It’s surprising to see how little most dog owners understand about their pup’s body language especially since dogs are very quick to show them. We usually see what we want to see in that respect – that he loves the dog park or that she enjoys hanging out with the 5yr old neighbor, for example, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth, sometimes these situations only produce anxiety and discomfort
It is very important that you learn your pet’s language in order to communicate in the best possible way and that is mostly expressed with his body language. Dogs can understand up to 200 different words, but as we all know they will never be able to speak and that is why it is important to understand their body language.
Some of your dog’s body parts are more expressive than others, but we need to look at our pup’s body as a whole. When your dog is expressing the following emotions, we need to note that she won’t display every signal but most likely we will see a combination of them.
Fear
This emotion is usually caused by a scary environment or scary interactions, like surprising loud noises (fireworks, construction site, car alarm), it may also be triggered when people don’t respect her space or sudden events (falling objects near by, passing skateboarder, etc). This are some fear related body language:
-Avoiding eye contact and/or turning the head away from the scariness
-Flattened ears
-Piloerection (hair standing on end) anywhere from the shoulder blades down to the base of the tail
-Tense or crouched body, may be combined with shaking
-Tucked tail—
-“Whale eye” – when a dog’s eye moves in the opposite direction of the head so that the whites are obviously showing
-Lip licking (also called tongue flicking) or yawning
-Hiding or attempting to get distance from the scary trigger
Joy or excitement
The body language used by your dog when having a great time include:
-Loosey-goosey body posture
-Ears may be upright or flattened or switch quickly between the two
-Tail may be held high or in a loose, natural position
-In play, bounding around and humping are common
-A relaxed or open mouth that may appear to be slightly smiling
-Gentle or even more intense mouthing is common
Anxiety or discomfort
This emotion is shown when your dog is in an uncomfortable situation whether at the dog park or because of too much attention and manhandling from a family member. Signs to look for in this circumstances:
-Lip licking, yawning and/or panting
-Avoiding eye contact or attempting to move away from the situation
-A lowered or possibly tucked tail
Uncertainty
Unfamiliar situations and/or experiences like an unfamiliar pet or an unfamiliar visitor at home can cause your dog not to be sure how to respond to that situation. Some of the signals of uncertainty:
-Holding up a single paw while greeting, watching or approaching
-Humping
-Rolling over onto the back to expose the belly
-Lip licking or yawning
-Avoiding eye contact
Extreme fear or self-defense
Fear instinctively tells your dog that it has to defend itself from any threat. Showing extreme fear your dog’s body language might even look more like aggression or even excitement. Some of a fearful dog body language:
-A “hard” stare at the aggressor in which your dog is unwilling to turn away or be distracted—
-A fear grimace in which the dog’s lips are pulled back into what almost looks like a wide smile or other bearing of teeth (possibly accompanied by a growl)
-Tense or crouched body—
-Tail may be elevated and tense or tucked
-Piloerection (hair standing on end)
-Ears may be alert, tense and upright or flat against the head