As of: March 2, 2024, 8:35 a.m
By: Sandra Barbara Furtner
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When the dogs Serling and Mia meet, they remain in a state of shock for minutes.
Will it explode straight away or will it end in the game?
What is behind this behavior?
No matter whether with us humans or with other dogs, dogs relatively often get into a conflict situation that they can basically solve with four strategies.
One of these strategies is “freezing”.
The dogs become completely stiff and show no movement whatsoever.
A young woman from El Salvador shows what this can look like.
Ale Miranda watched her two four-legged friends Serling and Mia and shared it on TikTok under
@alemirrranda
.
The video caused quite a stir and received more than 27 million views.
Who will look away first or run away?
This type of freezing usually only lasts a few seconds, but according to their owner, these two lasted a full nine minutes.
“It was as if time had stood still,” says Ale Miranda when she saw her four-legged friends in the hallway.
“It's crazy.” A golden retriever on a leash, greeted by a free-running dog, shows completely the opposite behavior.
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At first she found the behavior quite mysterious and couldn't explain it.
Worried, she asked her vet for advice.
He gave the all-clear and assured her that it was just a game between the two of them.
“As soon as one of them moves, they start chasing each other.”
They seem to have a lot of fun seeing who can last longer and start to frolic around happily after the game has been stopped.
You can tell from certain signals whether a four-legged friend is feeling comfortable.
But not for all dogs, freezing has to mean a game.
Some dogs freeze into a pillar of salt and wait until the situation is over.
The four conflict strategies dogs use
Flight
Fight
Freeze
Fiddle/Flirt (fooling around)
Escape:
This strategy involves the dog trying to avoid the conflict by retreating or running away.
This can manifest itself in running, hiding (in the bushes or under the sofa) or walking backwards.
Dogs often choose to run away when they feel overwhelmed or threatened.
Fight:
Attack is a conflict strategy that dogs use when they feel threatened or want to defend their resources.
This can manifest itself through growling, barking, baring of teeth, or even attacks.
Aggressive behavior can occur for a variety of reasons, including fear, insecurity, dominance, or territorial behavior.
Freeze:
When freezing, the dog remains in a certain position and literally freezes.
This strategy is usually associated with uncertainty and is intended to help the dog “make itself invisible”.
He usually waits until the situation is over.
Fiddle:
Dogs use appeasement signals to reduce tension and avoid conflict.
These include softening eye contact, yawning, scratching, licking lips, raising a paw, or turning in circles.
A request to play or a submissive approach can also occur.
These skipping actions serve to de-escalate the situation and signal to the other person that the dog is not a threat.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at her own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.