Kind, Safe, or Resigned? – look beyond the visible surface behavior.

When we observe animals interacting with humans, whether in animal-assisted services or everyday life, it is easy to interpret a calm animal as a content animal. A dog lying quietly on the floor while being petted, or a rabbit sitting motionless on someone’s lap, is quickly described as “kind,” “patient,” or “cuddly.” But behavior alone does not always tell us the whole story about the animal’s inner state.

To safeguard good animal welfare, we must learn to look beyond the visible surface behavior. Silence is not the same as well-being. Passivity may be caused by safety and relaxation, but it may also be caused by insecurity, freezing, learned adaptation, or a situation in which the animal does not experience having real alternatives.

The paradox is that a safe animal will often use its body actively to communicate, move away, or say no. What we humans perceive as an exceptionally “kind” and compliant animal may, in some cases, be an animal that has given up.

When Passivity Is a Defense: Freezing, Adaptation, and Learned Helplessness

When we interpret an animal, we must always take into account the species we are working with. Different species have different strategies for handling uncertainty, stress, and danger. In some species, a freeze response may be a natural part of the species’ defensive strategy.

A classic example is the rabbit. As a prey animal, rabbits may respond to stress or potential danger by becoming completely still. The fact that a rabbit lies or sits motionless on someone’s lap therefore does not necessarily mean that it is enjoying the situation. It may also be a sign that the situation feels overwhelming, and that the animal is trying to cope by “freezing.”

The same principle also applies to horses. A horse that stands still during handling, training, or riding is often described as “kind,” “patient,” or “easy.” But in horses too, calmness and passivity may sometimes hide stress, discomfort, or resignation.

Horses often communicate through subtle signals: they move their gaze, tense their muscles, turn their head away, stop, or tighten their jaw. If these signals are repeatedly overlooked or ignored, something serious may happen: the horse stops trying.

This may resemble what we refer to in learning and behavioral psychology as learned helplessness. If the animal has learned that there are no good alternatives, or that trying to move away does not work, it may eventually settle into passive acceptance. What we humans interpret as harmony and tolerance may, in reality, be a form of resignation in a situation the animal does not experience as being under its control.

The Conflict Between Motivation and Emotion

This does not apply only to typical prey animals. We see the same in dogs. Many dogs have a strong social motivation and a strong desire for contact with humans. They actively seek attention, closeness, and interaction, but precisely this strong drive may come into conflict with what the animal actually feels in the situation.

A dog may have a genuine desire for contact, while at the same time experiencing the situation itself as frightening or overwhelming. When the social motivation is stronger than the discomfort, the dog remains in the situation, even if the environment or the way it is being handled triggers stress. In such cases, the dog ends up in a difficult internal conflict between what it is motivated to obtain and what it is emotionally experiencing.

It may stand, sit, or lie down and appear to “want” to be petted. But if we look closely, we may discover that the dog is not really fully present. The body may be stiff, and the gaze may be avoidant or glazed. In reality, the dog is mentally disconnecting because the emotional burden has become too overwhelming to handle.

The Downside of Training and the Blind Spots of Reward

In dogs, this passivity may also be reinforced by everyday obedience. We spend a great deal of time teaching dogs cues such as “sit,” “down,” and “stay.” A well-trained dog may remain in position simply because it has learned that this is what is expected of it, even when the situation feels difficult or directly uncomfortable on the inside. The cue to stay may therefore override the dog’s natural wish to move away and protect itself.

In addition, food motivation can make the picture less clear. If we use highly attractive treats, a food-motivated animal may choose to remain because of the reward, even while it is simultaneously experiencing discomfort, insecurity, or stress related to the environment or handling.

Here, the external motivation, such as the treat or the cue, may mask the animal’s actual internal state. The animal ends up in a conflict where the desire for food or learned obedience wins over the discomfort in the moment. This does not mean, however, that the situation is experienced as safe or positive.

Ask Yourself: Does the Animal Have Real Choices?

To understand whether the animal is actually thriving, we must shift our attention from what the animal does, to what opportunities the animal has, and what the finer nuances of its body language look like. We must ask ourselves some critical questions:

Does the animal have a real opportunity to opt out of the situation, completely without pressure, luring, or correction?

Is the animal there because it experiences safety and positive emotions, or is it a command, a treat, or strong social motivation that is keeping it there?

Is the body soft, the gaze lively, and the movements free? And does the animal return voluntarily and calmly after a break?

Real safety is about having control over one’s own situation. If the animal knows that it can move away whenever it wants, and we are sensitive enough to notice when it mentally checks out, the contact the animal actually chooses to engage in becomes far more valuable.

From Passive Acceptance to Positive Participation

In animal-assisted services, we must set the bar higher than the animal simply “putting up with” the job, standing frozen, or enduring the situation in order to get a treat. It is not enough that the animal tolerates handling, or that it does not show clear signs of protest, aggression, or flight.

In ethical animal-assisted work, the interaction should also provide the animal with real added value. The animal should not merely tolerate the situation, but have the opportunity to experience safety, mastery, and positive emotions.

Welfare is not only about the absence of discomfort, but also about the presence of positive experiences. Only when we facilitate participation with safety, real choices, and the animal’s own engagement can we call it a responsible and mutually beneficial collaboration.