LEAVE IT without even speaking.  Later we can tag a word onto a behavior and then communicate verbally.  But until we do that, there is little sense in talking to a dog that doesn’t necessarily understand what we are saying.

CONFIDENCE  vs  COURAGE

Confidence is having the mental strength and, generally, the mental clarity of self-trust to be able to succeed and rise to the challenge.  

Confidence is faith or certainty in your ability to do something.

Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one.  

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to proceed in spite of it.

An example of Confidence is:

I know I can cross the street if no cars are coming.

An example of Courage is:

I’m not 100% sure I can make it across the busy street without getting hit by a car.

So, if I’m asked to run across the street, I am acting with courage if I choose to do it.

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Video Lecture: Spatial Pressure