# Hackles....what does it mean?



## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

With Caeda perking up a bit after her short little illness/not eating I've been noticing something she did before, and is doing again, and am becoming curious about it...
Her hackles go up often. 
Playing with the neighbor's dog, or our friend's dog
She saw the other neighbor's dog at a distance
Some vehicles pull into the shared driveway
When she wants to keep a high value chew, beef bone etc (this one we know was aggression in one case)
I don't think it is all aggression, I truly don't, but can somebody clarify the variety of reasons a dogs hackles might rise? Are there ways to tell with other associated body language whether it is aggression, play, etc? I do know when it is really aggressive (snarls and nose wrinkling kinda pointed that out), but what about the milder aggression?


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

For Soro, his hackles only go up when he's wary.
-dog approaching
-strangers out front
-sound at the door (hackles + tail raised + thunderous bark)
-people walking 'suspiciously,' like hoodie covering their eyes, strutting around in the dark

If her hackles are going up WHILE she's playing with a dog (and otherwise not wary/bothered by its presence), could it possibly be a dominance thing?
I know that Soro's hackles go down as soon as he realizes the person/object/animal is no threat or is far away enough. If he and another dog are sniffing each other stiffly and his hackles aren't going down, I know chances are he's going to snap at that dog so I remove him from the situation.
HOWEVER, there have been times when Soro's hackles were up, and he was clearly wary (the other dog owners in the area even said, "watch out, look at his hackles," but the sniff and greet went without a hitch and we were on our way.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

Sammie often has her hackles up when she's playing with dogs she doesn't know. Usually, after a while and depending on how hard the dogs are playing, they will go down. When Sam plays really hard with another dog, they tend to go back up; I view that as just high play arousal. All her other body language says "Let's play!" You can usually tell the difference between aggressive hackles versus playful hackles by body language. When Sam is being aggressive (as in, another dog enters our property and she doesn't like it) her tail goes up real stiff, and she just generally seems all rigid and stiff with an intense stare. When she's playful, she play bows, jumps around, and tries to initiate a chasing game. There is no stiffness and only a little intensity at first when both dogs are trying to figure each other out. I figure that the hackles are either a warning sign or high play arousal sign.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

mom24doggies said:


> When Sam plays really hard with another dog, they tend to go back up; I view that as just high play arousal. All her other body language says "Let's play!"


AH HAH so high play arousal can do it too....that is really good to know, because they went up one time right in the middle of play with another dog, it worried me a little, but body language (the best I could read) suggested that it was play fighting, I still watched like a hawk though!

Canyx....WARY, that is exactly the word I needed! She gets wary every time somebody drives by, walks by you name it....sometimes hackles go up, sometimes they don't. Her tail rarely gets stiff, but her body gets slightly tense....then she starts "chuffing" (such a cute sound! so big coming out of her!). I think aside from play it is wariness that makes her hackles go up....and occasionally she REALLY wants to play with the other dog and we don't let her. I'm guessing arousal? I dunno. 

It makes me feel better getting a little confirmation that more than aggression can cause the hackles to go. Especially since play arousal is a possibility


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Greater Swiss said:


> Canyx....WARY, that is exactly the word I needed! She gets wary every time somebody drives by, walks by you name it....sometimes hackles go up, sometimes they don't. Her tail rarely gets stiff, but her body gets slightly tense....then she starts "*chuffing*" (such a cute sound! so big coming out of her!). I think aside from play it is wariness that makes her hackles go up....and occasionally she REALLY wants to play with the other dog and we don't let her. I'm guessing arousal? I dunno.
> 
> It makes me feel better getting a little confirmation that more than aggression can cause the hackles to go. Especially since play arousal is a possibility


I know EXACTLY what you mean by "chuffing" and that is the PERFECT way to describe it. You should coin that word if no one else has done so!
And I'm happy to hear that hackles aren't only associated with stressful/wary situations too!


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

I have wondered this as well. When I inquired to a trainer and a Vet (different times and not related to each other) both of them said that it is an indication of 'arousal'. 

You can take that however you want. Arousal isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I think for owners its important to realize that your dog is in a different 'state' and you need to watch more closely for other body signals. 

I know that with Ozzie, when his hackles go up it means trouble. They don't go up unless he is really aroused and ready to charge/fight. 

Tylers go up more frequently. As with Soro (see, they really are twins!) Tyler's hackles will go up if he is weary. It is usually when he is greeting another dog and the other dog is closely sniffing him. I know this makes him uncomfortable and the hackles just kind of tell me that he is feeling more uncomfortable with the situation than 'normal'. 

