When the Dog World Got Confused: Submission, Fear, and the Culture of Mislabeling Behaviour
- Sybinta Saunders
- Dec 6
- 5 min read
There has never been a time in the dog world where information has been so abundant and yet so misunderstood. Between social media trainers, viral videos, and well-meaning owners sharing advice online, dog culture has drifted into a strange space where natural canine behaviour is constantly misread. The biggest area of confusion is the difference between submission, appeasement, and fear. Somewhere along the way, many people began treating normal canine communication as something harmful, and dog trainers became scared of acknowledging the truth in front of them.
The result is a fractured industry filled with hesitation, mistaken judgments, and dogs who suffer because their behaviour is misunderstood. This confusion has also created a landscape where many owners have accidentally been scammed by inexperienced trainers, especially those who cannot read the difference between fear and submission. When a dog genuinely needs a confident canine behaviour specialist or a top Australian dog trainer who understands pressure and communication, owners are often persuaded into programs that fail their dog from day one. The inability to understand natural canine body language has become a tool for manipulation in the hands of the wrong trainers.
Submission Is Not Abuse. Appeasement Is Not Trauma. Fear Is Not a Training Goal.
Dogs communicate through body language long before they move their feet. A softening of the eyes, lowering of the head, rolling onto the side, licking at the air, ears back, tail tucked, or even freezing can all mean very different things. These behaviours sit on a spectrum. But instead of learning that spectrum, many trainers have fallen into the idea that any discomfort or any sign of submission automatically equals fear or pain.
This is not only incorrect. It harms dogs.
Submission in dogs is a healthy, normal, socially intelligent behaviour. It is the dog saying, “I understand. I hear you. I am yielding to the direction given.” It is the same communication used between dogs when an older dog corrects a puppy. It stabilises relationships. It builds clarity. It prevents conflict.
Fear, on the other hand, looks very different. True fear shows in avoidance, escape attempts, dilated pupils, panting unrelated to temperature, trembling, excessive salivation, pacing, or frantic behaviour. Fear does not look like a dog calmly lowering its head and stepping into guidance.
Yet many trainers today label everything as fear simply because the dog is not celebrating the process.
The Fear of Discomfort Has Created Poor Training
Modern dog culture has become so focused on avoiding any form of discomfort that trainers now panic at the idea of a dog yielding to pressure. They cannot tell the difference between a dog thinking and a dog shutting down.
It is normal for a dog to be unsure while learning. It is normal for a dog to pause, process, and look to the handler for direction. It is normal for a dog to say, “Okay, I understand, you lead.” None of these moments are fear. They are the beginning of trust.
But when we treat all hesitation as trauma, we strip dogs of the chance to build resilience. We teach owners that their dog must be endlessly confident and happy, or something has gone wrong. This is unrealistic and deeply unfair to the animals we love.
Dogs need leadership, boundaries, and communication. They need clarity more than constant emotional cushioning.
Appeasement Is Connection, Not Collapse
Appeasement gestures like licking lips, lowering ears, soft whining, or gentle nudging are often misinterpreted as panic. Yet appeasement is a social skill. It is how dogs avoid conflict and maintain harmony. These behaviours are especially common when a dog is being guided or corrected during training. They are not signs that a dog is being harmed. They are signs that the dog is reading communication correctly and offering its own in return.
When we mislabel appeasement as fear, we judge a normal and healthy communication style as broken.
The Blurred Lines Have Made Trainers Hesitant and Ineffective
Being a dog trainer once required two skills. The first was the ability to read dogs. The second was the courage to work with what you see.
Now, many trainers are scared of both.
They fear being judged. They fear backlash. They fear showing a dog being guided, corrected, or learning through controlled pressure. They blur submission with fear and appeasement with trauma because they are trying to protect themselves from criticism rather than protecting the dog’s emotional clarity.
This avoidance culture has led to trainers who cannot keep dogs safe, cannot teach owners leadership, and cannot help dogs who genuinely need structure. It has created high-conflict dogs who never receive the guidance that would have changed their lives.
In Melbourne and Geelong especially, so many owners search online for a dog behaviourist or aggression specialist and are met with a confusing sea of options. Without knowing what real canine behaviour expertise looks like, they end up with trainers who lack the skill to work with serious behaviour cases. This is why the owners who look for an internationally recognised canine behaviour specialist or board and train expert often seek out trainers who can confidently differentiate fear from appeasement and provide real results.
Clarity Creates Confidence
A dog who understands the rules is a dog who can relax. When trainers and owners learn to correctly read the difference between fear, appeasement, and submission, everything changes.
The dog becomes more confident.
The handler becomes more reliable.
The training becomes more effective.
The relationship becomes more balanced.
Understanding dog behaviour is not about avoiding discomfort. It is about providing direction. Clarity is kindness.
The Path Forward
The dog world must get back to a place where we respect natural canine communication. We must educate owners and trainers to recognise the difference between a dog who is afraid and a dog who is learning. We must bring confidence back into the industry by reminding people that submission is not something to fear. It is something to understand.
Dogs are not confused. People are.
Returning to grounded, old-school communication with dogs is not harsh. It is the bridge to harmony. When we see dogs for what they are, instead of what social media tells us they should be, we finally give them what they have needed all along.
Clear leadership. Honest communication. Calm behaviour. And above all, understanding.
As one of the top Australian dog trainers, widely known in Melbourne, Geelong, and across Australia for behavioural rehabilitation and aggression work, I see these misunderstandings every day. Vets refer to me. Trainers refer to me. Owners searching for a canine behaviour specialist, a board and train program, or a dog behaviour expert find clarity here because the methods respect the dog’s nature instead of fighting against it.
Sybinta Saunders, CBMS (Canine Behaviour Modification Specialist)International Behavioural Trainer & Aggression Specialist – Melbourne, Geelong & Australia Wide
Board & Train | Aggression Cases | Behavioural Rehabilitation
Little River Victoria
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