Enhancing Communication between Dogs & Dogs Owners

If you are a dog owner, odds are you have seen the infamous movie Look Who's Talking with John Travolta and other famed actors. The odds get even better when you consider how many dog owners attempt to talk to their dogs on a daily basis. Unfortunately, unlike the movie, our dogs do not talk back or converse. While a few of us are convinced our dog does everything but speak English himself, the rest of us know that he can’t understand what we are saying. No matter how clever the dog they just can’t reason or rationalize or understand our conversations. The real question is, how can we talk with our dogs?

Perhaps we should begin by looking at how dogs communicate with each other. Dogs communicate primarily through movements of their ears, eye, tail, mouth and their entire bodies known as body language. They also use vocal barks, whines and howls, but their primary mode of communication is body language. While there are no hard and fast rules to all body signals; there are certain signs we can look for to determine what our dogs are saying to each other. A dog’s tail can be a good indicator of mood. If the tail is held high in the air then the dog is alert and confident, but when the tail is tucked between his legs then he is afraid. When the fur on the tail bristles while between his legs he is showing fear, but is willing to defend and could possibly show aggression if provoked. A tail wag can mean two different things depending on the speed of the wag. If it is fast then your dog is excited and wants to play. If it is slow then he is assessing the situation and is unsure of how he feels about it.

In addition to the tail, ears are a great way to tell what your dog has on his mind. When his ears are up and facing forward he is attentive and open, but when he lays them back he might be frightened. He will also use his eyebrows to indicate attention levels. While your pooches’ eyebrows may not be apparent he will raise and lower his eyes similarly to a human. Raised eyebrows indicate interest while lowered indicate fear. A dog with one eyebrow up and the other down indicates confusion. While you might not recognized these subtle communications dogs use other more obvious motions to communicate with each other.

A dog can use his entire body to display his mood. When he is excited or wants something he will keep his back legs still and stamp his front feet alternating between the left and right. Some dogs will use their legs to show interest in a particular object by raising one leg and pointing. Other dogs paw at items they are interested in and offer their paws if interested, mimicking the human handshake. Another way a dog shows interest is known as play bow. This is similar to downward facing dog if you are familiar with yoga. The dog places his front legs flat on the ground while standing up with his back legs in a bowing position. This is almost always an open invitation for playtime.

If some of these signals sound familiar to you it is probably because we use body language every day to communicate with our spouses, friends and co-workers. In fact, depending upon the expert you ask; humans convey almost half of the meaning from interactions with others through body language or non-verbal cues. Try applying this to your pooch and you are well on your way to communicating with him. Of course you can still sneak in a conversation or two from time to time; your secret is safe with us.