I also had a foster dog whose hackles went up for everything. Greeting people, greeting dogs, the doorbell. Whatever. He didn't have an aggressive bone in his body so the hackles to me (with him) just meant he was 'aroused'...

(oh, and Greater can you make a video of Caeda chuffing? I want to hear what she sounds like!  )


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Just for you +two 
(though GreaterSwiss can verify this sound for me)


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

Canyx said:


> Just for you +two
> (though GreaterSwiss can verify this sound for me)
> 
> [video]http://s851.photobucket.com/albums/ab77/Canyx/?action=view&current=Chuff.mp4[/video]


HAHA, yep, I know that sound! I have to get a good vid of Caeda one of these days, she does a bunch in a row


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Whoohoo!
I had my mom pose as a stranger knocking at the door... I expected some chuffing but all I got was barking and then tail wagging once he realized who it was.
Then I remembered Soro doesn't always do a full bark when I give him the cue. So I made the hand motion for bark and caught this on camera. Took maybe three tries. Now I'm trying to put "chuff "bark" and "growl" on separate commands


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Molly's hackles go up whenever she is agitated - even just a bit.

If Esther even HAS hackles, I've never seen them.


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## dagwall (Mar 17, 2011)

As +two said it's just arousal. It could be happy, wary, aggressive, playful, etc in some dogs it could be all, in others it might only be one of those or a select few. Really depends on the dog I think, something you'll get to learn about your dog the more time you spend together. Judge it by the rest of their body language and behavior I'd say. 

For Jubel it's mostly playful excited when his hackles go up, but he has done it a few times when he was wary. In the wary cases his body was stiff, tail high, and warning barks often when he sees people behind our house outside the fence. Our townhouse backs up to the back of another row of townhouses so people aren't back there frequently to see. Occasionally his hackles go up if him and another dog get snarky with each other at the dog park but not always.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Abby's hackles go up when she wants an item from her two other canine companions and they won't allow her to have it. Once she gets her own way.....and she gets custody of the item.....the hackles disappear.


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

Buffy's hackles used to go up a lot more when she was younger, especially when she was playing hard. She seems to have grown out of it mostly, except when there's a strange noise outside/at the door or when the mailman visits.

One time she was playing with an ACD puppy, and they were both running around having a ball with both their hackles up. It was kind of cute.


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## lisaj1354 (Feb 23, 2008)

Pepper chuffs when he's seeing something/someone that he's not familiar with. He also chuffs and makes what I call his "concern noise" (which is something like a whine) when he thinks someone is at the door or passing by, or even when someone he knows comes into the house.

He's hard to pin down on a lot of his behaviors.


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## IWlover (Sep 4, 2009)

Oh, yeah, I know that sound. Leo does and all my wolfhounds have done it. I call it "boofing" but chuffing is a great term for it. I was watching It's Me of the Dog the other night with Leo on the sofa next to me and boy, was he into watching that! At one point, when the two big dogs on TV were getting really rowdy, he started chuffing. 

As for hackles, that's something I've only seen Leo do a couple of times so far and I can't remember the circumstances involved.


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## Niraya (Jun 30, 2011)

Bella makes quick succession chuffs when she's unsure of something or why it's there - especially if it spooks her.

She also doesn't like seeing half of people. Scares her like crazy and she gets a bit aggressive if they're full body starts appearing. (I.e my father was standing on the steps and bella could only see half of him. Hackles went up and she started chuffing like crazy. When he started coming up the steps she shot under my computer desk and started growling very menacingly. Once she realized it was my dad, however, the tail started wagging like crazy)


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Ok, at times, are hackles like an involuntary thing? I know they can control them, but in heightened situations are hackles involuntary?


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

dogdragoness said:


> Ok, at times, are hackles like an involuntary thing? I know they can control them, but in heightened situations are hackles involuntary?


You know, I've been wondering that myself. I would LOVE to mark that behavior and be able to cue it!
Fur up. Fur down. Fur up. Fur down....


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

I'm pretty sure that its involuntary....kind of like when you get that feeling of the hair on the back of your neck going up, certain emotions trigger it. It would be SO cool to cue it though! I'm not going to try because I don't want to reward her when it seems she is trying to guard us from the neighbor mowing his lawn lol. 
On another note I'm STILL trying to get a vid of her chuffing, I'm sure when guests start arriving she'll go on a chuffing spree.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Chuffing is really the valid term for the tentative puppy near-bark. Usually puppies and young dogs do that when they are wary or concerned, but not quite scared. Hackles for many dogs can go up on the shoulders when they are angry or aroused, excited. They can go up all the way to the tail when they are fearful, aroused, wary. It is involuntary. I believe that hackles indicate a dog that is not completely confident and happy with the current situation. With a puppy, it is a learning situation, but with an adult, raised hackles can lead to growling, barking, and biting. I think it is better to back off a little and calm the situation, if the hackles are raised because of you. 

