Field Guide · Glossary
Flooded
Reactivity and fearOverwhelmed to the point that a dog stops processing information and can no longer respond to cues.
How it works
The sound of a cue still reaches a flooded dog's ears. What fails is what happens next: the aroused brain drops the signal before it becomes a recognizable instruction, which is why a dog who knows a word perfectly at home appears not to hear it outdoors. The same applies to consequences in either direction. Food is not taken and corrections do not land, because a dog in this state is not processing what follows what. The word also names a training approach, exposing a dog to something frightening without escape until they stop responding, which risks shutdown rather than progress.
What it looks like
A dog on a busy street stops taking treats, stops responding to their name, and stares fixedly ahead. Nothing is wrong with their hearing or their training. There is more arriving than they can process.
Commonly confused with
- Shutting down
- Flooded describes a dog overwhelmed by input and unable to process it. Shutting down describes what can follow: a dog who stops offering any behavior at all. One is an overload, the other is a withdrawal.
Related terms
Where this comes up