Dog Care

Dog Body Language

Just like humans, dogs use body language to communicate their feelings, wants, and needs. While they can't use verbal language, they speak loudly with their bodies.
By learning and understanding canine body language, pet owners can respond to every dog message more quickly and help them navigate the world. Dog communication includes various signs such as tail carriage and motion, ear and eye position, pupil size, body movement, muscle tension, and facial expressions.

Understanding your dog: Insights from Dr. Elle Parker, Behaviour Veterinarian

Learn how to read your dog’s body language to identify how they are feeling, including the 5 F’s of anxious dogs: Fight, flight, freeze, fiddle and flirt.

Dog Body Language Chart

While it isn’t a perfect science, you will find that many dogs exhibit similar movements and postures to communicate what they are feeling or experiencing.

Tail

A dog’s tail is one of the most expressive parts of its body, capable of conveying a variety of emotions and intentions. Wagging dog tails are often associated with happiness and excitement, but the speed and direction of the wag can offer pet owners some additional insights.

For instance, a relaxed tail wag can signal a happy but relaxed state while rapid wagging can be a sign of excitement or nervousness. A dog tail between the legs typically signals fear, submission, or a sense of anxiety.

Understanding the dog tail signals displayed can help owners interpret their dog’s feelings and respond appropriately to their needs.

Facial Expression

As with humans, a dog’s facial expressions will provide significant clues about its emotional state, but they’re a little different.
•    Yawning: A dog yawning can be a sign of stress, not just tiredness.
•    Licking Lips: A dog licking their lips often indicates anxiety or submission, not just hunger.
•    Smiling: A dog smiling might look like a happy grin, but in some contexts, it can mean the dog is feeling threatened and showing their teeth.
•    Raised Hackles (Piloerection): When the hair along the back stands up, it signals possible arousal, which could be due to excitement, fear, or aggression.

Recognising these expressions and signals can help owners better understand and support their pets.

Ears

Understanding dog ear position meanings is another secret to interpreting canine body language, particularly their mood and intentions.

Depending on the breed, dogs have different ears at rest, but they often behave the same when responding to stimuli. For example, ears pricked forward typically indicate alertness or curiosity, while ears laid back against the head can signal fear, anxiety, or submission. Observing your dog's ear positions in various situations can provide valuable insights into their emotional state and help you respond appropriately to their needs.

Eyes

Have you ever wondered, ‘What does it mean when a dog covers its eyes with its paws?’ or ‘What does it mean when a dog's eyes are cloudy?’ A dog’s eyes are highly expressive and can provide important clues about their emotional state.
•    Covering Eyes with Paws: This behaviour can indicate shyness, submission, or even playfulness.
•    Hard Stare: This can be a signal of impending aggression.
•    Looking Away: An attempt to de-escalate tension; dogs will avert their gaze and avoid eye contact when feeling stressed.
•    Intentional Eye Contact Avoidance: Often misinterpreted as stubbornness, this behaviour actually shows discomfort.
•    Cloudy Eyes: This is not normal and may indicate an underlying health issue; a vet should evaluate this condition.

Paying attention to these eye-related cues can help you better understand your dog's health and emotions.

Posture

If you are wondering, ‘Why is my dog cowering all of a sudden?’ or ‘Why does my dog cower so frequently?’, it could be due to fear, anxiety, or a reaction to a recent negative experience. Posture is a key signal of emotion and intention, and a dog cowering in a corner typically signals that they are feeling threatened or scared. It could be their attempt to appear smaller and less like a threat.

On the other hand, if a dog were to shift their weight forward, it clearly indicates their interest, even possible aggression.

Then there are others, such as a dog play bow, with the front legs extended forward and the rear raised, which is a clear invitation to play and indicates a happy, playful mood.

Recognising these postures in your pup can help you respond appropriately to their needs and emotions.

Dog Sounds

Dogs communicate through a variety of sounds, each with its own meaning, to accompany their diverse body language. While they might tend to blur after a while, they are distinct if you really listen. Here are some questions you might ask:
•    What does it mean when dogs howl? Howling can be a form of communication, a response to certain sounds, or a sign of loneliness.
•    What does it mean when a dog whines? Whining often indicates discomfort, anxiety, or a desire for attention.
•    What does it mean when a dog growls? Growling can be a warning signal or a sign of discomfort.
•    What does it mean when a dog whimpers? Whimpering usually signifies distress, pain, or anxiety.
•    What does it mean when a dog barks? Barking can have many meanings, including alerting to danger, expressing excitement, or seeking attention.

It helps to get to know your dog’s voice and understand the great context around them, alongside their body language, to determine what’s on their mind.

Puppy Body Language

Puppies are still finding their feet in this new world, so they need closer attention from owners, similar to a human child and their parents. In the realm of puppy body language, there are a few things to look out for that are very similar to those behaviours described in adult dogs above. Play biting is something they would normally do with their littermates and they need to learn this is not appropriate to do with humans. Never punish a puppy for this, simply redirect them to a safe chew toy or funnel the energy into a short training session. They will likely grow out of this after 3 to 5 months. Firmer, more aggressive puppy biting or nipping can be a defensive behaviour as a result of fear, or they may nip or snap to communicate a warning. Don’t confuse this with mouthing or gentle nibbling motions where they are usually simply exploring with their mouths (just like babies).

A sad puppy may be suffering from an illness and it is important to consult your vet if you have any concerns about their health.

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FAQs

How do I read dog body language?

Canine communication does not just revolve around barks, growls and whines - they also speak volumes through their body language. As an owner, it is important to review some of the signs that are unique to dogs, such as wagging, pointed or tucked tail positions, pricked or flattened ears, and panting (whether relaxed or heavy). In addition, we need to understand that other universal behaviours like yawning, ‘smiling’, making or avoiding eye contact or rolling over can mean completely different things in different contexts.
How do I train my dog with body language?

Dogs can interpret human body language, too. They can often perceive and respond to our hand signals and body language better than verbal signals or voice cues. If you want to empathise with your dog or show an understanding of what they are telling you, you can reciprocate positive body signals, as well as offering support, comfort or safety when your dog is showing displacement behaviours or body language indicating stress. If they are overactive and you wish for them to calm down, try to redirect their energy into exercise, enrichment, relaxation or a quick training or play session. You can then build on these foundations to train your dog to behave in the desired ways by performing physical actions they recognise.

What is ‘distance increasing’ dog body language?

There will be times when your dog needs space from people or dogs that they are not comfortable around. If they are unable to move themselves away from the situation (for example when on a lead or confined in a space), their body language will change in an attempt to try to disengage or repel the offending character (thereby increasing the distance between themselves and the potential threat). Some dogs may show displacement behaviours such as looking away, turning their head away, showing the whites of their eyes, licking their lips, yawning, making their body seem small or low to the ground or rolling onto their backs to diffuse tension. Other dogs may demonstrate more assertive behaviours such as barking, growling, staring or lunging in a show of aggression, even if they are nervous or terrified on the inside. These are usually the last resorts in a dog’s repertoire before progressing to snapping or biting. If a dog is showing these behaviours from the outset, they have likely been forced to escalate their response in the past due to previous, more subtle signs being repeatedly ignored. Over time, a dog will learn which behaviours are most successful at increasing distance and warding off perceived threats and may learn to revert to these automatically. This is why it is so important to recognise and read the subtle signs of dog body language to be able to see when they are uncomfortable and intervene before they need to use the “fight” response to be heard.

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