Frustration and Its Impact on Search and Rescue Canines

Dickinson, S., & Feuerbacher, E. N. (2025). Frustration and its impact on search and rescue canines. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2025.1546412

#WorkingDogScience

After decades in the field with working dogs, I’ve seen it too often: a capable SAR dog suddenly struggles with a known task. Sometimes, they shut down; at other times, they become agitated, barking and scanning but unable to focus. The common denominator? Frustration. In another study I conducted, I found that 64% of SAR handlers consider frustration a necessary component of SAR training. That belief, paired with what I’ve observed repeatedly over 25 years, fueled this study, which forms part of my doctoral research. 

What Is Frustration?

Frustration is an emotional response to unmet expectations. In dog training, we have used frustration to motivate dogs and elicit behaviors like barking. Some dogs increase arousal and maintain a positive valence; these dogs do not experience true frustration and are motivated by the training. However, many dogs increase arousal and shift to a negative valence; these dogs are experiencing frustration.

Frustration is a form of psychological stress and is considered a negative welfare state. Over time, this can erode both task performance and the dog’s emotional stability in working environments.

Why This Study Matters:

Differential Response to Stress

Stress—whether physical (like hard exercise) or psychological (like frustration)—activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Traditionally, it has been difficult to determine whether a working dog’s stress results from physical workload or psychological strain.

However, heart rate variability (HRV) provides us with a valuable tool. HRV helps to differentiate between types of stress and their intensity. It reflects how effectively an individual is managing stress and can even predict future stress reactivity.

What We Did:

We wanted to understand how frustration affects SAR dogs both physiologically and behaviorally, compared to simple physical exertion. All dogs in the study experienced both conditions in a counterbalanced, within-subject design:

A handler blocking access to a reward.

• In the frustration condition, dogs were purposefully frustrated using three different contingencies – blocked access (toy tease and then prevented the dog from accessing the toy), blacked access (prepared them and told them to search but did not let the leave), and withdrawn attention (stop all attention towards the dog).

A handler and K9 walking laps.

• In the physical exertion condition, dogs were walked with their handler through around a course at a set pace, to simulate moderate exercise without psychological stress.

After each condition, dogs completed a three-object discrimination task. We measured:

• Latency (how long it took them to communicate the correct location), and

• Heart rate variability (HRV) is an objective marker of stress.

What We Found:

• Frustration created a stronger stress response. HRV decreased more following the frustration condition, suggesting higher, negative valence psychological arousal or strain.

• Performance declined. The latency of the indication increased significantly after frustration compared to after mild physical exertion, suggesting that psychological stress impacts the dog’s ability to process cues and execute trained responses.  Additionally, the number of false indications increased after frustration compared to baseline and after exercise.

• Behavioral effects were apparent. Some dogs disengaged, others were highly aroused.  Inappropriate grass sniffing and scratching increased after frustration.

Why This Matters for SAR Handlers:

Frustration can disrupt performance just as much as fatigue. Yet it often goes unrecognized or is mistakenly assigned to disobedience or disinterest. When dogs experience repeated failure, lack of clear feedback, or reward unpredictability, they don’t just get confused—they get stressed.

Signs of Frustration to Watch For:

• Increased latency or sloppy execution on known tasks

• Excessive vocalizing, pacing, or disengagement

• Difficulty settling between exercises

• Displacement behaviors (e.g., sniffing the grass, scratching, sneezing, yawning, lip licking)

What You Can Do:

• Learn how to develop behavior through operant conditioning procedures to limit the need to elicit frustration-based responses.

• Be intentional when using frustration to build persistence, and balance it with recovery.

• Learn how to adjust reinforcement schedules to effectively insulate against real-world frustration.

• Give your dog time to reset after high-arousal or emotionally charged training or reward events.

• When you observe the behaviors mentioned above, consider the recent reinforcement history. If there is reason to believe the dog is frustrated, adjust the environment to help the dog get back on track.

This work underscores that performance and welfare are inseparable. Recognizing frustration not only helps preserve your dog’s operational effectiveness, but it also aids in keeping them healthy, focused, and happy at work.