THE SUBTLETY OF SIGNS:

‘Woofish’ is a nuanced language, its vocabulary spread over the entire body of a dog, not only to be discerned by the sounds the dog makes. In order to truly understand a dog’s demeanour, as well as its intentions, one needs to consider all aspects, from the front of its forepaws to the tip of its tail, and everything in between. Knowing the context in which the dog is expressing itself will also help you to decipher its intent.

The basis on which dogs communicate is borne of their ancient heritage with wolves. But it is worth remembering that, through selective breeding and taming, dogs have in effect been bred toward neoteny (see our page on ‘Dog Behaviour’), retaining only the more juvenile qualities of their forebears. Hence, they express a more limited repertoire of communication compared to their closest living relative. Those breeds that appear more wolf-like tend to exhibit the broadest range of social signals, while those bred solely for companionability will display a more limited range of communication.

Added to this, certain breeds have had their ability to express themselves quite literally curtailed! As will be shown, a dog’s tail is fundamental to its ability to communicate both its feelings and intentions, but as certain lines have been selectively bred for more curled tails, their ability to fully communicate in ‘woofish’ has been significantly reduced. And the same can be said for other aspects of a dog’s body, from its muzzle to its ears.

For this reason, when interpreting your dog’s communication, it is always worth bearing in mind the average, or neutral, position of its ears and tail. Equally, when considering its vocalisation, take into account the average pitch of that breed’s bark before deciding whether it is expressing a high or low sound.

Quick Links to Page Contents:

• Body Posture & Communication
• Vocalisation & Vocal Communication
• Scenting & Marking
• Language Barriers due to Breeding
• Understanding ‘Dog’ / Understanding ‘Human’

BODY POSTURE & COMMUNICATION:

A dog’s body language is purely instinctive, which is to say that the expression and understanding of these signals are formed naturally without the need for any actual learning to take place.  Puppies begin to display both assertive and submissive signals in their play as early as three weeks of age, at first rather clumsily but with greater subtlety as they develop into adulthood.

A dog’s posture expresses his inner state. It communicates to the world not only those messages that he wants to impart but reveals his level of confidence or lack thereof. As much as he might try to bluff or deceive, such as through aggression, whether he feels fearful or bold, happy or sad, will all be coded into that message for others to read.

Before we consider how dogs express themselves to one another, it is probably worth considering how they express themselves more generally, and in order to do this we should establish a baseline by considering the normal posture of a relaxed dog.

While certainly not as expressive as a human face, a dog’s face will still reveal quite a lot about what it is thinking and feeling through its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

For dogs, a direct stare can be considered a challenge, while moving one’s head to the side and turning one’s gaze away is seen as a non-threatening gesture. Blinking is also taken to be a sign of friendliness or submission, as it breaks the direct stare. Large eyes or a wide open gaze when combined with a direct stare can be a sign of threat or assertion, while narrow eyes generally express fear or submission.

Ears are the most expressive part of a dog’s face. When set forward and stiff, they indicate that the dog is either confident or curious, but can become assertive or aggressive, depending on the rest of its posture. However, when dropped, flattened, or flat back, then the dog is either insecure or stressed. By pulling back its ears slightly when greeting another, a dog is thereby displaying an overture of friendship by indicating it is not a threat.

As mentioned above, a relaxed jaw with tongue slightly visible is a sign of a calm, relaxed dog, while a shut mouth may indicate an alertness or curiosity. By wrinkling its nose and exposing some teeth, a dog is expressing its displeasure, and this should be taken as an aggressive or threatening gesture. Some dogs are known to smile, though, which can be easily mistaken for a snarl but is, in fact, a gesture of appeasement or sign of extreme happiness. A dog’s snarl is threatening when it is accompanied by a growl, while a snarl that is accompanied by a lot of ‘schluffing’ and snorting is most likely just a smile. As with its gaze, by turning its mouth away a dog is communicating that it is not a threat.

The body posture and movement of a dog can tell as much about its mood or intention as can the face. The more upright the carriage, the more confident the dog, while a lower, stooped posture indicates fear and submission. Similarly with its legs, if they are straight and stiff then the dog is feeling more assertive, whereas if they are bent then the dog is feeling more submissive. A raised front paw may indicate nervousness, uncertainty, or curiosity, best fully determined by factoring in all the other signs the dog may be presenting.

It’s not only the dog’s body that can communicate information, but also the fur that covers it, as well. The hackles, which run from the neck, often around the shoulders, extending down the spine to the base of the tail, can be raised to make the dog appear slightly bigger when it is scared or angry.

But it is the tail that is the dog’s chief means of communication, which is why tail docking is one of the cruelest forms of animal disfigurement, literally robbing a dog of its primary means of being understood. A dog communicates via its tail not only by its position but also by its movement.

