Field Guide · Glossary
Flooding
Methods and protocolsAn exposure technique that keeps a dog in the full presence of something they fear, with no way to escape, until they stop reacting.
How it works
Gradual approaches start with the frightening thing far away or faint and move closer only as the dog stays relaxed. Flooding starts at full intensity and stays there, often with a leash or a small space preventing the dog from leaving. The intended result is that the fear fades once the dog finds nothing bad happens. The two risks most often raised are that the fear can instead grow stronger, and that a dog who stops reacting may have given up trying to escape while still frightened. The two outcomes can look alike from outside, because both produce a still, quiet dog.
What it looks like
A dog afraid of other dogs is walked straight into a crowded group class and held there on a short leash. After twenty minutes the dog lies flat and stops barking. Whether that is calm or shutdown shows in the next encounter: a dog who has adjusted approaches with interest, and a dog who shut down reacts again or freezes.
Commonly confused with
- Flooded
- Flooded describes a state: a dog so overwhelmed they can no longer process cues. Flooding is a procedure that deliberately holds a dog at full exposure, and it often produces that state.
- Desensitization
- Both involve exposure to something the dog fears. Desensitization keeps the intensity low enough that the dog stays comfortable and raises it in small steps. Flooding begins at full intensity and removes the option to leave.
Related terms
Sources