how to read dogs body language
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Try "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell (I think that's her name?) and Turid Rugaas has a book on calming signals that's helpful. I'm also a fan of "Dog Sense" by John Bradshaw - not about dog body language, per se...but all these will help you better communicate with your dog.
Also, there's a blog at www.dogstardaily.com which has all kinds of resources.
Also, there's a blog at www.dogstardaily.com which has all kinds of resources.
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2 great books on the subject:
Canaine Body Language - A photographic Guide by Brenda Aloff
On Talking Terms With Dogs - Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas
Canaine Body Language - A photographic Guide by Brenda Aloff
On Talking Terms With Dogs - Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas
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Those would be my recommendations as well. On the Calming Signals book, I'd also recommend the video. It's so helpful to see these things in motion. The only thing I didn't like on the video was one place that was supposed to be a look away, but was clearly cued.
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If Cesar Millan read dogs better (and listened to what they were saying) he'd get bitten a whole lot less.
If you want to learn to read dogs then you need to surround yourself with dogs and read about dogs. You won't magically learn to communicate with dogs in a day.
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Summary:
1. Wagging tail = energy ... could be happy or angry
2. Barking = pay attention ... could be anger, fear, lonely, happy, friendly
3. A dog looking at you with soft eyes and mouth a little open is smiling
4. A dog that licks his lips or nose may be uncertain about the situation.
5. A dog that yawns may not like what is happening.
6. A dog that shakes off is changing his mood.
7. A dog that has his elbows on the ground and butt in the air is doing a playbow. If the forelegs are spread apart, he is probably ready to play. If the forelegs are straight, he may want to play, or may be saying that he is not a threat.
8. A dog that is staring at you hard or even away is a dog to back away from. A dog that looks away does not want to engage.
Go to a dog park and look for these behaviors... and write down what you see...
There are about 30 'subtle' behaviors called Calming Signals. And, I believe there are fewer than 100 other behaviors.
1. Wagging tail = energy ... could be happy or angry
2. Barking = pay attention ... could be anger, fear, lonely, happy, friendly
3. A dog looking at you with soft eyes and mouth a little open is smiling
4. A dog that licks his lips or nose may be uncertain about the situation.
5. A dog that yawns may not like what is happening.
6. A dog that shakes off is changing his mood.
7. A dog that has his elbows on the ground and butt in the air is doing a playbow. If the forelegs are spread apart, he is probably ready to play. If the forelegs are straight, he may want to play, or may be saying that he is not a threat.
8. A dog that is staring at you hard or even away is a dog to back away from. A dog that looks away does not want to engage.
Go to a dog park and look for these behaviors... and write down what you see...
There are about 30 'subtle' behaviors called Calming Signals. And, I believe there are fewer than 100 other behaviors.
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Usually. I did have a dog relative (wolf named Erin) "bow" at me, and it was definitely testing, not play.
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you could do a google search for 'reading dog body language' but how i learned was just watching dogs interact with each other, you could also do a you tube search.
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From the fantastically awesome Lili Chin:
Boogie DOGGIE LANGUAGE Large Poster by lili.chin, on Flickr
Boogie DOGGIE LANGUAGE Large Poster by lili.chin, on Flickr
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I came across this blog post today and found it very informative: To Pet or Not To Pet It was helpful for me to see pictures of approachable vs non-approachable dogs side-by-side.
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Unfortunately, if you're watching Cesar, you're going to have a very hard time learning dog body language. CM does not have a good understanding of the subject and frequently misinterprets calming signals and fear signals as aggression and "dominance".
There are people with far better understanding of dogs, like Karen Pryor, Jean Donaldson, Ian Dunbar, to name a few, who would help you out more.
There are people with far better understanding of dogs, like Karen Pryor, Jean Donaldson, Ian Dunbar, to name a few, who would help you out more.
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