As mentioned above, a relaxed dog will generally hold its tail low, angled slightly away from its body. A tail slightly raised indicates that the dog is interested and alert, while a tail held up signals self-confidence. A tail that is tucked between the legs of the animal is an expression of fear and anxiety.

Contrary to popular belief, a wagging tail does not necessarily denote a happy, friendly dog. If the tail is high and the wagging is stiff, this can be a display of aggression. Similarly if the tail is low and the wagging is quick, it can be an act of submission. When only the tip of the tail is moving slowly, it may indicate that the dog is either confused or uncertain.  The happy wagging tail is normally situated in the relaxed or interested position.

A dog may lower its body with bent legs when it is stalking or following a scent, but outside of these instances, if it is moving in such a fashion then it is most likely scared, and is lowering its body to make itself appear small.

Just as with a dog’s stance, so too can the gait tell you a lot about how a dog is feeling. A dog that is feeling confident will maintain a high carriage, whereas a nervous dog will lower his body as he paces quickly around. In an anxious dog, leg movements may appear stiff and even jerky, as the legs themselves remain bent throughout the movement. A confident dog will walk tall, whereas a scared dog will slink around, trying to make itself seem not only smaller, but invisible, as well.

A stressed or submissive dog may express a number of displacement signals. These may include pacing, panting, scratching, sniffing, and yawning. These behaviours are performed in order to distract the dog and to keep it calm. They also act as a pacifying signal, in essence saying: “I’m no threat”.  Other pacifying signals include affiliative licking, cowering, and behaving like a puppy.

Along with these pacifying signals, a dog that feels threatened generally has three options open to it: Fight, flight, or freeze.

When taken to the extreme, these pacifying signals can quickly develop into self-soothing, compulsive behaviours in which the dog becomes locked into that mode of acting as soon as it is presented with a threat, be that another dog or a human being.

As we turn to aggression, you may have noticed we have deliberately avoided the term ‘dominant’ up until this point.  The reason for this is that dominance carries with it a great deal of negative conotations and myth when it comes to canine interaction (see our page on ‘Dog Behaviour’).  While a number of animal behaviourists will label all non-reactive aggression as ‘Dominant Aggression’, we prefer to label it as either ‘Threat-Aggressive’ or ‘Assertive-Aggressive’, based on the dog’s intention.  ‘Assertive-Aggression’ is all teeth with no bite, while ‘Threat-Aggressive’ is where the dog has the intention to wound.  One form of aggression can tip into the other, depending on how the other dog reacts.

So aggression comes in three basic forms: Threat- and Assertive-Aggression, as noted above, as well as Fear Aggression. There are distinct differences in expression between the types, from the position of the ears and tail to the manner of the snarl, as well as differences in body posture.

In Threat- or Assertive-Aggression, the dog will generally be holding their carriage higher, sloping their body forward, while holding their tail high. Eyes will tend to be wide open and mouth slightly parted, or puckered, so that the corners of its lips are pulled forward as it barks or growls.

With Fear Aggression, the dog will generally lower their head and body while sloping slightly backward. Their tail will be held low, and even though they may be displaying overt aggression, they will nonetheless express their fear through narrow eyes, flattened ears, and a clenched jaw with lips pulled tight.  Even as it growls, the corners of the mouth will be pulled back. A Fear-Aggressive dog may still lunge forward and become Threat-Aggressive if it feels trapped or has learnt that by doing so he may achieve what he really wants, which is for the fear-object to go away.

Some dogs can become reactive-aggressive, which means to say that they will react to a dog, person, or object by exhibiting one of the three forms of aggression as described above.

Just as our own language ushers from our lips in a passing instant and then is gone, so too does a dog’s body language change as their perception of their environment adjusts and their situation evolves. It would be pointless to listen to only a couple of words in a conversation and presume to understand everything that was being said. It would be equally senseless to take a single snapshot of a dog’s posture and presume to understand its mood and intent.

As previously mentioned, nearly all these signals are first expressed and perceived when the dog is still a puppy, engaging and playing with its litter mates.

There are rules even in play.

Role reversal is important, as it allows each dog to play out positions of dominance and submission, of being the chaser and being the chased.

Both self-restraint and self-limitation are key to successful play. A dog will usually bite at another’s legs, or mouth the base of the neck but rarely the throat. Dogs will practice bite inhibition, so that even if they are making all manner of noise, they will not bite to cause injury or pain. Dogs that are faster at running may in fact moderate their speed to allow slower dogs the opportunity to catch up.  Larger dogs may roll over to allow smaller dogs the opportunity to be on top.

