Understanding how posture relates to and directly influences behaviour in animals can give you valuable information about how and why your dog reacts the way he does in certain situations.

You can also use these observations to learn more about the dog already in your care or to assess a dogs' suitability for the life style that you lead.

Even if you are choosing a puppy, understanding the correlation between posture and behaviour can give you some indication as to how he will mature as many traits and behavioural characteristics are in place at a very early age. By understanding how Tension Patterns influence the dogs mind you can prevent or over­come many common problems and tailor your management of the dog to suit his individual needs.

What are Tension Patterns?
Tension Patterns are areas of tightness that exist in an animal's body. They maybe obvious and inhibit the natural movement of an animal to a greater or lesser degree or may be subtle and less easily detected. Either way they will have an effect on the way the animal functions on an emotional, mental and physical level. They can influence not only how the dog thinks, feels and learns but can hamper a dog's ability to be trained and adapt to new situations.

Whatever the origin, with awareness and TTouch you can help your canine companion move into a more balanced physical state that will enhance your relationship with your dog and improve his overall health and well-being. Whilst there are always exceptions to the rule the correlation between posture and behaviour has been observed over and over again - as posture improves, many common unwanted behaviours diminish without the need to use fear, dominance or force.

Why do Tension Patterns Occur?
There are a number of reasons why tension patterns occur. Whilst breed type and genetic makeup obviously influence posture other factors can also come into play.

Injury. As well as greatly reducing tolerance levels, pain can alter a dog's normal posture and movement. In my opinion lameness and pain levels are often overlooked in cats and dogs. The majority of difficult animals I have worked with over the past eight years as a TTouch and TTEAM Practitioner have shown a consistent underlying problem with sensitivity, gait irregularities and/or tension arising from medical issues. Even after the injury has healed the dog may still move in the posture it adopted to compensate for the original problem. He may have to learn how to move in a more effective manner once more, since the muscles may have developed unevenly, thus maintaining the posture the dog adopted to protect the injured area.

Medical Problems. Changes in hormones, thyroid imbalances, arthritis, hip dysplasia, and other medical problems give rise to many issues. Whilst veterinary care is paramount, awareness of how the underlying problem is affecting your dog gives you the opportunity to reduce stress and minimise the knock on effect the issue may have on your dog's posture and behaviour.

Trauma. Shock as a result of an accident or an emotional upheaval such as being in kennels, bereavement, or change of circumstance can cause tension throughout the body. Just as with humans, even low levels of stress can cause physiological changes and influence the dog in his day-to-day existence.

Management/Training. Lack of exercise, inappropriate environment, or unsuitable training methods can all cause stress in
a dog and exacerbate habitual and instinctive behaviour.
Poor nutrition and food allergies can also cause tension through the body by setting up tension through the stomach,
hind limbs and muzzle. In humans, poor nutrition can make muscles sore even to the lightest of touch and it stands to reason that the same might be applied to our companion animals.

Born that way. Some dogs present tension patterns right from birth. Puppies with higher levels of tension in their skin or in specific parts of their body will generally be more vocal and more demanding from even a few days old. Unless these tension patterns are reduced it is likely that the problems will grow as the puppy matures.

Identifying Tension Patterns

Before you can set about doing anything to relieve areas of tension you have to identify them. Spend some time watching the way your dog moves both on and off the lead. Note how he sits and how he lies down. Observe closely the way in which he holds himself and organizes his limbs when walking. Watch how he stops - does he always stand square or does he stand in an uneven frame? Does he stand base narrow or base wide (with his feet closely together or wide apart). Look at his tail - does it hang down, is it high or tucked firmly between his hind legs? Does he wag it more one side than the other? Can he walk in a straight line or does he cower and 'hug' the ground. Is he stiff? Is there a curve through his body or does the foot fall of his hind limbs follow the pattern of his front paws? Does one ear look as though it is higher or set further back than the other? All of these postural patterns will link to a dog's behaviour and with experience it is actually possible to gather enough information from the way a dog moves, stands, sits and lies down to form a picture of his likely responses in a variety of situations.

If you know the dog or if the dog is happy to be handled by unfamiliar people you can then use your hands to confirm or give you a more specific feel as to where the tension lies. Starting at the head, run the flat of your hand smoothly along the dog's neck and back and continue towards the hindquarters and tail. Progress to running your hand along the shoulder and side, and down the front and hind limbs. Once you have finished one side, check the other and note if your findings are the same on both sides of the body. If the dog is unsure at any point stop immediately. If the dog is shy or nervous, try using the back of your hand instead. Lift each leg slowly in turn - if he puts his weight on one limb it may be impossible for him to raise a leg when asked or he may keep that limb rigid indicating tension in the shoulder or hindquarter.

Note any peculiarities which indicate tension. These may include the following:

Changes in temperature - hot or cold patches
Differences in coat texture - such as scurf or raised or rough areas of hair. .
Lumps and bumps.
The skin or underlying muscles twitching when certain places are touched
A feeling of tightness in the skin or underlying muscle tissue
The dog expressing his concern in any way including moving away, freezing, or growling.

What to do

If you find tension patterns in your dog there is plenty that you can do to alleviate the problem. It is possible to produce a very rapid difference in a dog's behaviour and attitude to life. It is important, however, to be realistic and bear in mind that some tension patterns may take time and patience to address. This may depend on the longevity of the problem or the underlying cause.
Consulting a veterinary surgeon is vital if you suspect an underlying physical problem and making suitable adjustments to the environment and management of the dog may be necessary.

The Tellington TTouch variety of ground exercises and TTouches help to promote body awareness, use and posture. The more I do the work - the less I do in each session. It is easy to get carried away and throw every available piece of equipment on the dog as well as launching into a full body­work session but this not only overloads the owner but the animal as well. Sometimes a few gentle lifts and slides and a slow walking exercise can be enough to make a significant change in the first session. If we are asking the dog to quieten its behaviour - then surely we should be doing the same. Give the dog plenty of breaks to process the information and point out the changes in the posture as they happen. With practice you will see even the smallest of changes. The Central Nervous system, with awareness, can respond to the lightest of touch and the smallest of movement. This approach can be instrumental in developing a more balanced personality and can help eliminate many undesirable behaviour patterns. Simply punishing a dog for unwanted behaviour or escalating the level of the work will only make existing tension patterns worse and lead to the creation of others.

Sarah Fishers' website can be found at www.tilleyfarm.co.uk