Dog Body Language

What Is That Dog Telling Me? How Does This Help Interacting with and Training Dogs?

Introduction

Dogs utilise two important means of communication (putting the laying of scent marks and exuding pheromones aside) – viz., auditory (barks, whines, whimpers, howls) and body language (stance, eyes/ear shapes and positions, mouth/lip shape, etc.). Both are used – singularly or together – to express their feelings, be that joy, concern, fear, warning, etc.

Humans are generally very good at interpreting auditory communication, but not always so expert at interpreting body language – especially from a canine. So, here are some basic clues to look for and guidelines for developing some understanding of the dog’s message.

A.    The basic signals

1.     Look at whole body and dynamic context.

 Posture relaxed, moving freely, tail moving, mouth open, floppy tongue, ears relaxed – this is a happy, relaxed dog comfortable in the environment.

Body rigid, tail down, mouth closed, staring or averting gaze – this dog is uncomfortable, anxious, distracted or concerned about risk in the environment. Perhaps the hairs on the dogs back are bristling (like an angry cat) - referred to as "piloerection" - a reflex of the nervous system to cold, shock, or fright.

2.     Look at the tail.

Tail in its “natural” position – from straight to curled – dog is relaxed or interested/inquisitive.

Tail between legs/under belly (back roached) – dog is frightened/threatened.

3.     Look at the ears.

Flat to head or pinned back – caution; dog may be anxious, scared or grumpy.

Pricked upwards - or for floppy eared dog, “flying-nun shape” – interested, inquisitive.

4.     Look at the eyes.

Soft eyes – round or almond shaped (breed dependent), not staring – peaceful and non-confrontational.

Hard staring eyes – concerned or annoyed, confrontational, may start to stalk prey.

5.     Look at the mouth/lips/tongue.

Happy “smiling” mouth; tongue relaxed and showing/lolling; lips relaxed – dog is happy.

Lips tight or stretched back; tongue may be panting but not lolling – dog feeling stressed, anxious, concerned.

6.     Look at the action. 

If two dogs are a short distance apart and one (or both) is bowing down on front legs with backside in the air, it is probably doing a “play bow” – an invitation to play or start a chase game.

On the other hand, if a dog is in this same semi crouched style of position but staring intently at an object or another dog (or other species) it may be performing a “prey bow” – judging distance and movement to figure out if it will chase and catch – or herd – the object of its focus. Easy to find pictures/videos of Border Collies and other herding species performing this as part of sheep/cattle herding role.

B.    Do dog body language signals vary between breeds - and how does this help us?

To fully interpret dog body language, trainers/guardians need to understand their dog – the breed characteristics, the dog’s senses and drives, as these will strongly influence a dog's reaction to any stimulus. How has their day been - are they already over-stimulated/over-triggered?

1. Are they high drive, action dogs? – highly intelligent and motivated?

Malinois; Dobermann; Border Collie; Kelpie; German Shepherd.

2. What are their key drives?

Herding; Retrieving; High Prey Drive/Hunting; Guarding; Guardian.

3. What are their dominant senses?

Sense of Smell; Hearing; Sight.

a)     How do breed characteristics impact dog body language interpretation?

Guardians need to look at the context – is the dog working (herding sheep like a Kelpie; guarding a flock, like a Shepherd) or playing?

Stalking - Just following their natural drives and doing their job? The Guardian breeds (Maremma, Asian Shepherds, Mastiffs, and some lines of German Shepherds, etc.) will commonly stalk – walk around the house or yard looking for any possible danger to their wards, even though they may not have a flock/herd to guard right at that time (apart from their guardian family) – it is so ingrained as a natural drive, they never stop maintaining this vigilance.

b)     Does body language give clues as to dog training responsiveness? Are different dog breeds different to train and how can you tell?

Rule number 1: all dogs are trainable – don’t listen to “that breed can’t be trained” – analyse drives and senses. All dogs are trainable with patience, perseverance and the right methodology.

Rule number 2: dogs learn best when the training objective is aligned with their senses and drives. Think about the dog’s breed and what drives it (herding/retrieving/guarding/etc.) and its sense (does it have a heightened sense of smell, sight, hearing?).

