Thought this was an interesting read. Lots of good info. http://dogs
about.com/od/dogtraining/tp/dogbodylanguage.htm
Reading Your Dog's Body
Language
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.
Reason Dogs Use Appeasement Gestures
Turid Rugaas, a Norwegian dog trainer and behaviorist, came up with the term
"calming signals" to refer to the appeasement gestures dogs make. This is a
fitting term, as most dogs use this type of body language to calm a
situation down. Dogs use appeasement gestures when they are feeling stressed
uncomfortable, or fearful.
Dogs use appeasement gestures such as yawning or lip licking to let a person
or another animal know that they come in peace. For instance, a dog who is
being approached by another dog may avert his gaze and lick his lips. This
lets the other dog know that he has no intention of fighting with him. You
may also see your own dog do this if you scold or punish him. The dog is
simply trying to communicate that he is no threat to you.
Dogs may also use appeasement gestures, or calming signals, to buy
themselves some time. My own dog, Toby, is a good example of this. Whenever
I begin training Toby to do something new, the amount of scratching he does
makes it seem as if he'd spent the morning rolling in a field of poison ivy.
The truth is, however, that Toby gets a little stressed or anxious when it's
time to learn something new, a feeling most of us can identify with. When he
isn't 100% sure what I'm asking him to do, he uses scratching as a
distraction. Once he understands the new command, however, the scratching
stops (unless he's actually rolled in a field of poison ivy, which is not
out of the realm of possibility when it comes to Toby).
How to Respond to Appeasement Gestures
How you react to a dog's appeasement gestures depends on the situation. In
the above example with Toby, the answer was to push right through, using
lots of positive reinforcement and a happy tone of voice, until he began to
understand what was being asked of him. Once he understands, his anxiety,
and thus the appeasement gesture, goes away.
If, however, in addition to the scratching, he began to lick his lips and
yawn, it would be a fair assumption that he was feeling a higher level of
stress than usual. In this case, it's a good idea to step back from what you
re doing, and give the dog a chance to relax.
The same is true in the case of a dog who offers appeasement gestures in the
face of scolding or punishment. Continuing to scold will only increase the
dog's stress and anxiety, so it's a good idea to take a step back and find a
new way to approach the situation rather than risk making your dog afraid of
you.
There are also some cases in which anxiety can cause a dog to become
aggressive. By no means should you expect that every dog that yawns in the
face of a threatening situation is about to bite. You should, however,
realize that as a dog's anxiety level builds, so may his feeling for the
need to defend himself. If you are approaching a dog you don't know well,
and he is offering an appeasement gesture, it's a good idea to back up and
give him some time to become more comfortable. This eases the dog's anxiety
and keeps you safe from a dog bite at the same time.
Lip Licking
What It Means
Dog trainer and behaviorist Turid Rugaas coined the phrase "calming signals"
to refer to lip licking and similar dog behaviors. Lip licking is also often
referred to as an appeasement gesture. What it all boils down to is that
dogs who are licking their lips feel stressed or uncomfortable about
something going on around them that they perceive as a threat.
Dogs lick their lips to appease, or soothe, a person or animal they perceive
as a threat in order to ward off aggression. An example of this can be seen
in dogs who are scolded when their owners return home after being gone all
day only to find the dog has had an accident in the house. A dog might not
connect the scolding to relieving himself indoors, but instead sees his
owner as a threat. The owner may be yelling and looming over him, and so the
dog offers an appeasement gesture by licking his lips and averting his gaze.
This is the dog's way of saying that he isn't a threat to the person or
animal behaving in an aggressive manner.
While lip licking is usually considered a submissive gesture meant to
prevent aggression from escalating, it is still a sign that a dog is
stressed and uncomfortable with a situation. This gesture of appeasement may
be a dog's first attempt to stop aggressive behavior (i.e. to stop his owner
from yelling at him), but this does not mean that the dog won't become
defensive if the aggressive behavior continues. So if you see a dog licking
his lips, back off. This will allow him some space to get more comfortable,
and at the same time, it can save you from a potential bite from a dog who
feels the need to defend himself.
Puppy Body Language (most apply to adult dogs too)
Understand Silent Puppy Talk
Even puppies use dog body language to talk to each other and their owners.
