Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
Reading Your Dog's Body Language
Understanding Canine Communication
By Jenna Stregowski, RVT, About.com Guide
Knowing how to read your dog's body language is the key to understanding your dog, assessing her attitude, and predicting her next move. Because dogs are non-verbal - their body language does the talking for them. Vocalization actually takes second place to a dog's body language. Once you learn these basic types of dog body language, spend some time observing dogs interacting with people and other animals in various situations. Understanding of dog body language can also help protect you and your dog from dangerous situations as well as aid in training or identification of common behavior problems.
Confident
The confident dog stands straight and tall with her head held high, ears perked up, and eyes bright. Her mouth may be slightly open but is relaxed. Her tail may sway gently, curl loosely or hang in a relaxed position. She is friendly, non-threatening and at ease with her surroundings.
Happy
A happy dog will show the same signs as a confident dog. In addition, she will usually wag her tail and sometimes hold her mouth open more or even pant mildly. She appears even more friendly and content than the confident dog, with no signs of anxiety.
Playful
A playful dog is happy and excited. Her ears are up, eyes are bright, and tail wags rapidly. She may jump and run around with glee. Often, a playful dog will exhibit the play bow: front legs stretched forward, head straight ahead, rear end up in the air and possibly wiggling. This is most certainly an invitation to play!
Submissive
A submissive dog holds her head down, ears down flat and averts her eyes. Her tail is low and may sway slightly, but is not tucked. She may roll on her back and expose her belly. A submissive dog may also also nuzzle or lick the other dog or person to further display passive intent. Sometimes, she will sniff the ground or otherwise divert her attention to show that she does not want to cause any trouble. A submissive dog is meek, gentle and non-threatening.
Anxious
The anxious dog may act somewhat submissive, but often holds her ears partially back and her neck stretched out. She stands in a very tense posture and sometimes shudders. Often, an anxious dog whimpers, moans, yawns and/or licks her lips. Her tail is low and may be tucked. She may show the whites of her eyes, something called whale eye An anxious dog may overreact to stimulus and can become fearful or even aggressive. If you are familiar with the dog, you may try to divert her attention to something more pleasant. However, be cautious - do not provoke her or try to soothe her.
Fearful
The fearful dog combines submissive and anxious attitudes with more extreme signals. She stands tense, but is very low to the ground. Her ears are flat back and her eyes are narrowed and averted. Her tail is between her legs and she typically trembles. A fearful dog often whines or growls and might even bare her teeth in defense. She may also urinate or defecate. A fearful dog can turn aggressive quickly if she senses a threat. Do not try to reassure the anxious dog, but remove yourself from the situation calmly. If you are the owner, be confident and strong, but do not comfort or punish your dog. Try to move her to a less threatening, more familiar location.
Dominant
A dominant dog will try to assert herself over other dogs and sometimes people. She stands tall and confident and may lean a bit forward. Her eyes are wide and she makes direct eye contact with the other dog or person. Her ears are up and alert, and the hair on her back may stand on edge. She may growl lowly. Her demeanor appears less friendly and possibly threatening. If the behavior is directed at dog that submits, there is little concern. If the other dog also tries to be dominant, a fight may break out. A dog that directs dominant behavior towards people can pose a serious threat. Do not make eye contact and slowly try to leave. If your dog exhibits this behavior towards people, behavior modification is necessary.
Aggressive
An aggressive dog goes far beyond dominant. All feet are firmly planted on the ground in a territorial manner, and she may lunge forward. Her ears are pinned back, head is straight ahead, and eyes are narrowed but piercing. Her tail is straight, held up high, and may even be wagging. She bares her teeth, snaps her jaw and growls or barks threateningly. The hairs along her back stand on edge. If you are near a dog showing these signs it is very important to get away carefully. Do not run. Do not make eye contact with the dog. Do not show fear. Slowly back away to safety. If your own dog becomes aggressive, seek the assistance of a professional dog trainer to learn the proper way to correct the behavior. Dogs with aggressive behavior should never be used for breeding.
