User:Keburt/calming signals draft

Note: I have removed many claims that relied too heavily on primary sources, and information that was not backed by reliable sources. There were also several grammatical/sentence structure errors that have been removed/fixed as required. The live article will be replaced by the text below, as well as the pictures that violate copyrights. I have gathered some photos that I want to use, but will not insert them until I begin moving the article over to the live website. I also think Wikipedia prefers American spelling (i.e. behaviour should be behavior?) I will double check that and change the spelling if necessary.

Calming signals is a term conceived by Norwegian dog trainer and canine ethologist, Turid Rugaas, to describe the patterns of behaviour used by dogs when interacting with each other in environments causing heightened stress and when conveying their desires or intentions. The term has been used interchangeably with "appeasement signals." 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. 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. 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. Other canine behaviourists have adopted the designation, "calming signals," and use it freely when discussing dog communication and behaviour.

The domestication of dogs by humans has significantly altered the behavioural patterns observed in ancestral species, such as the wolf (C. lupis). 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 behavioural patterns, or calming signals, can differ in meaning depending on the intended signal receiver's species. 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.

History

In the past, studies on social behaviour in wolves have been used to provide insight on social behaviour patterns in domesticated dogs. Although the domesticated dog (C. familiaris) is a descendent of wolves (C. lupis) and therefore shares certain similarities, distinct differences in morphology and in the environment in which the two species evolved can cause the transpiration of inaccurate conclusions about communication behaviour patterns in domesticated dogs when applying knowledge gained by the study of wolves. Thus, the grouping of ancestral and descendant species is not found to be an appropriate method for studying calming signals in domesticated species of dogs.

The threshold for aggressive behaviour in domestic dogs varies from that of wolves. Most domestic dog breeds are less likely to engage in aggressive behaviour than their ancestral counterparts, and are therefore more likely to display calming signals to diffuse conflict. In dog breeds that differ greatly from wolf morphology, like pugs, some visual signals will be absent or highly modified as they no longer have the physical capacity or means to convey these signals. Neoteny can also account for the loss of certain visual signals in domestic dogs and the retention of novel signals over subsequent generations.

Types of Calming Signals

Dogs use visual, auditory, and olfactory indicators to communicate with both conspecifics and other species, such as humans. The majority and most well-studied calming signals are visual, and are sometimes accompanied by auditory cues (i.e. a sharp whine accompanying a yawn).

Examples of Visual Calming Signals

Examples of behaviours classified as calming signals:

• Head turning
• Softening of the eyes
• Turning away

• Lip and/or nose licking

• Freezing of the body
• Slow body movements
• Displaying a play bow
• Sitting
• Lying down
• Yawning
• Sniffing the ground
• Walking in a curve
• Wagging the tail in a low position
• Reducing body size
• Licking the recipient's mouth
• Blinking
• Smacking of the lips

• Lifting a paw

A dog displaying the lip/nose licking behavior.

The behavioural patterns listed above have the potential to be used as calming signals, but are only classified as such in the appropriate context. For example, a dog lying down when resting would not be considered a calming signal, but a dog lying down when approached by another dog would be considered a calming signal. Thus, calming signals are context-dependent behavioural responses to a dog's environment.

Not all calming signals have the same efficacy in de-escalating aggressive encounters or conveying a dog's intention and dogs preferentially display certain calming signals over others depending on external factors such as distance between the sender and the recipient of the signal, and familiarity of the recipient to the sender. A dog is most likely to display a calming signal when it is directly interacting with another dog and when the dogs are separated by a small distance. Lip-licking is a calming signal whose use is noted to increase in frequency as the distance between the sender and the recipient decreases. However, sniffing the ground and yawning, which are both considered calming signals, are most often displayed when the distance between the sender and the recipient increases. Calming signals that are most commonly displayed by dogs overall are freezing, licking of the nose, and turning of the body away from the source of the escalation (i.e. a dog baring its teeth or growling).

Dog-Human Interactions

Domestic dogs display interspecific signaling, specifically towards humans. Because domestic dogs co-inhabit the same environment as their owners/handlers, humans are their principle social partners, and there is a great level of interaction between the two. Licking of the lips and looking away are calming signal-categorized behaviours that are used by dogs in both conspecific and heterospecific interactions, and in both instances are thought to be used to appease the recipient. Lip licking is used as a greeting behaviour to establish a peaceful basis for future interactions.

Understanding canine calming signals is crucial to experiencing positive interactions with dogs. Children under the age of six are least likely to correctly interpret auditory and visual calming signals displayed by dogs and, in the US, younger children have a greater probability of becoming victims of a dog attack. In cases where children cannot appropriately interpret and respond to calming signals, the dog-human interaction is likely to escalate and the dog may exhibit aggressive behaviours, such as biting. Because the recipient does not stop the stress-inducing behaviour (i.e. hugging the dog) after the sender had executed the calming signal. <<MAY REMOVE THIS LAST SENTENCE.

Conspecific Interactions

Two dogs meeting. The brown dog is displaying calming behaviors (softening the eyes, reducing body size, etc...).

Calming signals are often used by dogs post-conflict to diffuse aggressive behaviours and to regain a peaceful social environment. Dogs have evolved peacemaking social mechanisms to alleviate, prevent, or resolve conflicts. Some of these behaviour mechanisms are calming signals. Social groups of dogs display two types of post-conflict calming signal behaviour patterns: the two opponents of the conflict display the calming signals (reconciliation), or between a third-party member of the social group and one opponent (third-party initiated post-conflict affiliation).

Familiarity and distance between two individuals affects the frequency of use of calming signals and the types of calming signals used. Calming signals are used between dogs to prevent the escalation of an agonistic encounter. Intraspecific calming signals can be voluntary, such as licking the lips, or involuntary, such as the release of odours from glands during high-stress interactions. In both cases, the recipient receives the signal, understands its meaning, and acts on this information, often taking action to mitigate the stressful environment by changing their body language or demeanor.

Calming signals are not displayed in intraspecific interactions when the level of aggression or threat exceeds the aggression threshold of the sender. In these cases, dogs are more likely to rely on submissive behaviours than calming signals. Calming signals are only useful to a dog when there is a great enough probability that the direction of the encounter can be changed to de-escalate aggression.