Presented here is the article on Calming Signals on the Three Retrievers web page, intended for the general public:
Calming signals are a set of facial expressions and body language that dogs instinctively use to calm each other down. Turid Rugaas has produced many books and videos on this subject, and I highly recommend that you learn from her. Kat Albrecht also has a video on Calming Signals for lost dogs.
If your dog is lost right at this moment, you may not want to take the time to watch a long video or read the books written by Rugaas. Also, her studies don't specifically mention dogs that are wandering stray. This brief guide on calming signals for stray dogs is written just for your situation, and you can also share it with anyone who may be looking for your dog, so they don't do the wrong thing.
Sky, pictured above, had lived in a cemetery for several months when I found out about her. She behaved as a feral dog, and she wouldn't let anyone approach her. She would bark at a humane trap because it was foreign, and this told us she would be unlikely to go in the trap. She has lived with me for six years now, and she loves to play with my other dogs. When I first spotted Sky in the cemetery, I ignored her, and pretended I didn't see her. I watched her behavior for a while to see how she responded to people in the distance. She was showing classic avoidance behavior, as you would expect from a dog who has been wandering loose for a while. Stray dogs inadvertently become trained to avoid people because so many people try to help strays and they keep repeating the same mistakes, over and over. The person trying to help a stray doesn't think the dog has been through this scenario a dozen times already, but if you think about it logically, if a dog would respond to a whistle, and patting your leg, and saying in a soft voice, "Come here, girl," then she wouldn't still be roaming as a stray. To get Sky to warm up to me, I walked across her known travel path, and I "accidentally" dropped some bits of hot dog. She noticed, and she began to follow me as I continued letting treats fall to the ground. Then I sat down, with my back to her, and let her check me out. Very importantly, I did not kneel or squat. I was sitting on the ground with my legs out in front of me, and my body language showed her that I was relaxed and calm, and there was no way I could suddenly get up and chase her. I did not look at her at all, directly. I used my phone to watch her behavior by using the front or rear camera. I tossed bits of hot dog toward her, and then a little closer and a little closer. She eventually came close enough that she would eat out of my hand, but I did not try to grab her. I spent several hours just hanging out with her that afternoon, and I let her get comfortable. Someone interrupted us, so I had to quit for the day. In all, I spent four days gaining her trust before she let me put her in a car. You can see a video of Sky's capture here.
Calming signals, in relation to catching a stray dog, are as much about what you don't do as it about the actions you take.
Don't make eye contact with the dog. If you do make eye contact, then look to the side next.
Don't chase a stray dog.
Don't expect your dog to behave in a normal way, even if you have known the dog for years.
Don't move toward a dog if the dog shows signs of getting ready to bolt.
Don't kneel or squat.
Don't call the dog's name, even if it's your dog!
Don't grab for the dog.
Don't put your hand over the dog's head.
Things you should do.
If this is your dog, just talk in a normal tone of voice, or turn to the side and call the name of another dog in your household.
Watch the body language of the dog, and adjust your actions according to what makes the dog more comfortable.
Have plenty of high-value dog treats, such as hot dogs, fried chicken, cheeseburgers, or pizza.
If at all possible, try to lure the dog away from busy streets, to a yard or park or quiet side street, before you continue with calming signals.
Call a friend to bring treats to you if you don't have any.
Get closer to the dog by walking in a path 45 degrees to the side of the dog and gradually spiraling closer.
Sit on the ground with your legs stretched out in front of you.
Turn your body to the side so you are not facing the dog.
Pretend to eat the dog treats, and "accidentally" drop some.
Eventually, toss some treats toward the dog, but not at the dog.
Instead of looking at the dog, look at your phone, and use the front or back camera to monitor the dog’s behavior. As far as the dog is concerned, you are completely ignoring her and engrossed with your phone, as so many people are these days.
Get a picture, in case this attempt fails and the dog runs off again. Silence your camera-phone, so the shutter noise doesn't scare the dog.
Take your time, and let the dog come up to you when he is ready.
If possible, have an assistant keep people away, so you have room to work and no one interferes.
Let the dog eat out of your cupped hand.
Yawn several times.
If the dog is eating out of your hand, gently rub under the chin. Don't force the dog. Only pet the dog if he's comfortable.
Let him see the leash and smell it before you put it over his head.
If all of this isn't quite working, you can switch to using a humane trap. Don't undo all of the trust you've built by grabbing at him.
Another trick you can use is to run away from the dog and get her to chase you. This can put a dog at ease.
After you catch the dog, one way or another, it is very important to continue to use calming signals to help the dog relax and learn to trust you.
On the second day of catching Sky, I ran all around the cemetery and "accidentally" fell down on the grass, and Sky would catch me. She let me pet her by the end of the second day. We still had to build trust before she would let me put her in the car. Calming signals also helped me capture Wilson. Even though he wouldn’t let me touch him, he trusted me enough to follow me to a humane trap, and he eventually went in. Dakota is another dog we helped with calming signals. In this case, based on her behavior, we decided to use a car as a trap, with a rope tied to the door handle. River is a dog we befriended with calming signals, but he would not get in the car until we helped him relax with a game of fetch.
