The role our canine companions have played in our lives has been different from era to era and culture to culture. Some cultures have idolized and worshiped certain breeds and treated them like royalty. Other cultures have seen dogs as not worthy of human attention and nothing but nuisances. Some cultures still feel this way, sadly. But here in the United States, dogs have, in greater and greater numbers, become house dwelling constant companions to us. More and more often they are no longer relegated to the backyard or tied to the front porch or simply allowed to roam. In many ways, we Americans are behaving in much more responsible ways toward our canine pals by making sure they are living more comfortably, are receiving proper medical care and nutrition, and are properly tagged with our contact information. And I am so happy about this! So it seems to me that as our relationships with our dogs continue to become closer and more friendly, it would also make sense that our desire to be better able to communicate with and understand our four legged friends would also increase.
As a dog trainer, I meet lots of different types of people who share their lives with dogs. And in my experience, very few of these wonderful people have much, if any, knowledge of the many types of communications our furry friends are offering on a moment to moment basis. Sometimes these communications are for our benefit, sometimes they are directed toward other dogs, sometimes they are 'talking' to themselves, and often times it can be a combination of these. And as I tell my clients, while dogs do vocalize and these vocalizations each have meanings, much of our pups' communication is done through body language and can often be extremely subtle. Which means that dogs, in order to be successful in their dealings with other dogs, must be very adept at reading body language. They are also very good at reading our body language. This is something we use to our benefit by teaching our dogs to respond to visual cues like hand signals.
But back to what our dogs are 'saying' to us. Does your dog ever yawn a big old yawn? Does she ever stretch or 'shake it off'? Most of the time, these behaviors have meaning. These are types of behaviors that are known as 'calming signals'. Turid Rugaas, a Nordic dog behaviorist, was the first to use this term for this group of dog behaviors.
Dogs offer a varied mix of these calming signals in an attempt to calm themselves, us, and other organisms (other dogs, cats, etc). They also offer these behaviors in some contexts as a way to defuse a possible altercation. And we can use these same behaviors to help our canine buddies to relax and to know that we have only good intentions. Three of the easiest calming signals us humans can use with our pups are blinking, yawning, and lip licking. I have used these visual signals many times and in many different types of situations to help calm an anxious or overly excited dog. And you can use them, too! So next time your young pup is barking at you for attention or is crazy excited, try offering a yawn or some obvious blinking and lip licking. You may be surprised by what your dog will do. Often times, he or she will offer a calming signal back to you.
Some other common calming behaviors include look aways (dog turns his head and looks away from the organism or thing), stretching, scratching, and paw lifts. This is a dog's way of essentially saying 'Everything's cool. I mean no harm.'
Check out the body language of this dog who is curious, yet uncertain about the kitten who has come to visit. Watch for her look away each time the kitten looks at her (after the first encounter). She is doing her best to keep the situation calm and defuse any possible altercation that may occur.
Depending on the context in which one of these calming behaviors is offered, it can be incredibly amazing to see the results! I see it a lot in my puppy play classes. And it's always fascinating to me to watch these young ones using their innate language so well and then watch their playmates respond appropriately. But what is even more amazing is using dogs' native language with them myself and watching them respond appropriately! And in doing so, I am not only learning to communicate better with the dog but also deepening my understanding of this wonderful species I love so much. And with my own dogs I am deepening my connection with them as we are better able to communicate with one another. It's truly a win-win! Try it yourself...you have nothing to lose and so much to gain.
