Understanding Dog Behavior – Part 1

Learn how to read and understand your dog's behavior

Anyone lucky enough to share their life with a four-legged friend will agree that they are able to communicate with them, and in many ways! Thus, an attentive owner will never miss the time to distribute the kibble, as their dog will make it clear, by the intensity of their gaze or their coming and going towards their bowl, that it is time to eat!

Science has proven that dogs are sensitive, social and rational beings. They therefore feel fear, joy, anger, surprise or even sadness. They even have their own tastes, both in terms of food and toy preferences, just like us!

The mistake you should never make is to think that they communicate in a similar way to us. Where we, human beings, feel the need to communicate through touch, through looks or through speech, dogs communicate mainly through sight and through their non-verbal behavior. Thus, they do not use barking or physical contact to let other dogs and humans know what they hate, like or what suits them.

Overall, and contrary to what we may tend to think, a dog only growls, bites or fights as a last resort, when all the other communication signals he has emitted have been misunderstood or ignored. 

The nuances of dog body language are so varied that it is almost impossible to describe them all here, especially since some differences between two behaviors are particularly subtle. This article is therefore not intended to be exhaustive, but simply aims to give you a little help to better communicate with your beloved four-legged companions and thus be able to better help them feel happy and safe.

Prerequisites for reading dog behavior

There are three essential points to always keep in mind before embarking on an interpretation of what your dog is trying to say.

• You need to observe your dog's body as a whole and not just focus on one detail (like the ears, tail, etc.) while ignoring the rest.
• You also always have to consider the context. What is happening in the environment that could influence my dog's behavior?
• And finally , each dog is an individual in its own right . It will react differently depending on its history, age, health, morphology and education. Two dogs, even of the same breed and raised in the same family, will not react in the same way. Just like human beings!

How does my dog ​​greet ?

When you arrive home from work or reunite with your dog after a long night apart, you may be treated to a welcome stretch that likely expresses your dog's joy at seeing you . He stretches nonchalantly, paws on the ground or in contact with you, his gaze soft and his ears relaxed.

He may also offer you a playful greeting that is demonstrated by a bouncing gait, a wagging hindquarters with ample tail movements, and a relaxed body. This allows him to express his interest and nuances of joy.

Your dog may also greet you with a tilted head : his head is tilted to one side, with his ears forward and an attentive look. Here he shows you his interest, curiosity or surprise and analyzes the situation.

One of the greetings that you can frequently observe when you meet other dogs on a walk is the fact of sniffing the rear ends of his fellow dogs. By this phenomenon, he seeks to gather information about the dog opposite and demonstrates a certain curiosity. The sniff must be brief otherwise, it could pass for rudeness for the other dogs. The body language of each of the dogs tells you how the interaction is going, dogs can react differently.

When your dog is familiar with another dog, he may have a friendly nose-to-nose contact. His gaze is soft, his ears and body relaxed, which demonstrates a feeling of comfort and curiosity. 

The different types of gaze in dogs :

When training your dog, you will probably have worked hard to achieve direct eye contact with him, especially when you ask him for something. It is good to know that in the dog world, indirect eye contact is more innate and polite.

• Soft gaze : Your dog has laughing eyes, avoids direct eye contact, and has relaxed ears, mouth, and body. He is probably expressing joy, tranquility, and has no desire for confrontation.

• Hard or fixed gaze : Your dog maintains sustained eye contact, has his ears forward and his jaw clenched, and he is showing signs of stiffness or immobility. In this case, he is probably worried or upset, he may be in a confrontational mood.

• Puppy Dog Eyes : Is it really necessary to describe this look when dog owners are so used to their pooches using it to get whatever they want? Eye contact is sustained, eyebrows are raised and ears are forward. Let's not be in denial, our dogs know full well that thanks to this look they can get certain behaviors from their human... Usually food or a caress!

• Blinking : Is your dog avoiding direct eye contact, looking at you sideways or blinking? He is telling you about his discomfort with a situation or someone's disproportionate reaction. If, in addition to blinking, the dog has a recoil movement, this may mean that he is feeling pain.

• Dilated eyes : Your dog's pupils are large, dilated, and reveal the whites of his eyes. His gaze is turned in the opposite direction to that in which his head is facing and his body is motionless. Here your dog is indecisive or feels trapped. He is looking for a way out of this situation, either by fleeing or confronting. He needs to be respected for his space and offered a way out of this situation.

(Continued Part 2)

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