Understanding Your Dog’s Body Language

It’s certainly not hard to figure out what your dog is telling you when it meets you at the door after you’ve been out for awhile–the joyful grin and madly wagging tail say it all. Most of us quickly learn our pet’s basic repertoire of overt language. But some of the signals dogs give are subtle or confusing.

Being able to read a dog’s body language is especially necessary for urban dwellers. You not only want to be able to interpret your own pet correctly but, on the street, you want to be able to tell friend from foe.

Learn more about what dogs are telling us with their body language, right here:

1. Hostile tail-wagging. Wagging tails don’t always mean friendliness. Say your dog meets a strange dog off the leash. The other dog approaches with great interest, ears alert and tail wagging. But this dog is giving out signals that spell hostility. The wagging tail is stiff and held high. The eyes have a hard expression and stare into your dog’s eyes. The dog’s hackles are raised. The animal’s whole posture signifies aggression. Even without growling or showing its teeth, a dog behaving like this has a chip on its shoulder. You should remove your dog from the scene quietly and quickly.

2. Friendly tail-wagging. A friendly or curious dog’s tail will be wagging in wide sweeps, hanging down. Its ears are down and its fur is smooth along its shoulders and back. The dog will not attempt to look you or your dog in the eye. It will go through the typical sniffing pattern with your dog–first nose to nose, then the genitals. Offer this dog the back of your fist to smell, and then you can probably pet it if you wish.

Next: 3 more kinds of body language displayed by dogs