DogSpeak: Improving communication between you and your canine

You know that clear communication is key to developing strong relationships. Envision meeting an individual that you will need to live with for 15 years. You each speak a different language. So, what do you do? You learn each other's language. The individual I am talking about is your dog.

From your pup's point of view, he's been speaking a language for years that he thought no one understood. Now suddenly, people start understanding and responding!? Imagine his feelings of relief and excitement! We can help our dogs with this feeling.

Canine body language has been studied by researchers and scientists for years. Dogs are equipped with this very reliable and consistent language to help them communicate their intentions to one another. Their primary goal in using their language is to reduce and resolve conflict. Imagine that! How very civil of them!

Dogs use this very same language with us as well, but we just don't know enough to actually understand it. I'm not talking about the overt signals which we all know, like a growl, bark or snap, but the full array of their language.

When interacting with our dogs and other dogs, we can look out for the yawn, the lip lick, the shake off, ear flick, the downward dog looking stretch, and the head turn; just to name a few! These are just some of the many cues dogs use to communicate with us each time we interact with them and when they interact with one another. They use this language to essentially tell us and other dogs, "I'm cool. I mean no harm. You're coming on a bit strong. Calm down there a bit."

We are actually very forward and can be a bit overbearing with our dogs in terms of our attention. The way we use of bodies to speak is very different than the way our dogs would use their bodies. I know it can be hard to believe, but yes, your gregarious waggy tail friend believes your interactions to be a bit impolite at times.

Dogs for example, meet each other in an arc. It's rude, in their world, to walk a straight line toward them and make direct eye contact. In fact, polite dogs do everything they can to avoid the face to face and direct eye contact greeting that we interpret as polite and appropriate.

Dogs turn their head away, they might sniff the ground upon approach, walk up to each other's sides, then sniff a tushie. This is good dog communication.

So, It's easier to see then why our intentions are not always clear with our dogs. What we do, as humans, does not necessarily make sense for the inner dog.

Learning the very basics of canine body language will help us become good dog listeners and better communicators too. We will have the opportunity to improve the lives of not only our dogs, but each and every dog we meet . If we open ourselves to learning the language they use to communicate, we can strengthen our understanding of our companions and work to reduce the stress and anxiety in their lives.

By learning DogSpeak we can "listen" to our furry friend and by doing so, we will ease our well intentioned cross species miscommunications. In Embrace your dog, just not literally, I discussed one of the most common miscommunications, the hug.

I am one day hoping for a hug-free world for our dogs! Long live the cheek scratch, tushie scratch and belly rub. Dogs deserve our attention and affection. As humans though, we often give the affection we like to receive and that can be misinterpreted by our dogs.

We bring them into our lives and love them. We still have the chance though not just to love them but to really listen and hear them speak their own language.

I will never ask or suggest that you growl or bark. I am simply suggesting that by equipping ourselves with the knowledge of dog body language, we will be better able to observe and "listen" to our dogs. Making us better friends to our best friends.

Now let's start the DogSpeak! We've got a lot to chew through!

Welcome!

Colleen

NOTE: DogSpeak is intended for light educational and informative purposes. There is a plethora of scientific information on canine body language available for more in-depth and detailed explanation. Recommended reading:

Stanley Coren's How to Speak Dog
Turid Rugaas' On Talking Terms with Dogs
Patricia McConnell's The Other End of the Leash

Dog body language, translated:

Hugs
Whale eye (half-moon eye)
Yawning
The body shake (shake off)
The head turn
The lip lick (tongue flick)
Scratching
Greeting
Face licking
Dog-dog on-leash greetings
Halloween
Stiff posture/alertness