Can you really understand what your dog is thinking just by watching their tail or ears? Discover the surprising truths behind canine body language in our latest episode, where we unravel the mysteries of tail wags, ear positions, and eye expressions. Did you know that a low, slow wag might indicate aggression, or that pricked ears could mean your dog is highly interested in something? We promise you'll gain practical insights to better connect with your furry friend.
Join us as we explore the nuanced world of dog behavior and how different breeds might signal their emotions differently. From the curious head tilt to the anxiety-laden 'whale eye,' we break down common yet often misunderstood signals. Plus, we encourage you to share your own observations and experiences with your dog’s body language for a richer discussion. By the end of this episode, you'll not only be able to interpret your dog's emotions more accurately, but also deepen your bond with them for a happier, more harmonious relationship.
Get Mary’s bestselling, award-winning book, “Grow Young with Your Dog,” for a super low price at: https://tinyurl.com/growyoungwithyourdog. Demonstration videos are included at no extra cost. ⬅️⬅️⬅️
All information is for general educational purposes ONLY and doesn't constitute medical or veterinary advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider if you or your dog are unwell or injured.
Can you really understand what your dog is thinking just by watching their tail or ears? Discover the surprising truths behind canine body language in our latest episode, where we unravel the mysteries of tail wags, ear positions, and eye expressions. Did you know that a low, slow wag might indicate aggression, or that pricked ears could mean your dog is highly interested in something? We promise you'll gain practical insights to better connect with your furry friend.
Join us as we explore the nuanced world of dog behavior and how different breeds might signal their emotions differently. From the curious head tilt to the anxiety-laden 'whale eye,' we break down common yet often misunderstood signals. Plus, we encourage you to share your own observations and experiences with your dog’s body language for a richer discussion. By the end of this episode, you'll not only be able to interpret your dog's emotions more accurately, but also deepen your bond with them for a happier, more harmonious relationship.
Get Mary’s bestselling, award-winning book, “Grow Young with Your Dog,” for a super low price at: https://tinyurl.com/growyoungwithyourdog. Demonstration videos are included at no extra cost. ⬅️⬅️⬅️
All information is for general educational purposes ONLY and doesn't constitute medical or veterinary advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider if you or your dog are unwell or injured.
Speaker 1:
Did you ever really want to know what your dog was thinking? Well, there's a lot. You can find out by really taking the time to read your dog's body language. So in this little episode, I'd like to talk to you about that and give you some tips on how you can read your dog's body and mind a little bit better. So, in case we're meeting for the first time, my name is Mary DeBono and this is the Easier Movement, happier Dogs podcast.
Speaker 1:
So yeah, let's start with your dog's tail. Now, people generally assume that when the tail is wagging, that means the dog is happy, and that is often the case, but not always. It really depends on how the tail is held, how fast or slow the dog is wagging their tail and all kinds of things. So if you can think of it this way, usually if the tail is held high, it indicates confidence and alertness, and if the tail is low, it can indicate some discomfort. So maybe emotional discomfort, like a low tail that's wagging slowly, could actually indicate aggression. Okay, and again, some people think, oh, the dog is wagging their tail, that they're happy, but no, a low, slowly wagging tail can indicate aggression. So always notice that and sometimes, when the dog is wagging their tail high, you know it could indicate actually dominance, so it gets a little tricky with the tail. So the important thing is to know what your dog does generally and when you put it into context, when you're pretty sure your dog is happy, what are they doing with their tail?
Speaker 1:
Because different breed characteristics also come into play, especially with tails. Right, because dogs have so many different tails. My dog Tony, so many different tails. My dog Tony has a really curly tail like a, you know, like a Northern breed dog, and you know it's really fluffy and curly and that's he's going to use his tail very differently than a dog with a really long, low tail. That's naturally low. Okay so, but but start to really notice how your dog uses their tail in different situations, okay, the other thing is to look at their ears. Now we know, like when a dog is like really interested in like a, maybe there's a sound or something, their ears are pricked forward. Sometimes they tilt their head in that cute way too, with a strange sound. But then sometimes the dog's ears are back and they're like flat back and that usually indicates some level of discomfort emotional discomfort, physical discomfort. But things aren't 100% cool when the dog's ears are flat back like that, it could indicate again, could be fear, it could be submission, could be aggression. So start to get a sense of what your dog does with their ears. Okay, and then think about their eyes. You know there's like a soft eyes. You know when dogs are happy and relaxed their eyes are just kind of soft and then sometimes dogs have like a hard stare and that's usually not such a good sign when they're doing that.
