Dogs can’t tell us in words what they’re thinking and feeling because they don’t have to. They’re expressing themselves constantly through motion and body language — intention times emotion equals energy. Once we learn how to understand these, a whole world of communication with our dogs opens up.
The messages dogs communicate with their body language can be subtle, but with careful attention, most people can learn to recognize and interpret the most important meanings. It’s crucial to know when your dog’s happy, when he’s playful, when he’s worried or scared, when he’s feeling uncertain or insecure about something or someone, and when he’s feeling upset and potentially angry. As long as you can recognize these messages, you can interact with him confidently and safely, and you can protect him when he needs protection.
Happy, Contented
When your dog is happy, he has relaxed body language. His muscles are relaxed, his tail and ears are held in their natural positions, and he looks neither large nor small for his physique. He might wag his tail from side to side or in a circular motion. His facial expression is neutral or he appears happy—the muscles in his face are relaxed, his mouth is closed or slightly opened, and he might be panting with a regular tempo. The corners of his mouth (called the commissure) might be turned upwards slightly, as though he’s smiling.
Alert
When your dog is alert, he looks intense and focused. He stands upright with his weight centered on all fours, his ears are up and forward, and his head and neck are erect. He holds his tail either in its natural position or vertically, possibly even over his back. His tail is rigid and immobile. His gaze is directed toward whatever he‘s detected. His mouth is typically closed. He might growl or bark. The hair on his shoulders or back may or may not be raised.
Excited
When your dog is excited, he looks as intense as he does when he’s alert, but he might also adopt a playful demeanor. His body is ready for action. He looks natural in size, but his weight might be centered over his rear legs as he prepares to move. His ears are up and his tail is held high, and it may or may not wag. He looks at the individual or object that’s the source of his excitement. Excited dogs often hold their mouths open, and they might bark.
Aroused
When your dog is aroused, you might have a hard time distinguishing it from when he’s alert or excited. The only time it’s useful to know the difference is when the arousal pushes him closer to feeling frightened or aggressive. An aroused dog almost always has his hackles up. However, just about everything else about his body language depends on whether he’s feeling scared, uncertain or angry. His body may look normal-sized or larger, his ears might be flattened to the side or held forward, and his tail might be held low, in a normal position or high. He may or may not be looking directly at an individual or object. Sometimes there’s nothing in the environment that’s obvious to us, but a dog can be aroused by a sound that we can’t hear or an odor that we can’t smell.
Playful
It’s fairly easy to detect when your dog’s feeling playful. His body movements are jerky and bouncy. He might bounce around in exaggerated twists, turns and leaps. He might dodge around you, paw at you and then take off running to invite a chase. Or he might just jump on you and start mouthing. Dogs enjoy a variety of play styles, including chase games (in which the dog is either the chaser or the chasee), rough-and-tumble (wrestling or tackle) games, and games of “keep-away” with an object, like a toy or stick. Almost all play is interspersed with the characteristic “play bow” that’s common across all dogs. When your dog play bows, he bounces into position with his forelegs on the ground and his hind legs extended so that his rear sticks up. This signal is extremely important because so much of dog play consists of aggressive behaviors and dominant postures. The play bow tells a dog’s playmate, “Anything that comes after this is play, so please don’t take it seriously.” Some dogs also show a “play face,” a happy facial expression characterized by a partially open mouth that almost looks as though the dog is smiling. A playful dog might also growl or make high-pitched barks.
Fearful, Scared
When your dog is scared, he does his best to look small. Often, his body looks hunched, with his tail held low or tucked between his rear legs and his ears flattened back on his skull. He might cower close to the ground. If escape is possible, he might lean so that his center of gravity is over his rear legs to permit a hasty retreat, or lean to the side so that he can recoil. He might look directly at the source of his fear or he might look away. The muscles of his body and face are tense and rigid. He might yawn in an exaggerated way.
Dominant
During interaction with a person or another dog, dogs sometimes convey a confident, assertive attitude that’s often called “dominant.” If your dog is feeling dominant, he stands tall, sometimes on his tiptoes, and tries to look large. He arches his neck. He appears tense, like a coiled spring. His weight is squarely on all four feet or he’s leaning forward slightly. His ears are up and oriented forward. His tail is high and rigid, sometimes flagging or quivering at the end. His hair may or may not be standing up on his shoulders or along his back. He usually makes direct eye contact with the other individual. He might growl, but his mouth will typically be closed.
Submissive
If your dog is feeling submissive while he interacts with a person or another dog, he tries to convey the message that he’s the underling, that he’s not a threat and that aggression is unnecessary. During active submission, he makes his body look small by hunching over and getting low to the ground. He holds his tail low or tucked, sometimes rapidly wagging it back and forth. He flattens his ears or holds them off to the sides of his head. He keeps his neck low to the ground, but he turns his muzzle up toward the other individual. He might nuzzle, lick or flick his tongue. He averts his gaze so as not to look directly at the other individual. Some dogs, particularly puppies, urinate.
Your dog might switch from active submission to a more passive position, in which he lies down and rolls over on his back to display his inguinal area (his genitalia). During passive submission, your dog might lie still, or he might paw at the other individual. He looks away. He might whine. Some dogs, particularly puppies, urinate in this position.
Fearfully Aggressive
If your dog is fearfully aggressive he won’t look any different than when he’s fearful, except that he might show his teeth and growl. Some fearful dogs never escalate to aggression, but others will if they feel there’s no escape. A fearful dog isn’t likely to bite a person or other animal unless all avenues for escape are blocked and he feels trapped. When this happens, he continues to cower but, at the same time, shows his teeth and might growl or snarl. If he snaps or bites, it’s usually lightening quick, and then he retreats as far away from the threat as possible. Some dogs wait until the person or animal who frightens them begins to retreat, and then they dart out to nip them from behind.
Offensively Aggressive
If your dog feels anger and confidence at the same time, you might see offensively aggressive body language. He’s on the attack, and he may or may not stop if the person or animal he’s focused on stays away or retreats. He does his best to look large and intimidating by holding his head high, his ears up and forward, and his tail raised and rigid. He might flag his tail. His hackles might be up. He positions himself over his forelegs so that he’s ready to lunge or charge forward. He stares directly at the person or animal. He shows his teeth by wrinkling his muzzle and retracting his lips vertically to display his front teeth. He growls, snarls or barks in a low, threatening tone.
Defensively Aggressive
Most dogs give plenty of warning before reacting aggressively, but you need to know what to look for to recognize the signs. If your dog is feeling defensively aggressive, he’d rather not get into an altercation if he doesn’t have to. He’d rather the person or animal he’s afraid of just back off and leave him alone. But at the same time, he’s ready to stand up for himself. Because he’s feeling both fear and anger, he often adopts a combination of fearful and offensive postures. Typically, he looks large, his ears are up and forward, and his tail is held high and rigid. He centers his weight squarely on all fours, over his forelegs or over his rear legs, depending on the situation. Usually it depends on how close he is to the threat and whether his intention is to stand his ground, charge forward or retreat. Typically, he draws his lips back to display his teeth, and he may or may not wrinkle his muzzle. Usually he growls, snarls or barks, although his bark might be high-pitched. Often, his hackles are up. People sometimes refer to a defensively aggressive dog as adopting “a good offense as the best defense.” Dogs like this are sometimes bluffing in that they really would not fight if push came to shove—they would likely retreat. But other dogs will make the first strike, depending on the balance of confidence and fear they’re feeling.
