Dog Health And Care

Dog Body Language – Recognizing Your Dog’s Moods

March 13th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

Recognizing the meaning of your dog’s body language can help you understand him more completely. A Dog communicates via barking and body language so understanding the nuances of dog body language is important for developing and sustaining a relationship with your pet.

After a few years living with your pet you will be able to read most of the cues that he gives instinctively but until then here are a few important points on dog body language.

A relaxed dog will give off the following signs.

His weight will be evenly distributed between his four legs.
His mouth will be slightly open.
His ears and head are up.
His tail is relaxed and wagging.

Your dog is contented and alert if he gives off these signs.

If your dog is excited in some way then his body language will be different. Here are some signs that identify this mood.

His hackles (his lower back side) will be down.
His low carried tail will wag loosely.
His muzzle (the mouth, teeth and lips) is relaxed and you will probably see his tongue peeking at you.

However, when your dog is excited about something but wants to show his superiority or pecking order in the ‘pack’ you will notice slightly different signs.

His tail is up a bit and the fur on it is stuck out.
His weight is distributed forward and he appears to be leaning on the front legs.
His muzzle will be tense and his lips may be curled up to display his teeth.
His eyes will be wide open and he will be staring intently at the focus of the excitement.

An aggressive dog will display the following signs.

The hackles will be raised.
He will bare his teeth and may begin to snarl.
His tail will be raised and stiff. The fur on the tail and lower back may be standing up.
He will stare hard at the object of his attention and his ears will be pricked up and alert.

You should be wary of approaching a dog displaying these signals. He may be acting protectively over his food, a toy or even over you when another dog is nearby.

Submissive body language is easy to recognize. Here are some distinctive signs.

First the dog can be actively submissive.

His tail will be wagging in a lowered position
His ears will be back
He may lift up a paw
His eyes and mouth are half closed.

These signs are usually displayed when he meets another dog or is acknowledging your dominance over him in the ‘pack’ hierarchy.

When a dog rolls over and exposes his belly this is a sign of passive submission.

Understanding dog body language is crucial when you start to obedience train your pet. It can give you vital clues as to whether he is receptive to training or whether you should put it off for another time or day. Your relationship will be improved too if you understand how he is feeling and he knows that you understand what he is trying to communicate.