What Is Your Dog Trying To Say To You?
Dogs are highly intelligent animals. They can communicate with us as well as other dogs and other creatures. They do this by using body signs and different vocals. The signs are made with the help of body movement involving eyes, ears, eyebrows, head, mouth and tail. Different vocals include barks, howls, growls, whimpers and whines. In order to know how to stop dogs from barking, you need to know what they are trying to say. Dogs will gesture to show their mood in a given situation. Like if a dog pants, it can mean that the dog is feeling hot or the dog is happy or anxious.
Confident and higher ranked dogs have a high held tail. Dogs have the feeling of submission and dominance in them. This is because in the wild they would live in packs. There is a hierarchy in their group. Weaker dogs will give in to dominant ones. That is the reason why dogs lower their tail when they feel insecure. The fur on a dogs back will stand up when they fight. They and even other animals, do this to increase their size in front of their enemy. Even squirrels and mice do the same.
When the dog is in a confused situation, it wags its tail slowly. They are in a process of figuring out whether they should accept the situation or time or else, they have still not accepted the situation completely, but are in the process. Dogs that are happy will wag their tails. To show a dogs readiness for submission to another higher ranked dog, he will move his hip along with his tail.
When the dogs get aggressive they show their fangs. If you can see the teeth, then the dog is ready to attack. They also show teeth when they smile and this is an indication of submissiveness. Observing the number of teeth on display can differentiate a smile. A happy face will display only the front teeth, but the gums and all his teeth will be visible if he snarls. Ears are good indication about the attention levels of the dog. When the ears are erect and forward facing, means the dog is concentrating. But when the dog fears something, it lays down its ears. To show their happiness some dogs will hold their ears forwards.
In majority of the cases, barking is done to scare away stranger and to make the owner aware of an intruder. They also tend to bark while they are playing. They even use to show such emotions as fear, pleasure, suspicion and stress. When the dog is excited or is playing, the barks are sharp and short. When they are stressed out or anxious, they bark repeatedly in a high pitch tone. They also bark to communicate with other animals such as cat, deer, squirrel, fox and other dogs. But the bark makes a different sound.
Growling is done to threaten or to show superiority. Dogs howl when they make long-range communication. A dog yawns when it is bored and needs to be left alone. It also yawns when it is sleepy, stressed out or confused. An open mouthed pant is a sign of a dogs happiness. When it pants with a slightly open mouth, it needs to be played with. Dogs lift one forelimb up, when it wants to play. It will stamp its front limbs when it is excited. They scratch objects they want. Like humans, domestic dogs are trained to shake hands. They will offer a handshake with an outstretched paw. A dog will tilt his head to one side when he is concentrating or trying to recognise an unfamiliar sound.
