dog body language

Dog tails, often misread

/ susanbulanda / Leave a comment

Many children are taught that if a dog’s tail is wagging that it is safe to approach the dog and pet him. This is one reason why children are sometimes bitten. First, a child should be taught to never approach any animal without first asking permission to do so. If the child is alone and there is no one around to ask, they should avoid all animals.

I recall being at a dog show with my young Doberman and a young girl ran up to my dog and gave him a big hug. Fortunately my dog was safe and liked all people. I did tell the child that she should always ask first since all dogs are not safe. She looked at me, thought a minute and said, “I have a way with dogs” and left. She was at the age where she should have known better, but obviously someone had told her this and she thought that she was safe from all harm. How sad. At the same show with the same dog, an adult couple approached and started to pet my dog, giving him kisses and hugs. Being a red Doberman and young, he was rather slender. They looked up with love in their eyes and asked if he was a Vizsla. I said, “No, he’s a Doberman.” They collectively gave a gasp of horror, quickly backed away saying “I’m afraid of Dobermans!” Fortunately my dog ignored their behavior.

But the fact is that many adults think that if a dog is wagging his tail, that he is safe to approach. Some behavior consultants feel that the tail is not an indicator of a dog’s mental state at all and not a reliable means of determining how a dog feels. To a point this is true. The tail should always be included with other body language. This includes the dog’s posture, facial expressions, vocalizations and spatial proximity to the object of his interest.

What makes it difficult to determine the meaning of a dog’s tail are physical factors such as a dog who has no tail or a small stubby tail like a Doberman. Dogs whose tails are naturally carried in a certain position, such as the high tail of a Beagle, or breeds that normally carry their tails low such as a Greyhound as well as those dogs who have very curly tails such as a Husky.

However, there are some general rules that a person can use to determine if the tail is a warning rather than an invitation.

1) A slow wag that is lower than the back of the dog is often a dog that is insecure. An insecure dog may fear-bite.

2) A tail tucked between the dog’s legs or even curled between the dog’s legs and tucked all the way to the dogs stomach. This means the dog is very fearful.

3) A slow high wag is often a dog that is assertive and willing to fight. If the dog is barking he could be aggressive.

4) A tail that is very high, erect, and stiff is also a sign of high alert or aggression.

With a little bit a caution and common sense, a person can avoid being bitten or being confronted by a dog that would rather be left alone.

Dog Bites

/ susanbulanda / 2 Comments

All dogs bite at one time or another. However, most people do not realize that there are different types of bites. Unfortunately, many dogs have lost their homes, lives or been restricted due to the misunderstanding and misinformation about dog bites.

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Dogs used their mouths the same as we use our hands. Puppies mouth the same way that human babies will put everything in their mouths. The mouth is a very sensitive part of the body, perhaps the most sensitive. The mouth can taste, feel texture, heat, cold, size and shape. The mouth and tongue are so sensitive that the smallest bump or lump in a person’s mouth often feels like a boulder or a cracked tooth feels like a canyon. We have to assume that dogs have the same or similar capabilities. However, dogs do not have the same capability to taste as humans do. They have about 1,706 taste buds compared to a human’s 9,000. A dog’s taste buds are located at the tip of their tongue. They can taste bitter, sweet, sour and salty. Their choice of what they eat depends more on their sense of smell than taste.

Dogs use their mouths to manipulate objects, carry objects, groom themselves and/or companions, to show affection, to play, as a means of correcting another dog, as a way to get another animal or person away from them (distance increasing), and to vocalize. One of the most affectionate things a dog may do is nibble the object of their affection. This is a very gentle nibbling using the small front teeth.

Sometimes dogs will grab a person to try and lead them somewhere, such as a door if they have to go out. This is like a person taking another person by the hand to guide them.

Bites often happen in a few seconds. It may be difficult for an untrained person to analyze a bite because you must consider the rest of the dog’s body language and the circumstances that happened just before and after the bite as well as the breed or type of dog. Dogs also can give mixed signals. For example, a dog can act aggressively and at the same time fearfully. The dog’s life experience including training will influence what and how they bite. However, below is a general explanation of dog bites.

Dog bites follow a progression if, as a puppy, the dog has been allowed to learn how to properly act socially with other dogs. An adult dog will first give the puppy, other animal or person warning looks. If that does not work, next are warning growls or vocalizations. (Never correct a dog for growling, you will remove an important warning, forcing the dog to go directly to a bite.) If a puppy does not heed the body language and then the vocal warning of an older dog, the dog may give the puppy an open mouth correction. This is when the older dog will “hit” the puppy with his mouth open but does not bite.

The next level of bite is the nip. In human terms, it would be equal to a pinch. It is typically done with the little front teeth. It is a corrective measure used to stop the unwanted behavior or to communicate the message to get away or back off.

If the nip does not work the next bite will be a full mouth bite but a quick release and often not bearing down hard. This type of bite may result in a bruise or small puncture. This is also a request to back off or get away. The dog is trying to increase the distance between himself and who he bit. It is also the type of bite that a fearful dog may employ. It could also be a defensive or corrective bite.

If that does no work the next bite may have increased pressure resulting in a deeper puncture or larger bruise. It is also a distance increasing bite or a fear bite.

The aggressive bite that the enraged dog or the dog who is aggressive will use is a bite and hold or a bite, hold and shake. These are the bites that are dangerous where the dog typically intends to hurt.

A dog that has developed strong bite inhibition, may put his mouth on a person if he is in pain. Often that is a reflex and when the dog realizes that his mouth is on a person will either stop before making contact or not put any pressure in the bite. Other times a dog who is in pain may bite. This should not be held against the dog. Also, a dog that is enraged or upset about something may do what is called redirected aggression. This also a reflex where the dog will bite whatever is near him when he cannot get to the object of his anger. The other situation where a dog will bite because of reflex is if the dog is engaged in a fight with another animal and a person tries to grab the dog to pull him away. The dog will bite not realizing that it is not the animal he is fighting but a person. This also should not be held against the dog. In these cases of reflex biting, the humans that are working with the dog should expect it and take precautions to avoid being bitten. The only breed of dog that has been bred not to bite a human when engaged in a fight are the bully breeds, such as Pitbull Terriers.

How likely a dog will bite depends on the breed (or mix) of the dog, the lines of the breed, how well the breeder and then the owner socialized the dog and the dog’s training. Some breeds of dog are less tolerant and quicker to bite than others.

Children are often bitten in the face because they are at face level with dogs. Children of all ages should be taught how to interact with dogs and carefully monitored, always. A dog that bites a child due to a reflex action is rarely forgiven even though in most cases the dog is not an aggressive dog by nature.

It would do the dogs and dog owners a great service if dog owners studied canine body language and learned to understand their dogs. Children should be taught how to interact with dogs. Studies have shown that children can recognize when a dog is angry but not when they are fearful.

There are two excellent resources that help the dog owner learn how to read dog body language.

  1. What is My Dog Saying? By Carol A. Byrnes, diamonsintheruff.com
  2. The Language of Dogs by Sarah Kalnajs bluedogtraining.com