Dogs are most highly attuned to puppy body language, and this silent
communication is given the greatest weight. Your pup's dedicated observation
can make him appear psychiche always hides when a bath is imminentwhen in
fact he's simply reacting to non-verbal cues you may be unaware you're
broadcasting. That's why when you smile as you reprimand Junior for stealing
your socks, the puppy reads amusement rather than reproach, and acts
accordingly.
Canine language serves to smooth relationships, offering a way for dogs to
get along with each other and the people who make up their families. Silent
canine communication makes use of the dog's body from nose to tail. The
position and movement of his tail, his facial expression, even his posture
is telling.
Eye Talk
Eyes communicate volumes. Droopy eyelids indicate pleasure, and your pup may
squint and moan with delight when his ears are rubbed.
Alert pups keep their eyes open wide. An unblinking stare is a challenge and
shows dominance, while averting the eyes shows canine submission.
The pupils of a dog's eyes indicate aggression and imminent attack when they
suddenly dilate wide. Avoid locking eyes with a strange dog. Thats a
challenge and may prompt him to challenge you back with aggression.
Mouth Talk
The dog's mouth is also quite expressive. Your pup uses his lips, teeth and
even his tongue to communicate.
In general, when the lips lift vertically to show the long dagger-shaped
canines, the dog is showing aggression or fear. Lips pull back horizontally
to show more teeth in a canine grin of submission, which is often used as an
appeasement gesture toward a dominant individual. But grabbing the other dog
s muzzle or neck with his mouth--with inhibited bite--shows dominance.
A flicking tongue signals intent to lick, which when aimed at the face or
hands is also an appeasement gesture. The relaxed, happy pup may sit with
his mouth half-open and tongue lolling out as he pants.
Ear Talk
The ears are barometers of puppy mood. The shape of the dog's earswhether
erect and termed prick ears or floppy and pendulousalso influence how
easy ear language is to understand. For the sake of this discussion, the ear
conformation of the German Shepherd Dog will be used.
When erect and facing forward, the dog is interested and possibly aggressive
The ears flatten against the head by degrees depending on how fearful or
submissive the dog feels.
Tail Talk
Tail talk is perhaps the dog's most obvious signal to people. Again, the
conformation of the dog's tail -- from long to docked, corkscrew or curled
-- will determine the extent of your dog's tail semaphore.
In most cases, a wagging tail is a distance-reducing signal that declares
the dog to be friendly. However, what the tail says depends to a great
degree on what the rest of the body is doing. Learn more about your puppys
tail talk in this article.
Body Position
Your puppys carriage shows how he feels. Dogs bump, push or lean against
people or other animals as a sign of dominance. Extremely bossy dogs may
even indulge in body slamming and bowling over the other dog--or person.
Erect posture is a sign of confidence typical of dominant dogs, who seem to
nearly stand on tiptoe when in the presence of another dog they want to
impress. The aggressive dog leans forward toward whoever they want to cow,
while the fearful dog leans backward.
Dogs also stand or "loom" over top of the dominated individual to show their
social position. The more dominant dog will rest his head, chin, and/or paws
over the neck or body of the more subordinate dog. Older dogs putting a
puppy in his place may grab the muzzle or neck of the other pup to drive
home his point, and engage in mounting or clasping behavior.
The opposite is true when a dog shows submission. Puppies that feel insecure
or recognize others as being in charge try to look small. Dogs cry uncle by
flattening their ears, tucking their tail, crouching as low as possible and
perhaps offering a paw. Holding up a paw is a placating gesture in prelude
to rolling over to expose the tummy. Exposing the tummy, perhaps even
urinating in this position or when crouched before the aggressor, is the dog
s ultimate sign of deference.
Fur Talk
Piloerectionfur standing upright along the ridge of his back, called the
hacklesmakes the dog look bigger and more impressive. Its not a conscious
thing and may happen simply when the dog becomes aroused. Raised hackles can
mean serious business or can be a bluff. Both fearful and aggressive dogs
raise their hackles.
Just Kidding During Play
However, dogs may "pretend" to be aggressive to invite play, and indicate it
s a game by using exaggerated behaviors, called meta signals. Dogs also can
pretend" to be submissive to entice more subordinate playmates to engage in
games. How puppies play involves a wide range of behaviors including
over-doing it with inappropriate play.
All these signals must be read together to place your dog's meaning in
proper context. Often, mixed signals may be sent, with the snarling front
half of the dog indicating aggression while the back half wags submissively.
