Taunt dog
Between funny play and a stressed dog there is a slide that is easy to miss. The tail position, the look, a slightly turned head. The visual support below makes those signals visible so the child can step back before the dog has to.
♂Taunt dog
A person holds a stick out to a dog. The dog jumps towards the stick with its mouth open.
About this visual support
It usually starts with a laugh. A hand tugs at the ears, a toy is held up and snatched away, or a child sneaks up on a sleeping dog like it is a game. To the child it is still play. For the dog the line was crossed somewhere in between.
Visual support shifts the focus from ”stop that” to ”look at what the dog is saying.” The cards show clearly what a relaxed dog looks like and what a dog looks like when it wants out. A concrete tip: go through the cards when the dog is calm in its own spot, not in the middle of an already heated moment. Then the child links the image to the dog, not to a telling-off.
Later, let the child ”spot the signs” as a mission rather than a rule. Did they find a stiff tail? Good tracking, time to back off. In the Routined app you can save these steps as a quick reminder to revisit next time play gets too intense.