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Hey! Did you see that? I did it without lost ears or beaten tails. |
..wag wag.. | 
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Dogs have their own language to show each other their feelings: they tell if they want to play or prefer to be left alone, if they are afraid or confident, if they are dominant or submissive. When a dog sees how the other feels, it can react in the right way and avoid conflicts. We can learn the dogs' language too. Once you know how to read it you can avoid conflicts with dogs. We can also learn to "speak" it to some extent and communicate with dogs in their native language.
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Signs most often used are the calming signals. Dogs use them to either calm themselves or others. When a dog sees another dog that shows calming signals, it will relax and assume that the situation is okay. Typical calming signals are: licking the nose, turning the head, lying or sitting down, going into the playposition, yawning or pretending to be interested in something else. | |||||||||
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When we dogs are scared, we first try calming the other. If that doesn't work, we can still flee or attack. | |||||||||||||
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Since dogs are peace-loving animals, they usually try to flee when they are in a critical situation. If that doesn't work, they'll fight. Before a dog attacks, its body gets stiff. It may also show its teeth, growl, or raise the hair on its back. Whenever you see any of these signs, take a step back and show some calming signals. If you look the dog in the eyes in such a critical moment, it will think you are challenging it and it will be more likely to attack. | ||||||||||||
Most dogs don't get along too well with cats. One reason is that for cats it's normal to stare at each other, while for dogs it's much more appropriate to turn the head away. Other signs in their languages are also different, which of course causes communication problems. If you have a cat at home, your dog may get used to its weird behavior, but it probably still won't get along with the neighbor's cat. | |||||||||||||
What a stiff dog. |
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I'll stiffen up! I hope he accepts me as his boss. |
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Oh no! That dog's attacking. I will lie on my back. |  | ||||||
Yea. It's sure not elegant, but if it keeps me alive it's worth it! | |||||||
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One day, while I was walking with Gina, there were suddenly two dogs running towards us and they attacked her. I was still trying to figure out how to keep Gina from becoming a snack for the dogs, when she had already solved the problem perfectly: she was sitting between them and had the hair on her back raised. I guess she had sat down to say she wouldn't harm them and the raised hair meant, she would fight back if there was need. Whatever she told them, by the time I had recovered from my shock, the three dogs were sniffing each other politely and starting to play.
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| Dogs, like wolves, have a defined order of rank in their packs. To show each other which one is higher, they have signs of dominance and submissiveness. When two or more dogs live together, the one with the strongest mind will lead the pack, even if it is the smaller, physically weaker dog. | |||||||
| Once you start reading the dogs' language, it's amazing how much you find out about their lives. I wonder if they can't communicate better than we humans who use so many different words and forget to read feelings. |
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