In general, any sort of fearful or aggressive sign can prompt a bite and
should be taken seriously.
Communicating submission to a dominant individual reinforces each's position
within the family group. For the most part, place is determined simply by
posturing alone, and fights are rarely necessary. Well socialized dominant
dogs practice chivalry, and let lower-ranking dogs off the hook when they
cry uncle.
How puppies play depends a great deal on the breed. Socialization and age
also influences what games puppies play. It makes sense that sighthound
breeds react more to seeing toys move while gripping breeds relish
tug-of-war, and terriers like chase, grab and shake games.
Canine play is composed of exaggerated and highly ritualized gestures used
in doggy communication. That allows dogs to play fight for instance, yet
avoid misunderstandings which might result in real fights.
How Puppies Play
Play behavior begins as early as puppies can toddle aroundabout three weeks
of age. Puppies of both sexes may exhibit sexual behavior as early as four
weeks of age, mounting each other during play games.
Prey killing behavior like pouncing and object shaking is also seen, and the
language of dominance and submission is learned. Puppies at these early ages
practice being both the top dog and the bottom-of-the-heap, so they learn
how to communicate with each other. Temperament extremesa bully puppy or
shrinking violet poochexpressed in play by young puppies is not necessarily
a good predictor of future status. Temperament tests are more accurate when
conducted on older puppies.
Social Play
Social play is interactive. In other words, social play involves playing
with another puppy, the owner or even the cat. Examples of social play
include wrestling, biting, play-fighting, and chase games.
Puppies begin social play as early as three weeks of age, with play-biting
and pawing, and barking. The intensity escalates and becomes more complex as
the dog matures. The first play-eliciting gesture seen in puppies is the
raised paw. The play bow -- butt end up, front down -- is the classic
invitation for a canine romp and is used by older pups and adults, along
with barking, leaping forward to nose-poke and then withdrawing, face pawing
or licking.
Self-Directed Play
Self-directed play, such as tail chasing or pouncing on imaginary objects,
is thought to be a replacement for social play when a play-partner isn't
available. Puppies that indulge in extremes of tail chasing or habitually
target invisible objectssnapping at nonexistent bugsshould be checked by
the vet. These may be indications of obsessive-compulsive or seizure
conditions.
Locomotory Play
Locomotory play simply means the puppy is in motion. That can involve solo
play or include interaction with others. Locomotary play in adult dogs
usually involves a pair or group of dogs. But puppies may indulge in games
of ghost-tag running, jumping and rolling about when theyre by themselves
Object Play
Object play is interaction with stuff. Chasing or pawing/grabbing a ball,
rag or stick are examples. Some puppies target water and love chasing the
hose or sprinkler.
"Just Kidding" During Play
However, dogs may "pretend" to be aggressive to invite play, and indicate it
s a game by using exaggerated behaviors, called meta signals. For instance,
the play-bow is a butt-in-the-air with front-end down position where the pup
s forelegs dance back and forth to invite play. When your puppy first
play-bows, hes telling you that any growls or wrestling that comes after
are meant as fun and games. Adult dogs often pretend to be subordinate to
a puppywith play-bows or rolling on the backto build up the pups
confidence and invite him to play.
This "just kidding" game allows lower-ranking pups to practice being in
charge with play bites, mounting behavior, and wrestling games. Once the
play is over, the higher-ranking dog again assumes his more "mature"
behavior that tells the pup to respect his leadership.
Dogs also commonly drop toys at your feet--or in front of other pets--to
invite play. Inhibited bites using open mouths aimed at legs and paws of
other dogs also are common play behaviors.
Bad Play
Inappropriate play can develop when pups get too wound up or one of the
playmates becomes a bully. Normal puppy play encourages taking turns chasing
and pinning each other. But bully dogs always end up on top during wrestling
and instead of play bites at the legs the bites target the head or neck.
Most times, growls during play are normal but if they turn to lower-pitched
growls or the puppy-on-the-bottom yelps too much, break up the session until
they calm down.
Play that seems to always end up on the hind legs may be a warning sign to
have pups cool their jets. Some mounting and clasping or thrusting won't be
a problem, when these become the norm, play may have tipped over into bully
behavior.
Play not only is great fun for you and the baby, it teaches important doggy
lessons. During play, puppies figure out what is and isn't acceptable
behavior, discover how their bodies work, and ways to interact with other
animals and the world around them.
