Do You Know What Your Dog is Really Trying To Tell You?

Written by: Heather Polechio, CPDT-KA, CTC, FPPE, Licensed Educator, MindfulMutz Training & Behavior Consulting

Our Dogs. For many of us, they are a constant companion by our side.

Others may be valued more for duties that can only be completed by none other than the dog himself. But as we share our day-to-day lives with these one-of-a-kind creatures, who scientists now believe may have begun co-existing with humans over 15K years ago, we must ask ourselves if we know our dogs as well as we think we do.

Dogs are generally social animals, meaning they often live in a group, pack, or family, making clear and effective communication a vital role in their ability as a species and as an individual to survive & evolve. Communication serves many essential factors in our dogs' day-to-day lives, including conflict resolution and the ability to access resources they want or need daily. (Resources are anything & everything an individual dog may desire, such as food, water, toys, attention, etc). Although there is ongoing and fascinating research that is leading many top researchers in the field of canine cognition to believe that dogs are evolving to be "expert human behavior observers and manipulators," dogs have yet to evolve to the point in which they communicate primarily through vocalization, which is ironically the way we as humans tend to try and primarily communicate with our dogs. Dogs primarily communicate through artful yet often subtle human eye movements and body postures.

One of the fascinating aspects of dog behavior is the dog's ability to regulate stressful, exciting, or overstimulating situations by using a series of "Calming Signals." Have you ever noticed your dog randomly doing a "shake off" (literally shaking his whole body, as if he just took a bath) after something exciting or stressful happens? In these situations, he may also offer behaviors such as yawning, licking his lips, turning his head (looking away), stretching, randomly sniffing or scratching, or maybe even raising his paw.

These behaviors can indicate that your dog may feel overwhelmed by a particular situation.

One somewhat misunderstood behavior that is gaining a new understanding in the field of dog behavior research is the tail wag. When your dog wags his tail, does that mean he is always happy?

While some wags are associated with happiness and positive emotions, other tail wags can indicate stress or fear. The newest research on this topic has shown that a dog who wags his tail with a bias to the right is generally in a more positive emotional state, while a dog who wags his tail more so to the left may be in a more negative emotional state. As well as the direction of the tail wag, look for specifics on how high or low your dog may be holding his tail. Is it tucked tightly between his legs but slightly wagging? This may mean he is nervous. Is it held very high and stiff with a slight but quick wag? This could mean he is on high alert, but it does not necessarily mean he is "happy." The best indicator that a tail wag intends to communicate a friendly interaction is that the tail is wagging in big swoops, set at half mast, usually accompanied by a loose body.

One point I try to leave with all of my clients, as I work with them to help resolve problems or teach their dogs new behaviors, is that as much as we, as dog owners, want our dogs to "obey" and respect us, that we must first respect and understand our dogs, to expect that our dogs will return the favor.