Your Dog’s Body Language & What It Means

“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.”

 Orhan Pamuk.

Our dogs are constantly communicating how they feel to us, but of course they don’t use words. Instead, your dog’s body language tells us how they feel about what they are experiencing in that moment. As far as we know, dogs cannot act or lie. So the behavior they are showing externally is a reflection of they are feeling internally.

If you have noticed a sudden change in your dog’s behaviour, it’s important to get them checked out by your vet. You want to rule out any underlying health concerns or pain as these can often cause dogs to act of character. In this post, we’ll look at some of the most common canine body language, what it means and what you can do to help your dog be more relaxed.

A Calm & Relaxed Dog’s Body Language

So how do you know when your dog is calm and happy? Firstly, their eyes will look soft and there pupils will look small. The skin around the eyes, forehead and face will be soft and loose with no tension around the mouth. Your dog’s mouth may be open or closed depending on whether they are active or resting. Activity level will also determine tail-wagginess! Their ears will fall softly into their natural position and you won’t see any stiffness or holding of the ears. Your dog’s breed, type and shape will effect how obvious each of these characteristic’s will be.

We want our dogs to be in a calm, relaxed state for the vast majority of the time. Why? Well, simply put, a dog who is calm and relaxed is unlikely to bite. They are more likely to listen to you, they are easy to live with, walk & train, and they suffer less physical health problems. We can create more calmness in our dog’s by engaging them in calming activities, like sniffing out food and providing long-lasting chews.

Anxious Body Language

Just like us humans, there are infinite reasons why a dog may feel anxious or nervous. They may have seen, heard or smelt something new and novel and be unsure what to make of it. A person or another dog may have got a little close for comfort. In response to this, a dog may engage in a number of behaviours in an attempt to soothe themselves.

These are known as calming signals and include nose and lip licking. Unless there’s food around, this is an indication something isn’t right. If you offer your dog their favorite treat and they turn it down, there’s a good chance they’re feeling a bit overwhelmed too. The pup in the photo above has his head and body turned away, but his eyes remain on the camera. We can see the white of his eye, known as ‘whale eye’. These are all signs the dog is feeling anxious.

Dogs also use their body language to communicate their discomfort to their humans and fellow species. This German Shephard has his ears pointed out to the sides, instead of standing straight up on his head. We can see his brow is furrowed and he’s showing the whites of both eyes.

Calming Signals

If a dog is feeling anxious, we might also see them yawn even though they’re not tired. They may do a big shake off as if they’ve got wet, to help them relieve stress. They might scratch themselves even though they’re not itchy or pant though they’re not hot. These behaviours are similar to a human biting their nails in a stressful moment. We may also see dogs looking in many directions (being ‘vigilant’), sniffing the ground excessively and lifting up one paw.

So what can we do to help our dogs feel more calm and less anxious? Firstly, we need to look at the context in which we are seeing these behaviours. Perhaps you’ve noticed your dog Margo tolerates grooming, but spends most of the time licking their lips, yawning and avoiding eye contact with you. In this situation, we would look to de-sensitive Margo to the grooming process through positive counter conditioning training and confidence building games.

Learning to recognize your own dog’s body language can help to prevent aggression and other problems developing. Often, creating or adding more distance between the worried dog and the subject of their concern can reduce or resolve their worry. It’s important to remember that the dog decides what a safe distance is for them. Give them a chance to observe and accept the worrying subject without them feeling a threat to their safety. For example, you notice that your dog spots another dog on lead coming towards you both. Your dog lifts one paw, then turns his head away and begins the sniff the ground. We could help our dogs feel safer in this situation by crossing the road so they don’t have to meet the other on-lead dog. This could potentially prevent lead aggression.

Aggression

There are many reasons why your dog may feel the need to be aggressive toward another dog, human or animal. These could include lead frustration, resource guarding, separation anxiety and most commonly, fear aggression. Dogs may growl, lunge, snarl, snap and even bite in order to increase distance from and protect himself from a perceived threat. A dog that bites is himself very stressed out-using his teeth is truly the last resort. In the past, a dog who bit would have almost certainly been given up on. Nowadays, we understand that a dog who feels the need to bite is struggling to cope. We can help them by understanding the cause of their stress, having safe management and prevention strategies in place, positive training and medication.

Forget about ‘Dominance’

One of the most important things to understand with any form of dog aggression is that it definitely isn’t about your dog trying to be the ‘alpha’ or trying to dominate you. The outdated notion that dogs are trying to climb their way to the top of their ‘pack’ is still commonly believed. This has led to people punishing their dogs for showing aggression, which usually makes the problem worse. If your dog growls at you, another person or dog, do not punish them. Consider why they may have felt the need to growl and if possible prevent the situation happening again. Often, a dog will resort to growling when his previous attempts to ask for space (ie the calming signals discussed above) have been ignored. If you are struggling to manage your dog’s aggressive behaviour, we can help in person or online. To learn more about aggressive behaviour in dogs and how to manage it, see here.