If a large dog, such as a Lab runs directly up to a Rottie or a Pit, then they may be confused about the situation, and hackles will go up... because the Lab does not yet represent an obvious threat. When the Lab does a playbow and barks, the other dogs will relax. They may not play, but they know they don't have to fight.

On the flip side, if a Lab comes into the dog park, and a bunch of dogs mobs him to start sniffing, then the Lab might raise hackles all the way to the tail. As soon as the sniffing is over, the Lab is no longer wary and the hackles drop.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

hanksimon said:


> Chuffing is really the valid term for the tentative puppy near-bark. Usually puppies and young dogs do that when they are wary or concerned, but not quite scared. Hackles for many dogs can go up on the shoulders when they are angry or aroused, excited. They can go up all the way to the tail when they are fearful, aroused, wary. It is involuntary. I believe that hackles indicate a dog that is not completely confident and happy with the current situation. With a puppy, it is a learning situation, but with an adult, raised hackles can lead to growling, barking, and biting. I think it is better to back off a little and calm the situation, if the hackles are raised because of you.
> 
> If a large dog, such as a Lab runs directly up to a Rottie or a Pit, then they may be confused about the situation, and hackles will go up... because the Lab does not yet represent an obvious threat. When the Lab does a playbow and barks, the other dogs will relax. They may not play, but they know they don't have to fight.
> 
> On the flip side, if a Lab comes into the dog park, and a bunch of dogs mobs him to start sniffing, then the Lab might raise hackles all the way to the tail. As soon as the sniffing is over, the Lab is no longer wary and the hackles drop.


Great explanation!
I also figured this out a few moments ago. I came home late and tried to sneak in through the door. Soro heard the keys and came barking into the hallway. I left the door open and hid on the other side. He was still barking and I peeked in while waving my hand. That got him barking even harder; his tail was quivering like a tree branch, and his fur was raised ALL THE WAY down his back to the base of his tail! Truly a fearsome sight!

When he found out it was me he was super excited and started his full body wag, but the hackles didn't go down until he 'shook them out' a few seconds later. That's my boy 

And in the dog park, I usually have to remove him from the situation when I see the hackles because the next step after that is snapping.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Cool point - Calming Signal: Shaking the body... I believe that dogs shake their bodies when they change emotional state... sometimes. ...... I may be plagiarizing Turid Rugaas


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## RCloud (Feb 25, 2011)

Charlotte does this when she gets excited, "excited" being a lot of different things. This could be when she's playing, greeting a strange dog, smells something, and in some cases aggression towards other dogs.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

hanksimon said:


> Cool point - Calming Signal: Shaking the body... I believe that dogs shake their bodies when they change emotional state... sometimes. ...... I may be plagiarizing Turid Rugaas


Could it not be something as simple as appearing larger to something dog is wary/aggressive etc towards. Many animals in the wild swell up etc to appear larger and ward off confrontation.


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## Shiningsummer (May 24, 2010)

I believe the technical term is "piloerection." Basically it's like when the hair on the back of your neck stands up or when you get goosebumps. Just means the dog is excited about something. Usually the only time I see Molly's hackles go up is when the dogs next door bark over the fence at her.


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## MissMutt (Aug 8, 2008)

Hackles indicate a higher state of arousal/awareness/excitement. Kind of like goosebumps in a person. It is an autonomic response (involuntary). If it happens often, that doesn't mean she's aggressive, but perhaps easily triggered/reactive. When they're up during play, I don't think it's anything to be concerned about unless she is showing other signs of being uncomfortable or not playing properly. When her hackles raise when you approach her while she's chewing on a bone, that to me might be a warning sign for the beginnings of resource guarding (which is not really aggression, but ANXIETY) and I'd start working on it immediately.


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## theyogachick (Aug 2, 2009)

Gracie's hackels are up all the time when she is playing. I wish I could get a picture--she looks like a razorback. Her hackles start at her head and go all the way down to her tail. It is funny to look at.


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

hanksimon said:


> Chuffing is really the valid term for the tentative puppy near-bark. Usually puppies and young dogs do that when they are wary or concerned, but not quite scared.


It is the valid term....cool! and btw, your whole explanation of hackles and what they mean is fantastic!
I managed to get some pretty good chuffing video of Caeda when people were showing up over the weekend: 

She often starts by barking then downgrades to chuffs, but this time she just chuffed. So cute lol


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