Andres Martin

There are many, MANY, different thresholds at work IN THE SAME dog.

Some lady (Donaldson?) wrote a book called, "Culture Clash", that describes the point at which a dog growls; the point at which a dog will lunge; the point at which a dog will carry on a fight. Those points are thresholds.

The point at which a dog will abandon a prey-based fight; the point at which a dog will abandon a survival-based fight; a domination fight; a mating-based fight.

The point at which a dog will abandon a search; the point at which a dog will play; the point at which a dog will bite at movement; etc., etc.

A threshold is simply the point at which...something...anything...changes or happens.

For example...my dog will lose interest in searching for a ball in tall grass - without handler help - in about 15 minutes. The threshold for that activity, would be a time and situation threshold. This changes if the dog is already very tired, if it's a very hot day, and so on.

If I look at my dog in the eyes, say, "Aha!", and twitch my shoulders, my dog is clattering face-high to me in an instant. That would be a very low - with me - play threshold. With someone else that does that, my dog will ignore the signs. If the person insists, my dog is likely to push the person hard with his paws. That would be a very high play threshold...situation specific.

If an adult person holds eye contact with my dog from aprox. four meters, and stands quietly and still, the hairs at the base and middle of my dog's tail will rise a bit, the tail will rise straight up, and his body will tremble. This would be a low fight threshold, based on distance, posture and who's doing it. Situation specific. If a child does the same thing, my dog will want to move forward to lick the child. Very high fight threshold.

Thresholds, IMO, are all situation specific, and serve to describe a dog. They are, "the point at which..." If the person describing a dog using the dog's thresholds, drives, character traits, etc. is an able communicator, the person(s) listening should end up with a clearer understanding of the dog.

Unfortunately, IMO, dogs cue on such subtle things, and a dog's world is so full of them, that the vast number of possible thresholds are largely (not completely) useless.