In a way I think summaries such as this can be too simplistic, because dogs can be more than one thing at once, just as people can. I've seen playful/dominant, playful/submissive, playful/anxious ('I really, would like to play but you're a bit scary'), fearful/aggressive... I've seen confident/dominant/playful ('I'm going to play with you and I'm deciding the rules'), and confident/submissive/playful ('play with me, play with me, pleeeeeeease play with me, look, here's my tummy, isn't it adorable!').
I'm dubious about the 'dominant dog' description too. As Nettle has said, high-ranking dogs don't 'act dominant', they just expect and elicit appropriate behaviour from their lessers - they have no reason to raise their hackles.
I also really don't like the term 'an aggressive dog', for pretty much the same reasons you're not meant to tell your child that they are a naughty boy, but that they did a naughty thing. Any dog can be aggressive when pushed, but it's not an integral part of their personality.
Dominant
A dominant dog will try to assert herself over other dogs and sometimes people. She stands tall and confident and may lean a bit forward. Her eyes are wide and she makes direct eye contact with the other dog or person. Her ears are up and alert, and the hair on her back may stand on edge. She may growl lowly. Her demeanor appears less friendly and possibly threatening. If the behavior is directed at dog that submits, there is little concern. If the other dog also tries to be dominant, a fight may break out. A dog that directs dominant behavior towards people can pose a serious threat. Do not make eye contact and slowly try to leave. If your dog exhibits this behavior towards people, behavior modification is necessary.
This sounds more like a fearful dog that is using aggressive and/or offensive behavior to deal with that fear. Not all fearful dogs cower and behave "submissive". some try and bluff how tough/strong/dangerous" they are with displays that are being attributed to "dominance" or being "dominant" in this article.
I disagree that there is little concern if "the behavior is directed at a dog that submits". It's very possible that due to the other dog giving off the correct "not a threat" signal, your dog gets the idea this rude and dangerous behavior works and is the right way to deal with their underlying issues.
Agree with that. One has to read these articles with a critical eye.
Also one small word can change a whole meaning - this isn't a dominant dog - it's a domineering dog. And not all dogs respond politely to submissive signals - some will follow though and injure the submitting dog. That's apart from the psychological damage you have mentioned, Jacksdad.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
Sirius would very often fall into what they term as dominate or agressive body language. Yet I know she is fearful and she is responding to stressful stimuli when she takes these poses. I think of it more as pulling a bluff than as being dominant or even domineering although I may have to look up the definition on that one to be certain.
Her pose is very similar to the stance they seem to want dogs to be in for conformation judging. Head and ears erect, body leaned forward, hind legs somewhat extending backwards, (front and back legs spread more than a relaxed stance) and tail tightly curled down on her back.
If anything, her tail is a big clue to her level of stress. Normally it hangs down, or curls up kind of like a mug handle with the tip of it slightly touching her upper side. When she is extreemely tense, the base of the tail will be flattened down on the top of her back and the whole center circle will be much smaller and the whole tail will be touching her body. She will also prance very stiff legged around and whimper during this state of tenseness. This is normally reserved for another dog passing by the house, or when they have spotted one of the local outdoor cats being out and about. The tail flatening, prancing, and whimpering occurs after the trigger has left the area. Prior to that she will be barking and racing around from the front yard to the back yard for the cat,(on our property) or back and forth along the fence for a dog.
While it is quite wise to avoid any further stress being imposed upon a dog displaying such body language, I do have issues with the terminology and implication that such posturing is not fearful.
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
Nettle wrote:You are so right. Fear is the underpinning reason for the majority of unwanted behaviors that we deal with - if only people would realize.
I am starting to realize this. For a while I was starting to think that just because Jack was fearful and I was focusing on learning about fear and aggression in dogs that I was just seeing fearful dogs or fear in dogs everywhere because that is just what I knew. Now I am starting to realize that while it was a valid concern (the seeing fear where it might not be simply because that was what I knew), fear issues are really far more common than I ever guessed. it started clicking just recently with something either Jean Donaldson was saying or Leslie McDevitt was saying in an explanation for something...I can't remember I got so much floating in my head these days... and commented that fear is a common underlying issue.
