Hello again!
Last post, I spoke briefly about the importance of understanding what our dogs' body language is trying to tell us. Today, I am going to address fear, anxiety, and stress signals in dogs.
Stress Signals
Dogs communicate through three main avenues: scent, sight, and sound. Scent is a canine's primary means of interacting with and understanding the world around them. Think about those noses- a dog's sense of smell is anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 times more powerful than our own human sense of smell! Secondary to smell, dogs communicate through sight. Dogs have an intricate language of postures, gestures, facial expressions, and movements that have evolved to communicate with other dogs, and as a byproduct of domestication, humans. Last in the hierarchy is sound. Grunts, whines, growls, howls, chuffs, sighs, and moans- all means of conveying a feeling, but not as reliable or easily read as body language.
Body Language
When you see your dog panting heavily in a new situation, what do you think he is feeling? What about this common expression:
What we humans usually attribute to being tired, can actually be your dog trying to tell you that he's stressed! Yawning is one way dogs use body language to try and deescalate a stressful situation. Another commonly overlooked stress signal is the nose lick:
While a nose lick in the presence of dinner or a tasty cookie is completely benign, consider other situations when your dog may lick his nose. Does he lick his sniffer before you go in for a hug? He might just be trying to tell you that he is uncomfortable with that kind of contact.
Dog-human physical interaction
If I had a dollar for every time I saw a "cute" picture of a child hugging a dog- I would probably be a millionaire (mostly because I'm a sucker for cute pics!). However, having an understanding of dog communication, I can look at most of these photos and see that the dogs are very visibly not comfortable with the contact and are attempting to tell both you and the kid that he's not happy.
"But Buster loves when we cuddle!"
You love when you cuddle, though Buster may only tolerate it. The stress, fear and anxiety signals these photos demonstrate are also visual precursors to a bite. It is common to hear dog bite stories that include: "Well Rover has always been so sweet, but one day he just attacked- out of NOWHERE!" From their perspective, Rover, who usually "loves" being held and squeezed by their kids and is so sweet, "even when they're crawling all over him," really may have seemed to snap out of the blue. However, a little experience observing and interpreting dog body language will usually reveal that the dog has been throwing up red flags for quite some time. Thus, a little prevention by way of studying basic canine communication can truly make your home a safer, happier, and healthier place for your dog and your family. Take the time to get to know your dog- he will love you all the more for it!
“To err is human, to forgive, canine.”
Happy Wagging!
Charyce S.
Conquer K9
IACP Member #A9266