Speaker 1:
As a matter of fact, I have some stuffed animals that I bought. They're kids' toys but they're pretty big size stuffed dogs and you know I would often bring them to workshops, you know, so that I can show people, people could practice with them instead of just with their real dog, et cetera, and it's funny. So I often brought two different dogs, stuffed animal dogs, to my workshops. One was a Basset hound and this Basset hound had very realistic looking eyes, like really realistic looking, and the whole body was very realistic looking and the eyes had this hard stare to them and the mouth was closed and looked tight, had a husky and this husky always had, you know, always because it was a stuffed animal had an open mouth with the tongue hanging out and really fake looking eyes. Okay, and it was so funny because every single canine workshop I took those stuffed animals to they were some dogs. A number of dogs would react negatively to the Basset Hound and all dogs ignored the Husky because the Husky just was like this happy looking thing, didn't even really look as lifelike and you know, the mouth was open and relaxed. But that Basset Hound looked like he had a problem. You know that he was annoyed with something, he was maybe aggressive or something. He was annoyed with something, he was maybe aggressive or something. And so many dogs had problems with that stuffed animal until they checked him out and realized he wasn't a real dog. But it was kind of funny.
Speaker 1:
So notice that also there's something in dog language we call whale eye, when the white of the eye is showing, and that often indicates fear. You know so something isn't quite right. It's anxiety, some kind of discomfort when your dog is doing that. Okay, and then if you just look at overall posture of your dog, so if your dog is really just relaxed, they'll often stand with their weight, you know, well distributed, and again, just there's a relaxed feeling to the posture. But if they're hunched, now a dog can also have a hunched posture from pain. That's an entirely different thing. That requires veterinary intervention right away. And they could be even like what we call like a roached back, like the back starts to get a rounded appearance, and that often happens over time. Oftentimes it's older dogs. There could be some spinal arthritis. That's different we're talking about where a dog just just adopts a posture that's a bit closed, okay, and that's often accompanied with a tuck tail, and again, that's fear or discomfort, okay. And then, of course, you get the posture that a lot of dogs like my Tony, for example where they're leaning in when they're so hopeful that maybe that person is going to pet them, right. So that's usually a good sign, right. It's usually friendliness when they're doing that. And then you know, if we think about facial expressions, if a dog is licking their lips a lot, that can often indicate either appeasement, right, or submission. You know something like that nervousness. A lot of dogs will do that when they're nervous, Okay.
Speaker 1:
Yawning is interesting because yawning can indicate stress or discomfort. It doesn't always have to. This is where this whole thing about reading canine body language gets a little tricky. You have to really look at the whole context. I know, for me, yawning is so contagious that just mentioning yawning, I am actually stifling a yawn right now. It doesn't mean I'm nervous or uncomfortable in any way, it's just a natural thing. So we have to be careful about that, but a lot of times it does.
Speaker 1:
In dogs and horses, yawning can indicate that there's some stress. Okay, again, not always. If the nose starts to get a bit wrinkled, right, that could be discomfort as well, it could be. You know, they're kind of wary about something. But again, all these things have to be put into context, okay. So I I would say the most important thing is to start really getting familiar with your own dog, right, because you want to read your dog's body language really well. Of course you want to also know how to read other dogs' body language, but start with your own, because that will help you, because you'll start to say, oh, my dog loves when, for example, in my case, tony loves when my husband comes home, right, so I can look then at the ways he's using his body to express that happiness, that excitement. Okay, so start to really pay attention to these things.
Speaker 1:
So let's just recap briefly here. So look at your dog's tail. How are they holding the tail. How are they wagging or not wagging the tail? You know the speed, the height, you know all those kinds of things. The position of the ears Are the ears pricked forward? Are they just relaxed? Are they flat back, right? Those are all going to be different.
Speaker 1:
What is your dog doing with their eyes, right? Are they soft? Are they hard and staring? Or is that whale eye, that white of the eye showing, right? What is your dog's standing posture like? Is it kind of open and relaxed, or is he kind of hunched? Or are they leaning in, like anticipating something good? Right? And then what are they doing with their face? Are they licking their lips? Are they yawning Again, makes me yawn Are they wrinkling their nose? You know, and just notice things like that and really pay attention to what they call the commissures of the mouth, which is just a fancy way of saying the corners of your dog's mouth, the lips right, and notice if at times they seem pulled back or they're forward. Okay, because they will indicate different things.
Speaker 1:
So it gets kind of complex because there's so much nuance to it and again, you know the context of the situation will tell you an awful lot about whether your dog is happy or unhappy. And also, again, there are some breed differences. Right, knowing you know your dog's breeding. Or, like my dog, tony is a mix, right, but he has that thick coat of a Northern breed. He's got the curly tail. He also has a lot of like golden retriever characteristics, both physically and behaviorally, you know. So you start to get a feel of, oh yeah, well, his ears are going to be a certain way. They're not pricked forward and up like my rat terriers were all the time.
Speaker 1:
She's passed on now Ruby her name was but you get that idea that there's differences. There's differences between the dogs based on the way they're built, basically. So I hope that gives you some food for thought Again. Start to really pay attention to your dog, what your dog is doing, and if there's so much you can learn about kind of like reading your dog's mind by reading their body language, okay, let me know. Let me know if your dog has some interesting body language or you're confused about something and I'd be happy to help you. Okay, thank you so much for joining me here on Easier Movement, happier Dogs. I look forward to talking to you again real soon. Bye for now.
