Can you see what your dog is telling you?

I have had people tell me that their dog reacts to things without any warning. The thing is that the dog probably gave some kind of signal communicating what their next move was going to be. Our dogs communicate by body language. This communication may be very obvious or no so much. Here are a few signals that you can watch for when your dog is interacting with other dogs.

Calming signals 

•  
  • Blinking faster than normal or slowly
  • Looking away (nose and eyes pointing in the same direction) when accompanied by an open mouth & relaxed jaw
  • Shaking off
  • Scratching
  • Yawning  (stress signal)
  • Sniffing

Some of the behaviors along with other body gestures mean different things depending on the situation. Just because your dog is sniffing, for example, doesn’t mean that they have found a really good smell. It could be that they are stressed in that situation. 

This is why it is important to take into account what is going on at that particular time as well as the other body language signals that your dog is giving you at that particular time.