Hackles: What Do They Really Mean?

For  most people, seeing their dog raise it’s ‘hackles’ is a rarity and  quite often they might not ever see it happen at all over the duration  of the dog’s life.  

When it does  happen, it often catches people by surprise with the behaviour being  wrongly assumed as being aggressive or dominant but despite this  long-standing misconception, it is not always the case.  

Somewhere  along the year of deciphering and understanding dog behaviour, hackles  were generalised under the aggressive and/or defensive body language  category but there is much more to them than that.

If  you aren’t familiar with hackles, or have never seen them, the term  refers to the hairs along the dog’s spine standing up in response to  situational triggers and the rush of adrenaline that comes from them.   The true term is piloerection, and it is an involuntary bodily reaction  that occurs in the same way humans get ‘goose bumps’.

As  an involuntary reaction, hackles in themselves are not a ‘behaviour’  and should be assessed alongside other body language signs, and the  situation, to determine the dog’s emotional state because hackles can  occur due to, or as a part of:

- Excitement
- Fear
- Surprise
- Nervousness
- Lack of confidence
- Cold
- Confusion
- Curiosity
- Overstimulation
- Play
- Defensive behaviour
- Intimidation
- Seizures

As  with the various reasons behind the behaviour, the appearance differs  greatly.  It could be only a subtle raise of hair around the lower back  or neck, to a full body ridgeback.

Dogs  communicate through a wide variety of body language; many are so subtle  you would not even notice them unless specifically trained in dog  behaviour.  But trained or not, should your dog be reacting to a  situation, and hackles are demonstrated, it is important not to  overreact or ‘correct’ the dog as they are likely communicating  insecurities.  If necessary, or if you feel it for the best, quietly and  calmly remove your dog from the situation it’s in.

For  instance, if your hound is becoming overstimulated during play with  another dog, hackles have gone up and they’re becoming a bit ‘too much’,  the other dog may feel they need to correct them and stop the play, and  if they’re request for calm is ignored it could instigate a fight.  

Alternatively,  an off-lead dog may have come charging up to your hound without care,  leading them to raise their hackles as a sign to the on-comer that they  are not comfortable with the approach.

The  longer you have your dog the better you will begin to understand what  their individual behaviours and quirks mean.  You may learn that when  their hackles go up in response to seeing their best friend at the park  and they’re really excited to play!

While  hackles can occur alongside aggression, it’s important to identify the  underlying reason by assessing the situation.  Hackles in relation to  aggression will be accompanied by barking, growling, snarling or  otherwise showing teeth.  We will be discussing the ‘Ladder Of  Aggression’ in a future post, as for a dog to get to this stage, a lot  of signals will have been missed.