Dog Body Language

• Dog Body Language 101 (Fear Free Happy Homes)
• Dog Body Language – What your dog is desperately trying to tell you! www.thefamilydog.com
• Dog Body Language: Wagging Tails (Instinct Dog Behavior & Training)
• My dog still doesn’t trust me! (Dogkind)
• Body Language Gallery (ispeakdog.org)

To learn more, and test your skills, visit Let’s Speak Dog (ispeakdog.org)

Look at the entire body rather than focusing on a single part. Is there tension or tightness? Softness in expression, looseness in body? What’s going on in the environment around him?

• A loud growl from a dog with a wiggly, relaxed body (“let’s play!”) is entirely different from a growl from a dog who is tense or still, (“I’m uncomfortable!”).
• Big eyes with the whites showing (“whale eye”) can be a sign of stress, but it can also appear during play. It may also be the normal conformation of the dog. 
• Tails are possibly the worst indicator of a dog’s mood or intention, and are often misinterpreted. They must be assessed in context with the entire body, not as a stand-alone. “But her tail was wagging…” is often heard immediately after a bite, when the dog was desperately trying to communicate unease or fear. 
• Conformation, or the way the dog is built, may cloud your observations until you know the dog better. A high, curled tail can signal over-arousal, but some dogs naturally carry their tails that way. A stiff body often signals alertness or fear, but muscular dogs may appear stressed when they’re actually very relaxed.

These are signals that can have multiple, and very different, meanings. Remember that context matters!

• Growling – During joyful play, or to issue a warning?
• Barking – Excitement, a warning, or distance-increasing when uncomfortable?
• Panting – Just need to cool down, or stressed?
• Wagging tail – Happy and eager, or stressed/fearful/over-aroused?
• Calm – Relaxed or shut down/shy/avoiding?
• Exposed belly – “Please rub me there” vs. “don’t hurt me”.
• Lip-licking – Is there a treat nearby, or is he anxious?
• Sniffing the ground – Investigating a scent vs. a bit overwhelmed and needing a pause in the action vs an appeasement behavior around another dog.
• “Grinning” in the Christmas photo with a kid – often not a happy smile; more likely a sign of stress.
• “Looking Guilty” – usually feeling stress due to a human’s behavior and/or mood, rather than remorse or guilt.

Dogs may have individual characteristics that can make them harder to read. 

Body shape differences (collie muzzle vs. a pug’s), physical limitations (arthritis, hip dysplasia) and simply the way that the dog expresses himself as an individual can complicate the picture. For example, the dark coloring of black dogs hides detail in their facial expressions and can make them harder to read.

Different dogs, particularly mixed breeds, have differing conformations, and some aspects can be puzzling. Shaggy dogs may have hair that hides their features. Small dogs can be more difficult because the size of their expressions is on a much smaller scale and we’re often looking down on them, instead of at a level that’s easier to see their faces. Dogs with docked or missing tails present a different puzzle, but looking at tension or looseness of their hind ends can give us clues about their mood.