The exaggerated movements and postures act as signals to each dog that this is all for play. However, problems may arise if a dog that has not been properly socialised or that was removed from its litter mates at too young an age were to enter the fray. Not only can misunderstandings arise but if the above rules are not followed, it can very quickly throw the game off. Some socially deficient dogs, for instance, get locked into one mode of play, permitting no role reversal and then losing all restraint. Others may misunderstand a cue or even the signals from a particular breed it may be unfamiliar with (see ‘Barriers Due To Breeding’, below). Some dogs are simply ageist, and take umbrage at playing with puppies! So who said play was simple?

When two dogs approach one another, there are a number of signals they express to indicate gestures of friendship. The most obvious you may notice is the happy wagging tail, extended at the alert or interested position. Each dog will then circle the other so that they can each smell the other’s anus. They may prick their ears slightly backward and perform a so-called ‘muzzle-nudge’, where they touch noses.

Dogs assert themselves over others in a number of ways. It may as be as nuanced as a held stare, possibly with an attended low growl. In other instances it may include physical contact, such as raising its chin, a paw, or even its entire body over the other dog.  Smaller dogs that may not be able to reach that high will resort to leaning against the other dog, as pictured in the earlier photograph on this page.  Assertive dogs will also perform a so-called ‘shoulder bump’, in which they brush against another with their shoulder.

When two dogs meet, there is always a little interplay as each sizes the other up. The usual meet-and-greet will involve sniffing each other’s respective anuses. From there, they may exhibit more friendly gestures, such as tail wagging in the relaxed-to-interested position, or they may simply part ways. As has been noted before, a very high tail wag is not so much friendly as it is an assertive display, whereas a low tail wag is a sign of submission.

VOCALISATION & VOCAL COMMUNICATION:

Before describing canine vocalisation, it is worth reiterating that, as with tail and ear positions, it is important to bear in mind both the size and the breed of the dog. Smaller dogs will invariably have a higher pitch, while larger dogs will produce a lower tone. Knowing tonal range for the breed and size of dog will go a long way toward your understanding the intention behind their bark or growl.

The reason why barking is most commonly associated with dogs is because it contains the broadest repertoire of vocalisations and therefore tends to be their most expressed sound. It may vary according to pitch, duration, as well as repetition rate.

The higher the pitch, the more anxious, uncertain, or excited the hound; the lower the pitch, the more confident or assertive they feel. The shorter the duration or sharper the sound, the more likely it is to be an expression of anger or fear, with the associated pitch expressing which of those two states they are feeling.  The faster the repetition rate, the greater the urgency, while a slower repetition rate – or if the sound is not even repeated – would indicate that it the bark was simply a passing state of mind.

Growls are always pitched low, even in a fear-aggressive dog.  They also tend to be of extended duration, unless paired with a bark so that it becomes a growl-bark.

The full range of canine vocalisation can be broken down as follows:

• Barking – generally used to alert, draw attention to, threaten, or warn.

• Growling – used to threaten or warn.

• Crying, whining, and yelping – used to express fear or pain. Some dogs may yelp during play, but this is an expression of over-excitation when they have induced within themselves a sense of fear whilst taking on the submissive role.  The best way to analogise it would be to liken it to you shrieking in terror, having deliberately induced a sense of fear in yourself while watching a scary movie!

• Moaning – normally associated with pleasure but also expressed when disturbed. A dog that moans with pleasure usually does so whilst rubbing its muzzle. It is a sign of blissful contentment! A dog that moans when disturbed is simply trying to doze off and is saying: “Please leave me alone!”

• Baying and howling – used when seeking company or desiring attendance. Not all breeds of dog bay and howl. Usually it is only those breeds that tend toward the wolfish-look or breeds that are used in hunting. Wolves will bay and howl when one of their companions is lost. It is a sound that signifies both: “Where are you? I’m lost!” and is met with a similar sound that says: “We are here!”. Those dogs that howl do so for both these reasons:  For when they are lonely or when they want you to pay them some attention. Dogs that howl to a tune do so because it is a deeply instinctive response to that pitch or tone. They are simply responding to the tune by saying: “I’m here!”

SCENTING & MARKING:

A lot of people operate under the assumption that it is only male dogs that mark, and that marking is done for territorial reasons, but on both accounts they would be incorrect.

Both male and female dogs deposit urine as scent-marks. While males generally do it by raising a leg to mark up high, females do this by either squatting or by performing a half-raise.

And rather than marking territory, the purpose of marking is more akin to self-advertising. Through their scent, other dogs can tell not only the sex of the dog, but also its age, general health, reproductive status, and how long ago it had passed their way.

Dogs will mark over other scents, not to mask that other dog’s message but to simply add their own advert to a spot that has become the doggy classifieds section of the local park. After all, why add your mark elsewhere, when everyone else is already doing it over here? A dog’s nose is so sensitive that it can discern layers of smells, meaning that it is able to read through the layers of smell from the recent past down to older, more faded messages. And it is exactly for the reason that their scent will eventually fade that dogs will revisit that spot to post a fresh advert, letting everyone know that they’re still around.

