Do you ever wish you could understand how your dog is feeling? Since dogs can’t talk to us, their body language is one of the best ways they communicate. Let’s help you understand your dog by discussing how to communicate with them through body language and voice, and how they can better understand you.
Body language
Body language includes movement, body weight, speed of movement, positioning, angle, and facial expressions. Understanding these cues can help you to easily communicate with your dog.
To help identify friendly, neutral, or aggressive body language, we recommend our co-founder, Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage’s blog, “Identifying Body Language in Dogs”. Now that we have talked about what a dog’s body language is, let’s discuss facial expressions.
Facial expressions
You have likely noticed that dogs use facial expressions to communicate, and learning to read these subtle changes can help you understand what your dog is feeling in the moment. While expressions can vary by each dog breed, particularly ear placement, here are some common signals you can look out for:
- A happy dog will likely have a soft open mouth, with their tongue hanging out loosely, their ears pinned back or in a neutral and natural stance, or they look directly at someone with soft eyes that aren’t staring.
- A neutral dog will likely have soft eyes and casually scan as they look around. Their ears will be naturally set, though this can vary by breed. Their mouth may be open or gently closed, with loose lips.
- An aggressive dog may intently stare towards their focus, have a closed, firm mouth, with their ears pointed directly at the target, or perked up.
You can see that dogs use facial expressions to communicate, and they also read your facial expressions to read how you are feeling. To help your dog better understand you, you can:
- Keep your face soft and give a generally happy demeanor. This will help to confirm you are not a threat.
- For dogs who are very comfortable with you, or are overly friendly towards people, you can offer some prolonged and happy eye contact to show that you are ready to do something. This could be telling them it is mealtime or it’s time for a walk.
- For dogs who are uncomfortable, or even scared of you or other people, avoid giving them prolonged eye contact. This eye contact can be threatening. Instead, we recommend you keep some loose eye contact, and break this eye contact every few seconds.
- If you are feeling intimidated by a familiar dog’s facial expression and body language, then you should not tense up. Tense body language towards the dog can lead to more tension; it’s best to de-escalate this through happy talking and normal breathing.
- We do not recommend any prolonged staring to be intimidating to a dog. This “Alpha” approach confuses dogs, as there is no immediate consequence. There are also many more effective ways to communicate with your dog.
A dog doesn’t just read your facial communication. They will also read your direction of movement. Let’s discuss this in more detail.
Direction of movement
The way you move can communicate much to a dog. This is particularly useful for understanding how children and dogs communicate. Here are some examples to better understand how movement influences a dog’s behavior:
- Movement away from the dog pulls the dog in closer. While movement away from a dog brings them in.
- Children will often try to avoid a dog by running away, which can do the opposite and encourage an excited dog to chase or follow them. A child walking towards a dog can stop them from chasing them.
- You can encourage shy dogs to move closer by moving away from them. While moving away, you can call out the dog’s name to encourage them.
Always make sure that children and adults respect a dog’s personal space. If a dog wants to interact, they will move closer when you move away.
Another way to help in how to understand your dog, and help your dog understand you, is the speed of your movement.
Speed of movement
The speed at which you approach a dog can be interpreted in different ways. You can influence how fast your dog moves towards you by:
- Moving quickly towards your dog can push them back.
- Running away from your dog can encourage them to move at your speed and chase you.
- Moving slowly away from your dog can encourage them to slowly follow you.
Let’s now move on to how your body weight distribution can communicate with a dog.
Body Weight
Though you may not realize it, you should be aware of how you stand, as it helps you communicate with your dog. The ways your dog can interpret your weight distribution includes:
- A forward body weight can be seen as intimidating or assertive.
- A neutral body weight can be seen as less intimidating. This is a better approach for a shy dog.
You should also be aware of the angle you are giving your dog. You may have noticed that yur dog can understand you differently or better if you face towards them, sideways, or facing away from them entirely. Let’s explain this in more detail:
- If a dog is scared or reactive, facing them directly can be intimidating. Which can escalate the situation.
- If you stand sideways towards a scared or reactive dog, you will appear to be less intimidating
- For a shy dog, where there isn’t a risk of being bitten, you can squat down or sit sideways next to them to encourage an interaction. This helps the shy dog see that you aren’t a threat.
- A scared dog may feel more comfortable if you are facing away from them. If you are comfortable with the dog, sitting down or even lying down is the most non-threatening position.
If a dog is quite comfortable with you, then you do not have to be very concerned about the angle of your body. Let’s now talk about the importance of using your voice to understand your dog, and for them to understand you better.
Your voice
The tone and volume of your voice can influence how your dog receives you and how effectively you can communicate with them.
- A high-pitched and high-volume voice is generally seen as friendly, and can make them more excited.
- A low-pitched, low-volume voice is usually seen as less friendly and is a voice many people use to correct their dogs.
You should be mindful of how you talk to your dog. As this will set how your dog’s sensitivity to high-pitched and low-pitched sounds. If someone in your family has a high-pitched voice, then they may find it more difficult to correct your dog’s behavior. While a person with a naturally low-pitched voice may have trouble getting your dog excited and offering praise.
We are here to help
Practicing these communication techniques improves how you understand your dog and how your dog understands you. You should put these techniques into your daily interactions and see what changes you notice.
Do you have any questions on training or behavioral issues? You can schedule a free consultation with our Pet Behavior Team. You can also you check out our puppy training blog or our Tik Tok channel.
Beyond the Dog Houston offers personalized programs through private training sessions both at your home and in your local Houston neighborhood. We also offer Board and Train Retreat programs and virtual consultation programs with our co-founder and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage.
We use scientifically proven training methods, backed by over 20 years of hands-on experience. Beyond the Dog Tampa Bay is led by our co-founders, Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), and Sean Savage, a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA).
