{"id":3110,"date":"2019-04-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sfspca.org\/resource\/body-language\/"},"modified":"2023-05-05T12:51:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T19:51:08","slug":"body-language","status":"publish","type":"sfspca-resources","link":"https:\/\/www.sfspca.org\/resource\/body-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Body Language (Dogs)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nonverbal communication fascinates most of us animal lovers, and who can blame us for wanting to understand our furry friends? But reading the body language of another species is quite a challenge. Most of us try to translate facial expressions, body postures, tail positions, and other details into signals that make sense in human terms\u2014a strategy that often fails.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an overview that can help you learn to read your dog\u2019s signals. Look for the clues provided by the look in their eyes, the tone of their voice, the position of her ears and body, and the motion of their tail.<\/p>\n<p>And remember to take into account your dog\u2019s entire body and the situation they&#8217;re in\u2014context is everything.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Vocalization <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Bark<\/strong>: Territorial call, attention-seeking, anxiety, social needs, or aggression<\/p>\n<p><strong>Whine<\/strong>: Care soliciting, puppies, pain, or frustration<\/p>\n<p><strong>Howl<\/strong>: To some breeds, this may be the vocal equivalent of marking<\/p>\n<p><strong>Growl<\/strong>: Aggression or distance-increasing signal<\/p>\n<p><strong>Facial Expression<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pupils dilated<\/strong>: Nervous, playful, aroused<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ears forward*<\/strong>: Alert, interested, happy, relaxed<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ears flat, backward, or sideways<\/strong>: Fearful, frightened, irritable<\/p>\n<p><strong>Swiveling<\/strong>: Attentive, listening to every little sound, alert, vigilant<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mouth closed<\/strong>: Relaxed<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mouth open with relaxed lips<\/strong>: Happy, excited<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mouth open tight and showing teeth<\/strong>: Fearful, aggressive<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lip curl or lifting, vertical or horizontal<\/strong>: Defensive aggression<\/p>\n<p><strong>Submissive grin<\/strong>: Appeasement behavior<\/p>\n<p><em>*Depends on the breed\u2019s natural ear position<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Body Language <\/strong>(posture)<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Happy and content<\/strong>: Approaching with relaxed body, sitting or lying down, eyes soft, pupils moderately dilated, tail softly wagging or straight, ears forward.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Playful<\/strong>: Bouncy body movements, might be bowing front body and sticking hind end up (called playbow).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nervous, insecure, fearful<\/strong>: Ears sideways or back, pupils dilated, tail low or tucked between legs, low body posture, tense, wants to hide, turns away, does not accept treats, lip licking, yawning, hyper vigilant, moving slowly, stalling, panting, or pacing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Frightened, startled<\/strong>: Stiff or lowered body posture, ears back and flat against head, fur standing straight on back, tail erect or low, hyper vigilant, may growl, bark, or snarl.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fearful, aggressive<\/strong>: Stands stiff or crouches, leaning body position, ears flattened, tail between legs or up, pupils dilated, panting, lip licking, yawning, may loudly growl, bark, or snarl.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aggressive, on the offensive<\/strong>: Ears forward, forward-leaning body position, tail hair bristling or fur standing straight on back, hard stare or growl, bark and snarl or snap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-3110","sfspca-resources","type-sfspca-resources","status-publish","hentry","sfspca-resource-category-behavior-training","sfspca-resource-category-dog-training","sfspca-resource-category-life-with-your-dog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Body Language (Dogs) - San Francisco SPCA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfspca.org\/resource\/body-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Body Language (Dogs) - San Francisco SPCA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nonverbal communication fascinates most of us animal lovers, and who can blame us for wanting to understand our furry friends? 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