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A rudimentary understanding of dog body language is crucial for anyone who will encounter a dog - and that is everyone.
This is just an overview of basic dog body language that all of us should know:
(The following in an excerpt from Learning About Dog Safety, CD Rom, 2002 West Wind Dog Training)
"Dog Language:
Dogs do not have words like we do to express how they are feeling.
We expect them to learn very fast how to interact with us and live in our foreign world. Yet, we do little to learn how to understand them. We often misinterpret their language and this can be dangerous. Let's look at some common dog language.
Aggressive
Dog will try to make himself look big - hair on back and shoulders raised and he will be up on his toes
Ears will be pinned back and eyes narrowed
Body will be stiff and tail out straight or raised up slightly
Teeth will be shown with or without snarling
Dominant
Dog will be standing up tall with or without hair on shoulders raised
Mouth closed
Ears erect and forward and eyes wide
May be woofing or growling
Tail raised high and may be slowly wagging
Fearful
Dog will cower down and try to look smaller
Ears will be pinned and eyes averting gaze
May show teeth
Tail will be tucked and dog may back away
Dog may be shivering
Happy/Wanting to play
Ears will be pricked forward and tail wagging
Eyes will be bright and happy and mouth open slightly but teeth covered and dog may be panting excitedly
Dog may be bouncy, circling, yipping, mock growling
Dog may play-bow (lower front end with tail high in the air and wagging)
This is just a brief look at some more common dog body language.
Dogs who are acting aggressive of fearful are more likely to bite and should be left alone.
Some dogs can be very overt in their body language while others can be very subtle. If at all in doubt about how a dog is acting, a
child should walk away. Never should a child approach a dog when the owner AND a parent or guardian is not there no matter how the dog is behaving. And for safety sake, NEVER should a child approach a stranger
no matter how cute the dog is or how "lost"" the dog is."
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