Dog Body Language - Making Sense Of Your Pets Signals

by Adrian Fletcher

A dog communicates with you by barking or through body language. Unlike humans, and like other animals, dogs communicate more via body language than barking. By understand common dog body language you will understand you pet better and have a closer relationship with him.

Most of these body language cues will become obvious to you once you have lived with your pet for a few years but here are some common characteristics in the meantime.

Let’s start with the fun things first. A dog that has it’s rear in the air and tail wagging is generally in a happy or playful mood. This will be accompanied by a prancing or jumping motion. The head will be lowered to the ground but the eyes will be focused on you or the object that is causing the dog to act playful. The mouth will be open in a smile.

Dogs will also show submission to you as a superior in their pack or to other dogs that they feel are superior. The most obvious sign of this is when they roll over revealing their belly. Other forms of submission are a lowering of the head, ears and eyes as they walk towards you. The tail may wag gently in lowered position between the legs.

The dog language of a dog in a relaxed mood is as you would expect. The dog’s weight will be even distributed and it will stand up straight. The tail may wag in a lazy way half way up. The head will be up, with the eyes focused on something that is of interest.

The dog will look the same if it is suddenly alerted to something. However it my start to put more weight on the front feet, leaning forward. The hair around the joint between the tail and back may raise up. The head will point in the direction of the noise with eyes focused and ears pricked towards the source of attention.

An aggressive demeanor is similar to an alerted body language with a few important and obvious differences. Firstly the dogs face and muzzle will look completely different. The lips will be raises to reveal the teeth and it may even start to snarl. The eyes may have a wild or strained look in them as the focus intensely on the object of their aggression. The hackles will be raised. This is the fur on the shoulder blades just below the top of the neck. The body may be prone or rigid in a state ready to attach or run away.

All these signals will become obvious to you once you have seen them a few times. Understanding their means will help you respond to your dog appropriately. It will deepen your relationship with your pet and even identify what type of obedience training your dog needs.

About the Author:

Learn more about dog body language and details of a popular dog behavior training course at doghealthncare.com.