Let Me hear Your body Talk

 

Take the time to really watch your dog. What is his body language telling you? What cues can you pick up?

 

Does a yawn mean your dog is tired? Or nervous?

A wagging tail is not always a happy dog.

Is that a smile or a snarl?

It is all relative to the situation and a combination of bodily expressions. 

 

With a pack of four dogs in my house and often bringing in strays or fosters, I found that if I really paid attention to my pack’s body language, I was able to circumvent potentially negative situations.  I am now better able to manage uncertain and new situations both for my own dogs, but as well as reading other dogs that we may encounter. 

 

For example, I was sitting with two other adults, a puppy (we will call her Lily) and an adult dog (we will call her Sally), in the split second that Sally lunged for Lily I was able to correct and redirect her. The other two humans looked up amazed and asked, “How did you know that was going to happen?”

 

Lily of course was being a puppy and was in Sally’s face and pawing her. While Sally seemed ok for the first few minutes, next I saw her start to shift her body from one hip then to another, next I saw her ears turn back. This is when I took the leash from the owner, but still provided an opportunity to see if Sally would relax again. The seconds that followed included the ears perking forward, the tensing of her body, and I pulling Sally away as she started to lunge forward. All signs which were never noticed by the other humans enjoying the puppy playing with her new friend.

 

Except in extreme cases, there is a warning you can pick up from a dog before an aggressive act. Can you find what those warnings are?

 

Most people tell children not to approach a strange dog. Perhaps we should be more observant of those new dogs that we are allowing our own dogs approach. 

 

Take the time this week to watch your own dog, especially in new situations or around new dogs or dogs they may have met before but or not used to. This is the easiest way to start picking up on their body language. See what cues you can find.

 

In the following weeks I will discuss interpretations of such expressions as the tail, mouth, greetings, and vocalizations.