Dog language manifests itself in verbal signals, as well as in different poses. If a person carefully watches his pet, he will be able to understand how dogs communicate with the owner and whether they understand him.
Features
From their ancestors - wolves, dogs received a way of expressing feelings, which manifests itself with the help of several options. To communicate with other dogs or people, animals are expressed using various poses, voices, and facial expressions.
It’s not natural for dogs to lie they will not hide their feelings, as a person can do. Each owner who wants to learn to understand the dog’s language can observe his pet and notice that the reaction to different situations is different: at certain moments the dog growls, in other circumstances barks or starts to wag its tail. To understand what the dog wants to say, you should pay attention to its gestures, postures and body movements.
Having studied the behavior of your pet, you can understand without words what the four-legged friend wants to say, what he thinks and what his mood is. Possessing such knowledge, one can predict the dog’s reaction to certain situations.
Dog language can tell when the animal experiences stress, irritation, when the pet is happy, angry or experiencing a sense of fear.
What verbal signals does the dog give?
Having familiarized yourself with the dog’s verbal signals and their decoding, you can quickly understand what the animal wants to say, depending on the circumstances. The following signals are given by dogs.
Howl
Such sounds may be an attempt to find their owner or a specific dog.When the owner goes to work, the pet begins to howl, thus trying to get him home.
When one dog begins to howl, the rest of the dogs begin to howl with it. This behavior is called a kind of simultaneous communication between animals.
Roar
A growl suggests that you should move away from the animal. Often the owner is faced with this behavior when someone tries to approach the food of his pet. Also, a dog can react negatively to a stranger or even to its owner if he tries to take his favorite thing from him.
In the latter case The growl is considered an effective method of communication, since such a sound suggests that you can negotiate with the pet and pick up the item from him. But when the dog gets into an aggressive pose and makes no sound, he is considered very dangerous.
Caution should be exercised, as at such moments the dog may attack a person.
Grunts
As a rule, this signal indicates that the animal wants to receive something. Sound can be compared to manipulation, because the pet is familiar with the fact that he is scolded for barking, and for gentle grunts, the owner will fulfill the whim of his four-friend.
As an example, we can consider the situation when the dog wants to eat chocolate, and the owner is in no hurry to share. The dog makes such sounds as a greeting to his relatives or guests.
Yawning yawning
If the owner hears a similar sound from his fourth friend, this indicates that the dog is unhappy with the situation. The longer the cheekbone is, the more discontent the animal expresses.
A similar phenomenon is observed in situations when a dog is forced to execute a command, is not allowed to leave the room or is not given a tasty treat from the table.
Whining
An anxious state or injury causes the dog to whine. Some individuals like to attract attention with whining. For example, if the animal is afraid of thunder.
Mournful howl
The signal indicates the disappointment of the pet and its complaints about something.
Barking
Barking can be divided into several varieties:
- a high-pitched sound speaks of excitement and happiness;
- a low-barking bark indicates an aggressive mood or that the animal is threatening.
A dog can bark when it wants to get together with its relatives to respond to another dog or to demonstrate its happy state. With the help of a barking pet can signal a problem.
It is not always possible for a person to understand what kind of problem they are talking about, because the dog is able to hear an alarm that sounds in a radius of several kilometers. A person is not able to hear such a distant sound.
Studying situations in which a pet gives a voice, you can understand its behavior, communicate with it correctly and minimize misunderstanding.
How to understand body language?
In addition to voice communication, the dog uses body language. To learn the language of your pet, you need to pay attention to the following signals of the animal.
The ears
The position of the ears says a lot. If the animal presses them, it speaks of a fright.
- Turned up or tilted forward report a high enthusiasm for some process. For example, if a dog is hunting, playing, or curious.
- Changing the angle of rotation closer to the head demonstrates aggression.
- When a dog partially takes its ears back, but does not press them, this means that it experiences anxiety and insecurity. In this condition, the pet shows confusion or frustration.
The standard of some breeds provides for stopping the ears, so their mobility is significantly reduced, which does not allow to convey feelings and emotions to the fullest.