Hunting & Predatory Behaviour

Whether your dog has a strong desire to hunt, known as a high prey drive, will depend on his genetics, breeding and rearing. Many breeds were bred specifically to chase or herd and those instincts can be very strong despite, generations of domestication. Many sight hounds struggle to resist the lure of rabbits and squirrels, whilst gundog’s are often partial to chasing birds. Research your dog’s breed and look at their history. Many were ‘designed’ to hunt, detect or herd another species so be particularly aware of how your dog’s body language around these animals.

Whilst natural, it’s not responsible in our modern society to allow our dogs to hunt and chase prey animals whenever they like. If you think your dog might chase another animal, you must put them on a lead. This is even more important around livestock. Allowing your dog to chase sheep, known as sheep worrying, is an offence in the UK and can lead to miscarriage and death. Always put your dog on a lead around sheep, even if they are very well trained.

Predatory Motor Patterns

So how do we know when our dog might be about to go off on a hunt? We will see some or all of the behaviours in a sequence known as ‘predatory motor patterns’. This chain of behaviour starts with the dog orientating towards the prey, often by detecting their scent. The Brittany Spaniel in the photo above has likely just spotted a potential target. His nose, eyes and ears are working in overdrive to work out the exact source of the smell, but his whole body is frozen. For a dog to kill a prey animal, all steps in the chain must happen in sequence and without interruption.

Orient>eye stalk>chase>grab bite>kill bite (‘death shake’)> dissect>consume.

Elements of this sequence have been selected for over decades of dog breeding. In the photo above, we can see the Border Collie is focused on his target. His body is low to the ground and he is slowly creeping and crawling towards the prey. This is classic ‘eye stalk’ behaviour. Collie’s bred to work sheep are trained to engage in their instinctual predatory motor pattern up until the ‘grab bite’. This looks to us like the dog is nipping at the heels of the the flock of sheep, but he’s actually herding his flock into one area on the direction of his handler. All dogs engage in predatory motor patterns, even those not bred for hunting. Ever noticed your miniature poodle pounce on a toy and then shake it wildly in it’s mouth? That’s him giving his toy the death shake!

Your dog- a hunter?!

So what can we do about dogs that regularly show hunting & predatory body language? Firstly, we can distract them before they get fully into the predatory motor pattern- ideally at the ‘orient’ stage. Get to know your dog’s own body language when they orient towards prey. Do they point their nose up in the air, or start sniffing the ground enthusiastically? They may be on to something. Get their attention and redirect them to something else. Provide an appropriate outlet for your dog’s natural behaviour through gun dog training or scent work, to get your dog using their brain instead of going ‘self-employed’. Play that mimics hunting, like chasing after a ball, can help to use up some of their natural desire to hunt. Don’t allow your dog to rehearse hunting behaviour with your other pets. Once engaged in predatory motor patterns, it can be very difficult for a dog to switch it off again.

The Body Language of Play

It’s a fact- dog’s love to play! Whether with toys, other dogs or their favourite human, play is essential for dogs. Puppies learn how to behave appropriately and inhibit their bite through interacting and playing with other pups and adult dogs. Play body language can include running, chasing, tugging, digging, mouthing and more. Dog’s will use their body language to invite others to play too, known as a ‘Play bow’, seen in the photo of the Collie below. The forearms and head will drop low to the ground whilst the dog’s rear end stays up, often with a very waggy tail!

Why do dogs play? From the dog’s perspective, the main purpose of play is to have fun! For us, engaging our dogs in play is a great way to relieve stress, train them new skills and use up excess energy. Play helps dogs to bond with their family members, whether human or canine, and helps keep your dog learning and mentally stimulated. A lack of play and appropriate mental stimulation leads to bored dogs who will find their own entertainment- often in forms we don’t approve of.

Dog-Dog Play

Your dog’s body language can also help you recognize when it’s time for a break. If you notice your dog start to show the calming signals described above, they’ve probably had enough play or training for now. When playing with their fellow canine, your dog will use his body language to show his intentions to his playmate. Throughout a friendly wrestling match you will often hear dogs sneezing and see them both shake off at the end as if they were wet. In the context of play, these are classic ‘peace’ signals. Despite that, dog-dog play should be supervised as rough play can turn sinister if both dogs are highly aroused and one makes a wrong move.

Of course, dog’s don’t understand that they can’t play whenever and wherever they want to. Maybe your Staffordshire Bull Terrier’s are trying to wrestle each other when you’re attempting a lead walk down the street. Or maybe your Doodle keeps dropping his ball at your feet whilst you’re trying to cook. If your dog is regularly engaging in play behaviour in situations you’d rather they didn’t, there’s a few things to consider. Has your dog had enough mental stimulation today? If so, can we look at changing the context so that rest seems like a more appealing option? Put their toys away and calmly drop tasty treats on their bed every time they go to it.

So, as we can tell, your dog’s body language can tell us a lot about how they’re feeling and what they might do next. When watching your dog’s behaviour, always be aware of the context and environment. Your dog may love getting belly rub’s from you when they’re at home and relaxed. But a belly rub from a stranger when you’re in the park surrounded by other dogs who your dog desperately wants to play with may well cause frustration.

What next?

• Have question’s or need help with understanding and managing your dog’s body language? Contact us here
• Read our comprehensive guide to house training your puppy
• To learn more about understand your dog’s body language, check out ‘How to Speak Dog‘