Understanding Dog Body Language

[centrop67]

What’s Your Dog Telling You?

Do remember to look at the dog’s entire body and take environmental context into consideration. A dog stretching when playing with another dog is likely a play signal, though a dog stretching (resembling a play bow) during the middle of a training session may mean the dog just doesn’t quite understand what you’re attempting to teach and the confusion is a bit stressful for him. His behavior is a signal to you to be clearer in the training exercise. Other examples of stress signals are a tongue flick, yawning, head turn/lowered head, paw lift, shaking off (when the dog isn’t wet), panting, and ears held back.