What are the 4 F's of dog behavior?

The 4 primary fear responses in dogs, also known as the 4 F’s, are Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fidget. When a dog encounters a potentially threatening or anxiety-inducing situation, they will respond with a fear response. Their response may vary based on genetics, past experiences, and their coping skills learned during their socialization period. The Fight response is one of the most common, and misunderstood fear reactions in dogs. The Flight response is another common fear response that you have most likely seen your dog or another dog perform. The Freeze response is where a dog will remain completely still in the presence of a perceived threat with the hope that it will move past them without noticing them. The Fidget response is a less commonly recognized fear response. Understanding the 4 F’s of fear - fight, flight, freeze, and fidget - is crucial to addressing behavioral concerns and addressing our dog’s emotional well-being. By recognizing these fear reactions we can help our dogs overcome their fears, build confidence, and have a happier relationship with our pups. Sometimes dogs may display a combination of fear responses or transition from one to the other. For example, a dog may initially freeze when confronted with a scary stimulus, but if the opportunity arises to escape, they might transition to a flight response. Or if pushed past their limits and their warning signs are not listened to while fidgeting, they may resort to a fight response if their fear escalates.

The result is the famed fight-or-flight response. In reality, there are four responses you might see in pets, says Landsberg-fight, flight, fidget or freeze. Fight. This is active stress or active fear. The pet may become aggressive to remove the threat in the situation. Flight. Pets may try to flee the situation. Fidget. This is a conflict situation-the pet isn't sure how to react to the situation. Freeze. Pets may stay motionless while whatever is happening around them plays out, but what's going on inside is a different story.

When I taught psychology we told students that the 4 Fs refer to the function of a small part of the brain called the hypothalamus. It controls food consumption, fear, aggression (fight), and procreation. These are all very basic functions that serve to keep us alive. It seems though that for animal trainers the Fs have taken on a slightly different meaning and have expanded greatly. Here are some of the others, in addition to the basic 4, that were shared: Flight Freeze Fixate Fiddle Fool around Faff about (the British version of fool around) Fawn Flirt Frenetic Faint Fret FOMO (fear of missing out). When faced with threat or overwhelmed by stimuli our dogs may display any of these Fs.