But it’s not only through urine that a dog leaves its scent. It’s also through their faeces, as their anal glands will expel some chemicals onto their faeces to again let everyone know who had left that token of appreciation. Some dogs will even scratch the ground once they’re done, adding additional scent from their paw pads as well as a visual marker to their poop position. It must therefore be quite disconcerting to a dog to see its studious owner scoop up that calling-card and deposit it out of smell-reach into a nearby bin!

A dog’s scent is not only left through marking but is carried with them wherever they go, like their own brand of cologne or perfume. So when one dog greets another, taking a sniff of each other’s anus is as good as shaking hands.

A dog that would rather not be sniffed may tuck its tail between its legs, but this is telegraphing to the other dog its weaker position. So some dogs will simply sit when another dog approaches. With their communication centre literally down, they have simply decided to close all avenues for further conversation.

LANGUAGE BARRIERS DUE TO BREEDING:

As mentioned at the beginning, not all breeds are bred equal when it comes to their facility for expressing themselves. Those breeds that retain more wolf-like features, such as the Huskies, Malamutes, and Shepherds, generally have the widest repertoire of communication, whereas those that retain their more puppy-like states, such as companion and toy breeds, will have a more limited facility for signaling their mood and intentions. That’s not to say that they cannot understand the broader range of signals of other dogs, merely that they are unable to respond in kind.

Some breeds are limited in their self-expression for other reasons, owing to human desire to simply establish a ‘look’, with little regard to the consequences for canine communication. Seven breeds have been selectively bred to be tailless, such as the French Bulldog and Boston Terrier. Other breeds, such as the Basset Hound and Coonhound, have been selectively bred for long, pendulous ears that have very limited mobility. And then there are the Brachycephalic breeds, whose muzzles have been shortened to give them a more human, flat-faced appearance. These breeds tend to express a more limited range of facial expressions.

The cruelest act against canine self-expression, though, is not selective breeding but the deliberate disfigurement of individual dogs, done to establish a preferred look or for our own personal convenience. These acts include the trimming of whiskers, tail docking, ear cropping, and the surgical removal of a dog’s anal glands.

While these cruel acts should be prevented from occurring, or reported when they do, short of breeding out some of the more extreme traits from individual breed lines, we will always have a wide variety of breeds with varying capacities for communication.

For that reason, it is even more important that all new owners properly socialise their recent addition to as wide a range of dog breeds as they can, so that their young dog is exposed to many doggy dialects and modes of expression.

UNDERSTANDING ‘DOG’ / UNDERSTANDING ‘HUMAN’:

So what are the benefits to understanding how dogs signal their moods and intentions, and how can we utilise this knowledge to better communicate our own mood and intention to them?

Firstly, now that we know just how important body language and tone are to a dog, when we are introducing ourselves or involved in some training we can focus on these two modes of expression that we usually take for granted.

For instance, if approaching a nervous dog, now we know that it is better to:
• crouch down, so as not to stand over him in an assertive manner
• avert your gaze, or turn your head, to indicate that you are not a threat
• allow the dog to approach you, not the other way around
• allow the dog to sniff you first (let him sense you in his own language)
• use gentle, neutral tones, neither high nor low

Or what if you have an aversion to dogs, and a young dog comes bounding up to you? Well, of course, the worst thing you can do is to run off screaming. All that exaggerated movement and noise is likely to signal to the dog that you are quite happy to play!

Secondly, we are better able to read our own dog’s moods and intentions, or even those of other approaching dogs, when out in public.  So when your adult dog starts to behave like a puppy around another assertive dog, you know he may actually be feeling insecure.  Or when an assertive dog starts to show too much interest, simply cue your dog to sit. End of discussion!

One of the amazing things about dogs is that they not only communicate in their own way but also comprehend our own language. In fact, the average trained dog may understand well over a hundred of our words.

Because ‘Human’ is not their native tongue, it is best that the words you select for your dog to learn be short, distinct from other words you have selected, and preferably with no more than two syllables.

Ensure that your tone is neutral, yet expressive. Remember that a high pitch is indicative of anxiety or excitation, whereas a low pitch tends toward threat-assertiveness. Short, sharp sounds express anger or fear, so by expressing the word in a soothing, warm tone will help the dog to associate the word in a positive light. For instance, when rewarding a dog for obeying a cue, by linking that act with the word ‘Good!’, be sure to slightly draw out the sound in a slightly more expressive manner than you ordinarily would.

And remember, it is not only about your voice but your body language. We perform so many unconscious movements and express individual mannerisms, that when we are teaching a dog a new cue-word the dog may pick up on our body language and learn to associate a performed behaviour not to our words but to the movement of our body. Therefore ensure that all your movements are clear and deliberate.

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