Understanding Your Dog's Body Language
Like humans, dogs also have their way of communicating, and of course, they're not using words because that'll be awesome. Instead, dogs use their body language to tell us what they feel. Similarly, we point with our fingers, gesture with our lips, frown, smile, laugh, and dogs do that.
Our dogs communicate because they want to get things across. As such, dog owners need to try and understand what our dog is trying to tell us. We need to learn to know if they're happy, sad, anxious or trying to warn you of something, and this is what we're going to learn today.
This article helps you understand what our little critters are doing or trying to tell us.
Alert
If your dog is standing tall with their ears pointed forwards, this means they are alert or trying to be alert. This occurs when they hear noise or smell something they aren't familiar with.
Suspicious
When your dog's ears are perked up and they lean, while they look like they're about to bark, chances are they're suspicious. This often happens when they are alert.
Anxious
The tail of the dog can also send a lot of messages. If it's tucked under their body, with their head and body leaning towards the floor, that means your dog is anxious. They might also lick their lips or their bodies regularly.
If your dog continually shows signs of anxiousness, you can try dog supplements to help treat your dog. If it persists and takes a toll on you and your dog, ask your local vet or pet clinic for help.
Threatened
When your dog shows signs of anxiousness and trying to defend themselves, if they're leaning back and barking loudly, sometimes even growling, they're threatened.
They do these actions when they feel threatened to protect themselves against things they see that might be harmful to them or their owners.
At Peace
If your dog is comfortable around you, and when they look away from you or turn around walking away while sniffing the ground, this means they're peaceful. If their ears are relaxed and their tails are wagging, this means that they are not threatened or anxious, and they feel safe around you and around their current environment.
They can Be Stressed
Humans yawning is a sign of relaxing, calming down, or boredom. Dogs are the complete opposite. Dogs who are stressed yawn a lot and might also pant heavily, shake a lot, or even lick their noses frequently. If they seem awkward and their body language changes, they might be stressed.
When dogs are showing signs of being stressed, owners should be concerned and responsible enough to determine the cause. We need to relieve them of stress and find ways of doing this. Try to see what might be causing that in your immediate surroundings.
If your dog is still stressed even after you clear out all the things that might be its cause, you can try walking your dog or initiating physical activities with them like playing catch. This distracts them and allows them to focus on something else, which might relieve their stress.
Stress-Releasing
Like humans, where people shake their hands around or their whole body or like how they do breathing exercises, dogs also release stress. Aside from immediately after you bath them, If your dog randomly shakes their body, they're releasing tension.
It's essential that you allow your dogs to do this, so they release stress naturally and to their own accords.
Needs some Space
Oftentimes it's cats who do this because they're less social creatures, but if your dog gives you the side-eye or completely ignores you when you try to touch them or pat them, they want space.
It's essential that we respect whatever they're feeling at the moment, so we don't agitate the situation and so that we avoid stressing them out or making them feel threatened.
We know that patting your dogs or interacting with them can be fun and that doing it a lot is nice, but remember, dogs are very capable of thinking for themselves. If they believe that they want space, then they probably do need it.
Being Friendly and Affectionate
When your dog is in a relaxed posture, and sometimes they have their mouth slightly opened, or when they wag their tail and are exposing their belly to you (begging for belly rubs), this means that they trust you.
This is when you can play with them as much as you can as long as you don't do it harshly. This is probably the most fun situation when handling a dog because you get to feel loved as an owner.
Remember, you need to respect your dog's body language and primarily their actions. If your dog is anxious or feels threatened, try to do something to alleviate it.
If they're not in the mood to play, then respect their boundaries. One of the most important parts of pet keeping is understanding your pets and appreciating how they feel or don't feel.