A Room with a View?
Have you ever walked by a house and watched the dog go ballistic at the window?
This most often happens when another dog goes by. Often though, depending on the dog, this situation can be created by a person going by as well. Sometimes it’s multiple dogs reacting and the whole window fills with barking excited faces. What is going through a dogs mind when this happens? “Stay away! This is my house!??? or “You’re lucky this window is here, buddy!??? Judging by the body language; these dogs are generally not excited and happy, but rather excited and anxious. There is also probably a level of frustration involved because the window blocks the dog’s ability to use its’ nose (its’ most powerful information gathering tool) to find out about this perceived threat. Even more startling are the dogs that get so tense and anxious they redirect that energy at the other dog in the home or even inanimate objects like the curtains or the wood around the windowsill. Most likely, those dogs have issues with other dogs while outside the home as well.
So, is allowing a dog an open window for a view setting your dog up for peaceful scenery watching or is it more like turning on the TV to an episode of Law & Order?
Dogs are territorial animals, they claim an area as their own and they will defend it. Wild dogs, such as wolves, will chase down and even kill other wolves found intruding on their territories. These areas are their sources of food, water and a place to safely raise their offspring, so they are definitely worth fighting for. (Interestingly, stray or feral dogs often have less defined territories because they scrounge for food and there is no regular source.) Research has also shown that wild dogs do a lot to avoid physical confrontations. In fact they would rather avoid seeing each other as this makes a threat more real. They mark boundary areas with their scent by use of urine and feces and they perform group vocalizations such as howling or barking to make their presence known. They would rather not fight as they risk injuring themselves in the process. So the goal is to keep things as peaceful as possible while still getting the message across of who lives where.
Let’s go back to that dog behind the window. How does he perceive that strange person or dog? He doesn’t get a warning via a scent that they are approaching, he may hear a bark, but more often it is the sound of jingling tags or footsteps that alert him. He rushes to the window and then the threat is right there, in sight and fairly close by. “Danger! Danger! Everyone on full alert!??? He barks and barks until the threat leaves his sight, but then is left worrying about where the intruder has gone. He can’t use his sense of smell so he has limited information with which to discern the situation. What does remain is a residual state of restlessness that continues for a while, or maybe even all day if the traffic is heavy. He has no point at which he can fully relax.
This whole scenario can’t be enjoyable for a dog, especially if the dog is insecure to begin with. Since the dog is home alone, her social group (which is her source of confidence) isn’t there to back her up. So what’s the answer? Simple … next time you leave the house, draw the blinds. Or if you want them to have a window make sure it faces the back yard and not an area where lots of other people and dogs walk by. The removal of the visual stimuli will greatly reduce your dogs’ reaction to perceived threats and allow them to calm down much faster. They may still react to the sound, but they will calm down in a shorter amount of time.
-Will Bruner, Animal Behavior Specialist