Eyes
The eyes are the mirror of the soul, and the dog can communicate with his eyes. Animals do not like it when they are closely watched, so they can look away or react aggressively to such actions.
Using visual gestures, the pet can show the following emotions.
- Demonstration of excellence. The dog will look into the eyes of his opponent without looking away at others.
- Desire to play. The owner will notice that his pet often blinks, as if winking. This signals that the dog does not mind playing and wants the person to join him.
- Alertness along with full readiness. Such a position is expressed by a wide-open look in which maximum concentration and readiness for decisive actions will be seen.
- Humility and respect. When the dog looks away, it means that he has chosen the man as the master and assumes his supremacy over himself.
- Aggressive attitude. The gaze will be steadfast, as in a situation with a demonstration of superiority. The difference will only be a narrowing of the eyes.
Facial expression
The face of the dog is able to demonstrate different emotions, which may vary depending on the mood of the animal.
- If the pet is stressed or awkward (this can happen when meeting other animals or strangers), he will yawn or frantically lick his face. A man's yawn can be contagious to a dog.
- Aggressive attitude, warning. When the animal begins to wrinkle its face and show its teeth, it is better not to touch it at such a moment. Any step towards a four-legged friend will be regarded as an attack, which may entail a bite.
- Joy. The well-known smile of dogs cannot be confused with other facial expressions. It symbolizes the delight of the animal and its joyful mood.
Poses
The desire to play is demonstrated by pressing to the ground and wagging the tail. The dog presses his chest and head to the ground, stretching his forepaws forward. When the owner sees such a pose, you can safely get the ball and start playing.
When the animal is excited, nervous or just bored, it walks in circles.
Alertness and aggression will appear in the form of reared fur along the spine.
When a dog wants to attract attention (if he wants to get food, attract a person to the game, achieve affection), he delicately touches a person’s paw.
The raised paw of the animal speaks of the presence of fear. If a tilted head is added to this position, then the four-legged pet is puzzled.
If the dog is full of energy and she wants to play, she will be a coward with a lifted tail.
Embarrassment puzzled express leisurely flapping tail.
The dog demonstrates trust with friendliness by swaying the hips and rubbing the loin over the person.
When a dog is scared, it lowers or tightens its tail. At such moments, you should protect your pet and provide him with protection.
If the dog is in a calm state, its tail is in a neutral position, at this moment the animal feels safe.
When the dog calms down after an aggressive mood, he suddenly begins to shake his shoulders with his head. This action indicates that the animal realized that the threat does not exist and is trying to eliminate the tension.
The demonstration that the dog loves the owner is manifested in licking. Using this method, the dog shows how he missed you, how much he loves his owner. The same action speaks of attracting attention. If the animal lies on its back, it trusts the person.
Reluctance to enter into conflict and submission can be expressed in laying on the back or side so that the opponent sees the stomach. If the animal at this moment is relaxed and its owner is nearby, the behavior symbolizes the recognition of a person as a leader.
How do animals talk to each other?
Since the dog is a social being, he constantly needs communication and attention. Dogs talk to each other using voice or body language. All actions are similar to those with which they communicate with a person. The only difference is that they perfectly understand each other and use smells.
With the help of tags, they also talk with their relatives. For this reason, when they meet, animals sniff each other. Such a gesture can show much more than simple sounds and poses.
Howling is the oldest form of communication between four-legged friends. She went to the dogs from distant ancestors. Such signals are heard over long distances and the pets with great pleasure join the howl of their brothers, transmitting the message along the chain.
Do pets understand a person?
The dog belongs to the category of intellectually developed creatures. Despite the fact that they do not know how to speak and do not understand human speech, they tend to easily notice any change in human behavior. They analyze the intonation and loudness of their owner’s voice.
Also, dogs have a well-developed memory, due to which they have a high ability to learn new skills and memorize teams.
A four-legged friend can remember a large number of commands, gestures and words, but this does not mean that they understand human speech. The animal only remembers the combination of sounds along with intonation, which is pronounced at one time or another.
The pet quickly understands what is required of him at the moment. In most cases, the animal feels well the household with whom it lives under the same roof.
See how to understand your dog and its behavior in the next video.
