Dog Body Language 

one piece of a puzzle

Dogs show many behaviours of which some can be seen as signals and many of these signals have been ritualized. This involves a process by which non-signaling behaviour gradually evolve to become communicative signals. Common ritualized signals for dogs are behaviours like: head and/or body turns, lip licks, blinking, lifting paws, play bows, freezing, looking away, staring, raising a tail up high, tucking a tail down low, moving in slow motion, approaching in an arc or approaching head-on while staring, raising the lips to show teeth, and there are many, many more. Many of these signals are shown on a daily basis by all dogs on this planet.

Statements about dog body language - reliable?

Many statements are made about dog body language, often claiming that certain signals or body postures have a fixed meaning.

In example, I often read people claiming things like:

• a tail held up high means the dog is confident
• raised hackles means the dog is aggressive
• a tail tucked in or held down low means the dog is fearful
• a dog who licks his lips is stressed

Etcetera, etcetera.

In my experience, statements and claims about dog body language can be true, but they could also be completely false. The meaning of dog body language is not fixed. It can depend on many factors. There can be many individual differences between dogs (i.e. health, breed, looks, character traits, etc..) and the learning history of the dog can influence their body language. In most cases, the most important part of understanding and ‘translating’ dog body language is: the context in which the behaviour is occurring.

Dogs can raise their tails and try to increase their body posture size by stiffening up because they are feeling insecure and fearful because they have learned from experience that taking on a bigger posture can keep threats at a distance. Confidence may have nothing to do with it.  If a dog feels confident and secure, would they then feel the need to intimidate or threaten others? A confident dog probably would not be bothered to change their behaviour at all and keep all their muscles and their posture relaxed.

Raised hackles (piloerection, an involuntary reaction, just like humans can get goose bumps)  are most likely related to some form of emotional arousal and this could be a sign of anxiety, fear, excitement, nervousness or anger. In other words: it can mean many things, again, depending on the context. In addition, the same can be said for a wagging tail!

A dog may lower his or her tail while eating something delicious and enjoying the food.

A dog may lick the lips when they just had a drink or a snack and some of it has landed on the nose.

Etcetera, etcetera.