Understanding Your Dog's Body Language: What Are They Trying to Tell You?
- Jul 11
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 23
In the previous blog, we looked at how dogs communicate with us all the time through their body language, posture, facial expressions and behaviour. We discussed how many dogs give lots of subtle signals long before they bark, lunge, growl or react in a more obvious way.
But what are they actually trying to tell us? Very often, they are telling us how they feel. A dog's behaviour is usually a reflection of their emotions.
As humans, we tend to focus on behaviour because that is the part we can see. We notice the barking, pulling, jumping up, chewing, growling or ignoring. We don’t see the emotion behind the behaviour. If we can start understanding our dogs' feelings, it makes it much easier to see why they behave as they do, and what we can do to help them.
Behaviour always happens for a reason
People often contact me because they are struggling with a particular behaviour. They might say something like:
My dog keeps barking at other dogs.
My dog jumps all over visitors.
My dog pulls constantly on walks.
My dog won't come back when I call them.
My dog steals things and growls when I try to take them back
While these behaviours can certainly be frustrating, if we want to change them, we first need to understand why they're happening.
A dog barking at another dog may be excited, worried, frustrated or unsure.
A dog jumping all over visitors may be desperate for social interaction or have learned that is the best way to get attention.
A dog pulling on the lead could be excited, frightened or desperate to get closer to something they want to investigate.
A stressed dog doesn’t always look like a stressed dog!
When people think about a stressed dog, they often picture a dog trembling or looking obviously frightened. Sometimes stress looks like that, but often it doesn't. Some dogs actually become busier when they're stressed. They bark more, pull more, struggle to settle, find it difficult to concentrate and just seem 'antsy' all the time. They often find it hard to concentrate on anything and just seem ‘antsy’ all the time. Sometime stressed dogs appear to sleep very lightly and will be up behind you as soon as you move. Sometimes they become quieter and might avoid certain situations.
This is why understanding body language is so important. Some common signs that a dog may be feeling uncomfortable include:
Lip licking
Yawning
Turning away
Sniffing the ground
Shaking off
Moving away
Tension through the body
Looking away
Holding their tail differently than usual
On their own, these things don't necessarily mean there is a problem. However, when you start seeing several of them together, they can give you a real insight into about how your dog is feeling.
Excitement and stress can look the same
This is something that surprises a lot of people. An excited dog and a stressed dog can look remarkably alike.
Both might:
Pull on the lead
Bark
Jump up
Struggle to focus
Seem restless
Sometimes what looks like excitement can actually be a mixture of excitement, frustration and stress all rolled into one.
Become curious
One of the best things you can do to understand your dog better is to start focusing on their emotions rather than just their behaviour.
Start paying attention to:
What situations your dog finds easy
What situations they find difficult
How their body language changes
What happens before a behaviour occurs
What happens after a behaviour occurs
You don't need to become an expert in dog body language, but becoming more observant and aware of it can tell you an enormous amount about how your dog experiences the world.
And once you understand how your dog is feeling, it becomes much easier to help them.
Coming Next…
In the next blog, we'll look at how us humans often confuse dogs through mixed messages, inconsistent communication and unclear expectations, and how making a few small changes can make life much easier for both ends of the lead.
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