We often hear it said that our four-legged friends are missing only the power of speech. In reality, dog language is not as devoid of "words" as it seems — perhaps they simply don't need words as complex as ours to tell us how they feel; body language is probably far more effective! Let's discover how to understand dog language by analysing the sounds they make and observing every single movement our friends make, so we can understand what they are trying to communicate through their canine language!
Dog language
Compared to us, dog language is expressed far more through body language than through verbal communication, as dogs adopt specific postures and behaviours in order to convey their emotional state and their requests for attention. Canine language, unlike ours — full of rules, words and complex sentences — is essential and pragmatic.
Our friends are able to express their emotions in various ways: through facial expressions, posture, behaviours and sounds. You'll see that understanding dog language is not quite the impossible task that many people think!
How to understand dog language and calming signals
Canine language is capable of expressing a truly wide range of emotional states, and it is rich in calming signals as well as intimidating ones. Let's find out what they are!
Facial expressions
If you want to understand dog language, the first thing you need to do is observe your friends' facial expressions! For example, if a dog has half-closed eyes, it is communicating a sense of pleasure as well as submission; on the contrary, if it keeps its eyes wide open, it is in a state of alertness. In the same way, the manner in which your dog looks at you can indicate different levels of confidence — a fixed, direct gaze means it feels very sure of itself, whereas a sideways, evasive look means the complete opposite, and it has probably been up to some mischief.
A dog's mouth is also interesting: if it is relaxed and slightly open, that is a typical calming signal; if the corners of the mouth are turned upward, your dog is happy; if it shows its teeth slightly, that is a sort of greeting; and if the corners turn downward while it shows you its canine teeth, you may want to make a quick exit… Now let's move on to the tongue! If a dog licks its nose, it is asking for forgiveness; if a dog licks its lip, that is another calming signal, meaning it is calm and relaxed. The typical little licks on the muzzle of another dog indicate a request for friendship or care, whereas if it clicks its tongue while yawning, it is probably feeling very nervous or anxious.
Ears held straight and forward convey confidence and boldness; if straight but angled, the dog is paying close attention to a sound. Relaxed and to the sides are another calming signal — dogs usually hold them this way when they want to apologise. Pulled back and flattened against the head, or one up and one down, indicate stress, fear and unease. A dog's nose, on the other hand, if wrinkled, indicates nervousness and threat and is a typical intimidation signal.
Posture and dog body language
To understand dog language, posture is also very important at a communicative level and can tell us a great deal! If your dog is standing tall on its legs with its chest forward, it means it feels very confident — almost bold! On the contrary, a fearful or simply very timid dog will make itself as small as possible, crouching down and lowering its head. If it wants to invite you to play, it will usually bend slightly on its front legs, adopting a bowing position (absolutely adorable when it does this!). When it has got up to some mischief, you will see your dog asking for forgiveness by rolling onto its side or exposing its belly!
Now let's move on to the tail — perhaps the most expressive part of all! If your friend holds its fur raised along its back and its tail high, it means it is ready for a challenge; if a dog tucks its tail between its legs, or holds it very low, it means it is frightened. If a dog wags its tail, it always depends on how it does so — it is not necessarily always a sign of happiness. It is only truly joyful if the dog wags quickly and spins its tail; if it holds it rigid with slow movements, it could actually be the prelude to a fight!
Finally, let's get to the paws! If a dog wants to challenge another furry friend, it will certainly place its paws on the other dog's back; if it wants to get its attention, it will stretch its paws towards it. When it comes to its owner, dogs generally always use their paws to request attention, reaching one paw out towards you; they will do the same when they want to point something out — a specific target, which could be a toy or their favourite blanket!
How to understand the sounds dogs make
Dog language is very rich and has a wonderful repertoire of sounds that need to be interpreted and translated just as you would study any language. You will therefore need to pay close attention to the tone, the repetition of the bark and the length of the sound. Don't worry — you don't need to be a sound engineer to understand what a barking dog is trying to communicate; we've already done the thinking for you:
- Repeated barking: alarm signal;
- Slow, repeated barking: danger ahead;
- Dog barking just once or twice: request for attention;
- Prolonged barking: sense of loneliness;
- Howling: used to identify one another and communicate one's position to the pack;
- Whimpering: state of discomfort or complaint;
- Yelping: fear or pain — if short and sharp, it is certainly a sudden pain;
- Growling: a threat — a dog growls to warn an adversary to back away;
- Baying: used to guide the pack or signal the location of prey;
- Sighing: if prolonged, it is a typical calming signal; if sharp, it is instead a sign of displeasure;
- Yawning: discomfort at something that has been denied or refused, or a request to come closer;
- Panting: discomfort, unease or excitement.
At this point, dog language holds no more secrets for us dog lovers — although we will certainly still have much to learn from our furry friends, given that they manage to surprise us every single day!
