“T.E.M.P” is an acronym originally created by the late doctor Sophia Yin.

T.E.M.P stands for “tails, ears, mouth, posture”. Dogs can't communicate in the way that is easiest for us to understand, but they have many ways to express what they are feeling. Understanding how to better “listen” to what your dog could be expressing could save a life. Many people think “oh the dog's tail is wagging, I can pet him”. When my dog Kiba was younger and greeting people, she would display one of two tail wags. If she knew the person she had a very loose, full body wiggle wag, if she did not know the person, she displayed a very low, stiff wag. One of those two wags could have ended in a bite. 

 

Many times when children go to the hospital after they are bitten by a dog, the parents say “Oh he bit so suddenly, there was no warning!” If you train your eye to understand what your dog is communicating, you may be able to spot the warnings. Other times the warnings were suppressed, “no growling fluffy, you're bad!”. PLEASE NEVER punish a growl! In no circumstance is a growl ever a bad thing. With tug it's usually a sign of fun. Other contexts of growling may say “I am uncomfortable with this situation, I need your help to get out”. PLEASE do not punish this!!! Your dog is politely telling you his boundaries, if he is growling he is holding back. If you tell him not to growl, he might just stop giving you that precious warning, and all that's left is his bite to communicate. 

 

Here are two of my favorite free public use videos on youtube doing a deep dive on this. Understanding your dog's T.E.M.P is one of the most critical first steps in your journey together. Maybe you have resource guarding, reactivity, over-exuberance with greeting new people, aggression, fear, or maybe a family dog who does not want the kids climbing on his back.

 Understanding your dog better is the first step to bite prevention, and probably the most important. "T.E.M.P" is in every interaction with our dogs. Dog training is not just about what we can say to our dogs, it's a two way conversation for 100% of interactions. If we are so busy focusing on what we have to say, but forgetting to LISTEN to what they have to say, we can end up with a serious situation, or just a lot of avoidable frustration in training. It isn’t a good habit anyways, we all know that one married couple who could benefit from listening a little more, and talking a little less ;) . 

I will link 3 videos, one created by my mentor Susan Garrett. This one episode may be enough for you to get by with, but this subject is vitally important so I will link you 2 other resources so you have all the examples you need to succeed! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZLXI9H3Aro&t=141s

 

These two videos give so many wonderful examples from Kris Crestejo so snag some tea, and enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bg_gGguwzg

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4N2XvnY7Mo&list=UUUXvRAsL5Q41h-KkhbNY3_w&index=1&t=0s

 

On a quick note, I want to add another common signal… “stress itching”.

Stress activates the immune system to release histamine. Histamine plays a role in signaling itch sensations. When police interview a suspect, and the suspect gets itchy, they can take note of it as a stress signal. Neat huh? 

 

A common video you will see is people coming home to a chewed household item like a couch, or toilet paper roll. They hit the record button on their phone, and say “WHAT DID YOU DO?” or, “WHO DID THIS”? They anthropomorphize the dogs signals when they lip lick, show their belly, paw lift, stress smile, slit eye, and stiff tail wags and assume the dog feeling the emotion “guilt”. Dogs' brains are very advanced, but in different ways. We have scientific evidence supporting that they strongly experience the primary emotions such as fear, joy, frustration, love, ect..., but there is no evidence they feel secondary emotions such as pride, guilt, or shame. People mistake these signals when in reality the dog is displaying fearful behaviors trying to avoid a punishment. There is no human in the world that can say for sure what a dog is thinking/feeling, but we can educate ourselves the best we can on making the best guesses on what they are trying to communicate. 

 

There are many surveys out there collecting data on bites, and in most you'll find they report children are always over half the percentage. It is not reasonable to expect your dog to put up with children smothering them, pulling ears, hugging them, riding them, irritating, and causing pain. You wouldn't want your kids doing that too you. The parent is responsible for managing respect for the dog's space, and teaching the child what's appropriate. If we don't, then the dog has no choice but to speak up for himself. My puppy Trico doesn’t get to see kids often, and he LOVES them to pieces, which is WONDERFUL, but it's our job to help dogs stay calm around the kids too, so that they are both equipped to have positive, safe interactions. 

 

Once you and the family have gone through the videos, let's play an easy game! It's called “The Meme Game”. We want every family member to play! Younger kids may need a little extra help understanding, but we absolutely want them to join in too. 

If the kids are very little, make a simpler version to play with them. Ask if they can spot a “happy” dog, or ask when the dog is “sad”. Ask them why they think he is happy, and help them discriminate best you can. We want to teach our kids to be able to use critical thinking on their own as soon as possible. At home you may be able to supervise dog and child interactions, or manage when you can’t, BUT there are times when your child may be on his own playing outside, see a stranger's dog, and rush up to the dog. 

 

Some time ago I was taking my less confident dog Kiba outside to potty, when a child down the sidewalk saw her. The child got so excited and started stomping towards her, running, and squealing “DOGGY” with his arms out towards her. She panicked. I had to hold her behind me while getting my body between her and the child, which was the only barrier I had at the moment. What would have happened if I couldn’t? It is unfair to your child, the stranger, and the stranger's dog if you put them in a situation that could be avoided by simply educating the child. The most powerful tool in the whole world is education.  Spread it like wildfire!

 

SO HERE IS HOW WE PLAY “THE MEME GAME”. Super simple game. After everyone has been through the videos, let's practice using your new skills! Print off the PDF below and go onto your favorite funnies platform.

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1. Grab some chips, coffee, a beverage, and set a 15 minute timer to binge on some funny animal videos.

 

1. Print off (or just scribble up a paper if no printer) the page below. It has a list of the signals that the videos you studied covered. Grab a pen too. 

 

1. Hit play and see how many of the signals you can spot and check off before the 15 minute timer goes up! Every time you see one on the list, cross it off. 

 

1. If there's multiple players, have a competition. Don't sit close enough anyone can cheat, but everyone line up in front of the T.V. and quietly cross off or circle every signal you see until the timer is up. The one who found the most signals WINS!