There is a precise set of visual signals dogs use, we have come to call body language. This note is a guide to these signs and their meaning.
Energy level : The energy level is often referred to as state of arousal. The indicators of high energy are a wagging tail, barking, muscle tremors, faster than usual reactions and a tendency to walk faster or run when not under command.
Body axis: Bold confident dogs stand straight upright or actually lean toward the object of attention. They often stay pointed straight at the object of attention. Stride: The third item of interest when reading a dog is his stride and leg movements. The bold dog stands straight up or moves with long steps that hold the body away from the ground.
Muscle tone: Muscle tone is also important when reading a dog. Dogs that are truly confident in their ability to handle whatever situation they are getting into have loose, relaxed muscle tones.
Head/Neck: The next point of interest is the head. Direct eye contact is often a sign of confidence, even dominance. Predators watch their prey carefully before they attack, and dominant dogs often try to stare down at their opponents when trying to T-up with them.
The position of the ears also give us a look inside the dog's mind. The more confident dogs are, the more forward they carry their ears. Another complication relative to ear carriage is that when dogs make the decision to bite, they often prepare for conflict by tucking their ears back into their necks, possibly to prevent damage to them in the coming fight.
Curling the lips to expose the teeth while growling has been vastly misinterpreted over the years. It is a sign of aggression ,but is not always a sign of complete confidence. It is often a an attempt to frighten the other dog and make him move away.
Totally confident dogs have no need to make other animals move away, they can handle anything that occurs right up close. Therefore they stand their ground in confidence and allow you to approach, biting you if need be, but not trying to scare you away. So, curling the lips to show a lot of teeth is considered to be a sign of aggression based on insecurity. Exposing only a few teeth n the front of the mouth is not considered a major problem and is simply a signal from a confident dog that you should move back away from him.
The neck also gives us some information. Confident, dominant dogs, approach an adversary with their necks and heads high, often with an arch to the neck.
Tail: The dog's tail gives us a great deal of information. The most noticeable is the excitement level of the dog. When dogs become excited they begin to wag their tails. One of the reasons they may be excited is that they are greeting someone they like. Since that is what pet owners see the most, many people think that wagging the tail is the universal sigh of friendship and greeting in dogs. This is not true. They will wag their tails any time they are excited. Many will wag their tails while they are biting you during a conflict. After all this is exciting. The confidence level of dogs is often reflected in how they carry their tail. Generally, the higher a dog carries his tail the more confident he is.
We believe this information to be very useful for every dog owner so we share it with you. Reading your dog correctly means you understand him better and make less mistakes in interpreting his behaviour. Feel free to share this info with your friends. Enjoy!
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