Dog Behavior Fundamentals

I love dogs so I am aware of good dog behavior.  As far back as I remember I have had a dog. As a boy, I grew up in a rural area and was an avid explorer of the places that the land surrounding my home had to offer.  However, I never seemed to pursue this endeavor alone, as I always drew the accompaniment of the neighborhood dogs. It was a common occurrence to see me walking down the road with a pack of dogs trailing close behind me. Although each dog had its own unique personality, I learned quickly to understand the body language and behavior of dogs and used it as a key to ensure the happiness of man’s loyal companion.

Dogs use body language to display feelings of confidence, fear, dominance, submission, playfulness, and aggressiveness.  Whether it is the wagging of the tail or the overall stance of the dog, the body language of dogs has been a crucial characteristic in the survival patterns of the dog throughout history. Humans use body language to emphasize verbal communication.  It is easy to interpret the true intent of a human’s verbal message by paying close attention to the body language attached to verbalization. Dogs on the other hand verbalize through barking.  Since we as humans cannot understand the verbal language of dogs, cuing in own the dog’s body language can ensure a better understanding messages of what dogs want us to “hear”.

When a dog is confident it poses a stance of that of a military soldier. The dog’s body is erect. The tail is up and wagging in a slow pattern from side to side.  The dog’s ears may be erect or laid back. The dog eyes look attentive and the pupils are constricted and relaxed.

When a dog is scared the stance is lower to the ground.  The tail is in a downward position or even tucked between the dogs hind quarters. Some dogs even wag their tail quickly in the downward position.  The dog will look away instead of making eye contact or even complete turn their head to side showing the whites of their eyes.  Their pupils will be dilated.  On some dogs the hair at the nape of the neck stands straight up resembling spikes which is a sign of alertness. A dog will also use its bark as a means of determent at things that scare them.