What behavior/body language is this?

[Slick]

Take a look at this video and give me your opinion on what you are seeing, based on Leo's body language.

(I can't figure out how to imbed, so here is the link)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29615737@N00/18946307251/in/shares-474Qf1/



Leo won't swim and doesn't like water too much (he'll go into lakes and streams, but doesn't even want to let his belly touch), but gets extremely amped and anxious if anyone is in the pool, especially if they splash or go under water. He cannot and will not settle at all, and wants to pace, pant and bark the entire time.

At first, I just thought he was worried for whoever was in the pool, but I've been doubting that lately. He seems too tense. His hackles are way up the entire time. In this video, he didn't do it, but he will also growl extensively if people splash too much. The fact that he consistently barks is also crazy, because this dog basically never ever barks. I can go weeks without hearing him bark.

But anyways, I am certainly not a dog expert and not the best at reading doggy body language.

What do you see going on here?
Is he just nervous for the people swimming? Is it prey drive? What is going on?

I don't let him obsess, and don't let him generally do this (I just let him for literally those 50 seconds in order to get a video), but a part of me wants to know if he is just acting weird, or if I should be legitimately worried that he could bite or something.

Do you see him as acting worried or slightly aggressive?

 

[lancerandrara]

LOL I watched it twice and Leo is cute. *_*

Anyway, I don't have much cred to make a firm statement or anything, but I get the feeling it stems from a kind of herding drive/instinctive desire to control an unpredictable situation, in his mind? Can't say that he would never bite in this state though, because dogs can be weird and unpredictable when extremely high-strung and anxious, and I don't know Leo.

The whole ordeal reminds me of my Aussie and MAS who have pet peeves like this (which I also blame on this need to control/stop-this-crazy-thing-happening), and they react in the same way.

Except that my MAS has actually snapped and landed a bite on my foot that bled... LOL. It was so fast and her mental state was so high up there that she didn't seem to comprehend that she bit me afterward.

 

[milos_mommy]

This is REALLY common and not just in herding breeds.

It's just anxiety/stress or even excitement over the stimulation of what's happening in the pool. I think for some dogs, they ARE worried about who is in the pool, it doesn't seem "right" to them...but moving water can also be really triggering, people in pools arent always calm and quiet, and people swimming isn't a movement they're used to. It's like a dog who reacts to anything else, like a bike or ball game...it's just not something a lot of dogs are socialized to and its a really common trigger for reactivity.

 

[amberdyan]

Hugo behaves similarly, but he loves the water. There have been times when my fiance will hold him while I swim because he can't be let off leash and I don't want a hold him out there where neither of us can touch the bottom. He is fine with all the strangers in the water if we're all out, but if any of his "people" go underwater he panics and whines and freaks out. I always assumed he thought we were kind of dumb and might die without him, lol. But I have no real basis for that.