Rule number 3: “every dog has its day” – just like humans, dogs have “off days”.

Always take into account the training environment (distractions and weather, ground surface, etc.), antecedents (dog’s past experiences), dog health & nutrition and, of course, the challenge of the task being trained.

Three rules of breed reactions to training

Rule number 1: what motivates your dog – how to reward the desired behavior - praise; food; play/chase/hunt exercise; retrieving?

Rule number 2: consider physical abilities; bone structure; breathing; sight; hearing; age (i.e. make allowances for puppies and geriatrics).

Rule number 3: what “job” was your dog bred for – account for x-breed complexities. Some cross bred dogs act almost schizophrenic it seems, just because of competing drives of the breeds it is made up of – simply figure this out and train accordingly.

Remember, it is very challenging to try to train against the dog’s instincts and drives.

Watch the dog’s body language during training sessions, as this will tell you if you have the dog’s attention or if your dog is unhappy with the process, distracted by a noise or smell (that you cannot detect) or overworked. Always pay attention to the environment (distractions), antecedents, wellbeing, task and schedule.

c)     Are all dogs the same? Do they have personalities and feelings? What is the influence on body language?

“You cannot share your life with a dog, or a cat, and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and minds and feelings.” [Jane Goodall 1934 – forever].

Dog body language can be interpreted generally and specifically according to breed, environment and nature of the individual:

Ø  “Nature” and “Nurture” both impact a dog’s senses, drives and feelings – and hence body language - because body language displays how the dog is interpreting its environment and surrounding events based on its accumulated experiences and breed characteristics.

Ø  Dog experiences – including training – will impact reactions and responses.

Ø  We can generalise dog body language, but two dogs of the same breed – even litter mates – may show different body language reactions to any given stimulus.

Ø  Situational reactions can be trained over time – and so body language can be expected to be developmentally impacted (this is not to state that emotions can be trained – just reactions). 

C.    Using dog body language to manage reactivity risks.

We often hear about a dog that moved to bite – or succeeded in snapping/biting – “totally without warning”. In reality, an educated observer might well have seen the warning signs of impending reaction and been able to prevent the outcome.

Shepherd (2002 and 2009)[1] has categorised a dog’s typical body language reactivity warning signals on a graphic which illustrates the initial signals of reactivity, escalating with continued provocation to the warning signals of apparent aggression. This “canine ladder of aggression” (although generally “reactivity” is preferred to “aggression” as a broader, non-judgemental, description) starts in the “appeasement zone” with signals such as yawning, blinking, turning head away, turning full body away, sitting, pawing, walking away, creeping with ears back, standing in a crouch posture with tail between legs, lying down with leg up, then escalating to the “warning/aggression” zone with body stiffening and stare, growling, snapping and then biting.

Although it seems, therefore, that active aggression (lunging and snapping/biting) should be predictable - and the human should be forewarned - the rate of progression and change from appeasement to aggression is highly variable (including whether the early signs have been suppressed by aversive suppression intervention) – for each dog and situation – so careful attention and observation (and sometimes speedy intervention) is required.

Further Reading

Photographs and illustrations (sketches/cartoons) are most helpful in learning about dog body language, so the reader is referred to two books which are very helpful in this regard.

Chin, L. (2020) Doggie Language; Summersdale Publishers Ltd.; UK; 122pp. This is a small format (inexpensive) book with colourful cartoons of dog body language – suitable for teaching children as well as adults.

Aloff, B. (2005; Reprints to 2022) Canine Body Language, A Photographic Guide; Interpreting the Native Language of the Domestic Dog; Dogwise Publ.; 370pp. plus Index; an A4 format, thorough and interpretive treatise for the serious dog researcher.

References

[1] Shepherd, K. (2002) Development of behavior, social behavior and communication in dogs; In: Horwitz D, Mills D, and Heath S, eds; BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behaviour Medicine; Gloucester, UK: British Small Animal Veterinary Association; pp. 8–20.

73. Shepherd, K. (2009) Behavioural medicine as an integral part of veterinary practice; In: Horwitz D and Mills D, editors; BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behaviour, 2nd ed. pp 10–23.