I have used calming signals on hundreds of stray dogs, and it also helps with foster dogs or newly adopted dogs. When you have time, be sure to learn more about this important way of communicating with dogs. Also be sure to watch the videos in the links above to see how we helped Sky, Wilson, Dakota, and River.
Sadly, I have had experience with many cases where people did not use calming signals at a key moment, and the dog either died while fleeing or was never found. Some people are reluctant to use calming signals because they believe they know how to catch a stray, or because they believe their own dog would of course come to them. Failure to use calming signals is the number one barrier to helping a lost or stray dog. The use of the Calming Signals approach never hurts, even in those few cases where it may not have been necessary.
—End of web page article.—
If you are in the business of helping people with their lost pets, as a paid professional or a volunteer, what else should you know about Calming Signals? The main thing you will want to do to improve your skills is to observe dogs when they are not lost. Quite often, they will give each other calming signals. You need to spend hours watching for subtle signals. You should record video so you can review it. Record a dog’s facial expressions in slow motion so you can really see what’s going on. Observe your dogs when they meet other dogs while out on a walk (if it’s not complete mayhem). Observe dogs with erect ears and with floppy ears, to see the difference. How does a poodle, like Fozzie, do calming signals if you can hardly even see his face? Dogs communicate with their bodies as much as with their faces. How does he position himself? How is he holding his tail?
Particularly in the video of Wilson, you can read his body language and watch it change and adjust. He starts out wanting food but ready to bolt at any moment. His weight is back, and his muscles are taught, ready to leap away. He is constantly checking over his shoulder to make sure no threats are approaching from behind. Over the course of the 11 minutes of the video, which covers from 4:52 PM to 6:34, watch his attitude relax. He comes closer. He doesn’t always look to the side but starts watching my face more, engaging with me. By the middle of the video, we are allies. He can eat out of my hand. I am not trying to grab for him, so he can trust me. He is using me as a protector and I help him feel safe. He doesn’t necessarily want me to touch him, but he likes being close. He doesn’t feel calm enough to go in the van, but he will follow me to the trap. My calm presence near the trap helps him know that it is not a threat. Because he has never seen a trap before, it appears that it might just be some sort of feeding station. He is wary of the trap, but my calming signals help him go in. Please watch all of the videos, of Sky, Wilson, River, and Dakota, and watch their behavior and expressions change as the videos progress.
I encourage you to make your own videos when you have the opportunity to practice calming signals on a stray dog. For one thing, using your phone’s video is a way to observe the dog without looking directly at him, so recording video is a natural part of the process of calming signals. Also, you will know what you did that made him feel more or less calm. Ideally, for teaching purposes, there should have been a second camera watching me and my body language as I worked with Wilson, so you could see in real time how he responded to my choices. If you make your own video, it will help you learn. There is never not a stray dog. Any time you want to practice calming signals on a stray dog, just check Facebook lost pet pages, and you will find at least ten stray dogs per day needing the help of calming signals. Also, if you can, take your dog to the local off-leash park, and watch as dogs give calming signals to each other, when a dog is too excited or tense. Take video, including slow motion video, so you can see the nuances of how they use calming signals on each other.
The video of catching the Rattlesnake Mountain Gang, four puppies apparently dumped in the wilderness, shows calming signals over a three day period. Towards the end of the video, there is a brief shot of me sitting on the ground, with Raphael draped over my legs. So, obviously it worked on him. My position and posture is the default for calming signals: sitting on the ground with your legs out in front of you. You can’t get up quickly from that position. Sitting like that tells the dog that you are not going to lunge at him or do anything suddenly. Another technique demonstrated with the Rattlesnake Mountain Boys is that if you let a dog take a nap near you, and he wakes up after his nap and you haven’t tried to go anywhere or do anything, it builds a lot of trust. This happened with Sky in the cemetery, too. If the dog wakes up and sees you there, and you were guarding her as she slept, it builds a bond. This also brings to light another point of calming signals: take your time. You want to go slow so you can read the dog’s signals, but also to give the dog time to adjust and to accept you. With Sky, it took 4 visits over a five day period. With the 4 Turtles, it took 3 consecutive days of visits. With Wilson, it took an hour and forty-two minutes. With River it took several hours. One of the main points of calming signals is that you are taking things slow. Nothing is forced. You let the dog dictate how fast you proceed. The dog, who has been in a situation of scary strangers and probably scary cars, is allowed to be in control. You are listening to him, taking his cues. You give him the space and the time to feel safe. You are his ally and you earn his trust over however much time he needs.
Please practice calming signals with stray dogs and with all dogs. Use it on your own dogs, to calm them down. Observe dogs with each other. Record videos and learn nuances of expression. Everyone ought to know calming signals and use them automatically with dogs. If you take the time to learn and practice calming signals, I guarantee that it will be useful many times in the future. You will save a dog’s life if you learn calming signals.