What Is Your Dog Saying? A Key to Canine Body Language

Keys to Understanding Dog Body Language

Every dog, whether Akita, Bichon, or Beagle, speaks the same language. You and your dog probably pick up each other’s signals without thinking much about it. But if your dog begins to behave differently, if you are getting to know a new dog, or if you encounter a dog you don’t know, it helps to be able to read the universal body language of dogs.

If you and your dog landed in Tokyo or Timbuktu tomorrow and were greeted by a local person and their dog, it would take only a few minutes for the two dogs to understand each other. Hours later, you would still be wondering if you were bowing properly, making acceptable hand gestures, or using the right table manners. The dogs, on the other hand, would know just what to do: the lead dog eats first.

Signals Dogs Use to Communicate

Although a dog can’t speak and has no hands and fingers for gesturing as humans do, you can watch key parts of their body to determine how they’re feeling and reacting to the world around them.

• Face. Although the dog’s facial muscles are not as refined as a human’s, they can wrinkle or straighten their forehead to show confusion or determination. If your dog wants you to give further direction, they may raise their eyelids quizzically and tilt their head to one side.
• Eyes. A dog’s eyes brighten when they look at a creature they consider friendly and when they want to play. If they are afraid, their pupils dilate and they show the whites of their eyes. They avert their eyes to avoid confrontation, but if they are angry or ready to defend themselves, their eyes narrow and follow your every move. At this point, it’s particularly important not to look the dog in the eye because they see that as a challenge to defend their position.
• Lips, teeth, and tongue. A relaxed dog in normal posture may let their tongue loll out of their mouth. If they want something from you or they are happy and want to play, they may pull their lips back in what appears to be a smile and show their teeth. This is an expression dogs only show to humans and no other dogs. However, beware a dog that bares their clenched teeth and wrinkles their nose. They are ready to attack.
• Ears. The dog’s sense of hearing is much more acute than ours, and even dogs with floppy ears have the ability to move and turn them to follow sounds. If a dog’s ears are raised, they are relaxed, listening, and/or showing acceptance. If they are back, they may be signaling submission and deference.
• Tail. A dog wags their tail when they are happy or want to play. It is really an energy indicator. When they are submissive, they tuck their tail between their legs. A taut tail, held down rigidly behind them, may show that they are prepared to spring.
• Voice. Dogs are vocal animals. They yip, bark, whimper, howl, and growl. The pitch or volume of their sounds can increase with their level of emotion. A bark may be playful or aggressive. Unlike body signals, dog noises can mean different things from different dogs.

Dog Posture Speaks Volumes – What Your Dog is Saying

When two dogs meet, as long as their human companions aren’t tugging tight on their leashes, they carry out a series of actions that look like a choreographed dance.

With their bodies tense and tails taut, they circle and sniff each other, silently gathering and exchanging information, ready to defend themselves at any moment if necessary. They hold their ears back and the hair on their back may stand on end. They often avoid direct eye contact at first, sizing each other up to determine if the stranger is strong or weak, male or female, hostile or non-hostile.

One dog may place their head on the nape of the other’s neck or nip at their nose. It seems they are getting ready to fight... but then, one lies down. Soon, they may separate and urinate. At this point they have agreed on which dog is dominant.

Dogs learn body language from their mothers during the first 8 weeks of their lives, and they test out this form of communication with their littermates. If a dog misses out on such training, they will have trouble communicating with other dogs throughout life.

• Normal posture. The dog appears alert with head held high. Their tail moves freely. Their jaws are relaxed.
• Invitation to play. The dog happily signals their desire to play by wagging their tail and dipping down into a “play bow.” Their front legs are in a crouch, and their backbone swoops up, leaving their rear haunches high. The head is held up expectantly to capture your attention. They may raise a front leg or lean to one side with their head.
• Submission. The dog crouches down further and still appears relaxed. They may lift a front foot like a play invitation, but their ears are back and their tail is down. They may yawn, scratch, or sneeze, which is meant to calm themselves and those confronting them.
• Fearful aggression. A dog who is afraid tenses their body and holds their tail rigid, though it may be wagging. Their rear legs are ready to run or spring. They bare their teeth, draw back their ears and the hair on their back stands on end. They growl or snarl constantly to warn off the subject of their fear.
• Dominance aggression. Teeth bared, this dog stares you down and advances confidently with their tail wagging slowly and ears in the forward (alert) position.
• Total submission. The dog drops their tail and curls it between their legs. They drop their head to avoid eye contact. They roll over on their side and bare their belly, with one hind leg raised. If they aren’t afraid, they’ll tilt their head and raise their ears to show trust.