Dog Body Language And Stress Signals (And Why Context Matters)

Why should we pay close attention to the body language of dogs? This is the question of the day, and there are many reasons why. As professional dog trainers, if we can’t read a dog’s body language and understand what it means, we could be putting that dog, the owner, and ourselves in great danger.

As an instructor at the Southeast Campus of the School for Dog Trainers, learning to read a dog’s body language is the first topic that we cover at the beginning of each Canine Training and Behavior program. It is that important. This sets the foundation for everything we do as dog trainers.

Context is everything

It is very difficult to categorize a certain piece of a dog’s body language to a specific behavior issue. The reason for this is that a fearful dog may give the same signal as a dominant dog. So, we must consider the whole picture in order to figure out what is causing a certain signal – in other words, we must understand the context.

Let’s consider an example. Imagine if a dog is displaying a partially open mouth (showing teeth) as it is backing into a corner behind a table, in a building that he or she has never been exposed to. We identify the open mouth and display of the teeth as a C-Shaped Pucker. What is the root cause of this behavior? To someone that has no experience, they may say that the dog is dominant and that a form of positive punishment should be deployed to correct the behavior; in all actuality, this is a fear-based issue. The dog is telling us, through its body language, that it is not comfortable in this environment and that it is attempting to retreat. In this situation, the dog truly believes that it is in a life-or-death situation.

If we are able to recognize this, then we can formulate a plan to reverse the dog’s expectation of the outcome. If we misdiagnose the root cause and begin to use punishment to correct the C-Shaped Pucker, then the dog will stop giving that signal and, possibly, opt to going straight to a bite. Therefore, we do not use punishment to suppress the symptoms but treat the root cause by changing the dog’s perception of the outcome.

This is just one example. A positive body signal from a dog would be when they place both of their paws out and bow towards the ground. This is what we call a Play Bow. This is a signal from the dog that they want to be friends with a human or another dog. We will often see the dog raise one of his or her front paws when they are exposed to new people or other dogs. This paw raise is also a “let’s be friends” signal.

Stress signals in dogs

Dogs use their body language to relieve or display stress. Some examples of these could be:

Height-seeking (jumping up towards the handler) – this is easily misinterpreted as a dog wanting affection
High-pitched vocalizations
Teeth chattering
Stiffness of the body
Tail tuck

These are just a few. There are many more and must be considered in the context. By changing the context, we may see these signals dissipate or increase.

Dominance signals

It is also very important to be able to recognize dominant signals. Some of these signals could be:

High tail position (usually flagged)
Confident in most environments
Using space to control the handler
Tap out (not to be confused with a rollover)

Again, these are just a few and should be considered in context.

In conclusion

I encourage everyone – dog trainers and dog owners alike – to do research on how dogs communicate through body language.

If your dog is exhibiting some signals that seem out of the ordinary or are resulting in potential behavioral issues, I recommend reaching out to an educated and experienced dog trainer for advice. A misdiagnosis can result in the wrong resolution, which can lead to other behavioral issues.