Dog Communication
How Dogs Communicate
Dogs naturally and in the wild, live in packs that have a heirarchy. Dogs will be submissive to other dogs that are more dominant, and higher up the hierarchy than they are. This is important to the understanding of dog communication, as a lot of dogs communication relates to dominance or submission.
A pet dog still thinks in the same way as any other dog, and will consider its owner and the people it lives with to be the pack. A dog that considers itself to be dominant to the people it lives with can be impossible to train, however by understanding the way dogs communicate and show dominance or submission, you can become pack leaders, with your dog submitting to you.
Dog Body Language
A lot of dog cummunication uses body language. The body language used by dogs can be quite complex, and different movements can mean different things depending on the situation and other movements that accompany them.
Tail Movements
Probably the most well known of all dog communication is the wagging tail. Wagging the tail quickly, with big movements, shows that a dog is happy and excited. Wagging the whole rear end shows that the dog is happy and also submitting to the pack leader. Dogs with docked tails can also sometimes wag the whole rear end, as they cannot communicate effectively by just tail movements alone. Small slow movements can mean that the dog is slightly unsure, maybe of a person or another dog, or of its surroundings, or unsrue of what you want them to do.
The position of the tail can indicate whether a dog is dominant or submissive. A dog holding it's tail high is communicating that it is dominant, while a dog holding its tail lower is being submissive.
Head Position
A dog that is curious or puzzled about something, particularly a sound that it can not see the source of, will often tip its head to one side. This often happens when there is an interesting sound on the other side of a closed door.
Eyes and Eyebrows
Dogs' eyes and eye area can be very communicative. Dogs do not have proper eyebrows, but they have a ridge above the eyes which they can move. Movements of the eyes and eyebrows usually mean similar things as a human would with the same movement. One eyebrow raised usually shows puzzlement or questioning. Both eyebrows raised indicates an interest in something, while lowered eyebrows usually show anger or confusion.
Mouth and Teeth
Happy or playful dogs often have their mouths slightly open or wide open with the lips covering the most of the teeth. This can look very much like a smile. Pulling the lips back to expose most of the dog's the teeth can indicate aggression or act as a warning to stay away, but this is also sometimes used when playing, and in that case is a harmless gesture. It is usally easy to tell the difference between these by taking the mouth movement in context with everything else the dog is doing.
Exposed teeth combined with a very erect position, raised, motionless tail and lowered eyebrows for example is more likely to indicate aggression than play.
Yawning can indicate that the dog wants to be left alone, although it can also mean that the dog is tired!
Ear Movements
Dogs that have droopy ears, such as Bassett Hounds and Retrievers can not use ear movement as an effective form of communication in the same way that dogs with ears that stand up. A dog with it's ears erect and facing forward is very interested and attentive. Ears lying flat back against the head indicates fear. Ears that are facing forward but slightly lowered can indicate happiness.
Paws
Dogs often show that they are interested in an object using their paws, either placing their paws on it or as near to it as they can get, or scrabbling on it.
Barking and Growling
Barking can be for lots of reasons, and must be taken in context with other things the dog is doing, and the situation. The bark may be a warning for when unknown people or animals are approaching, can express fear, anxiety, distress, or playfulness.
Growling can be an invitation to play, but more usually it is a sign of dominance or aggression. Take care near a growling dog.
Speaking
Some dogs have been trained to reproduce human sounding words, as demostrated in the video below.
The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior available in our store will help you to understand how your dog's mind works.
