Suki
09-03-2006, 02:52 PM
An older, article by Doctor Nicholas Dodman, on a person's body language and how a dog views it.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=600 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=4>http://www.petplace.com/images/trans.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>You can speak for hours in front of your dog, tell him your deepest fears and highest hopes. He won’t understand a word. But the movement of your body speaks volumes to him.
Dogs are expert readers of body language. Their skill in this area is not surprising; as a member of a pack, dogs needed to communicate with one another without the benefit of a spoken language.
You can teach that certain words mean certain things, but you’ll never teach him the art of syntax. Instead, dogs communicate mainly through conscious and subliminal signing and gesturing, and watching for the actions and reactions of the other dog or animal.
Humans, on the other hand, are less developed in the skill of body language.
Eye Contact
A dog’s natural instinct is to look away from another dog’s eyes to avoid challenging him. A stare is a challenge and a fairly rude one at that. Dogs will naturally tend to look away from us unless they are challenging us or we have trained them to do this. If we stare at them, unwittingly or not, the signal we transmit is one of challenge. A dominant dog will stare back, growl, and generally escalate aggressive behavior until one party backs down, whereas a very submissive dog will squat or roll and urinate in deference.
Different people give conflicting advice on how to deal with dominant dogs. For example, some Rottweiler breeders say, “Never look a Rottweiler in the eye.” Others say, “Always look a Rottweiler in the eye.” Why the difference? The former group is telling you that you always have to be a Rottweiler’s boss and the latter that you should never challenge a Rottweiler. Both have a point, depending on the individual dog and the circumstances, but the safest thing to do is to blend both pieces of advice by looking at the tip of the dog’s ear. That way you are looking directly at the dog without actually challenging him and can have the best of both worlds.
Head and Neck Position
If a dog holds his head up high, he is confident and perhaps challenging. If he holds his head low, he is deferring, fearful or depressed. A dog will read our head and neck carriage the same way that he does another dog’s. If you approach a bully dog with your head in an upright position, even if you are looking over his head, he may interpret this appearance as challenging – certainly not as deferent. In extreme cases he may start to growl and act threateningly. However, if you approach the same dog with your head bowed there is a good chance that he will recognize your body language as submissive, perhaps even as soliciting play, and may be disarmed.
Interferences Around the Head
The muzzle and nape of the neck are sensitive areas for dogs. They are sites at which the dog’s mother would deliver messages of chastisement, admonishment and leadership. When dogs grow up they seem to remember this early mode of communication and many retain sensitivity regarding interferences in these areas. In dogfights, most of the ‘legal’ action is directed toward the head, and muzzle- or scruff-grabbing are favorite moves. When humans come along and grab a dog by the muzzle or scruff they are asking for trouble. Whether they get it or not depends on their authority.
Unfortunately, the most common human offenders regarding this type of intervention are young children and they naturally lack authority because of their small size and perceived junior status. The results of children's interferences in this manner are sometimes catastrophic. Petting a dog on the head and hugging him around the neck likewise are viewed as threats or challenges.
Height From the Ground and Body Position
Being high up and/or on top of another dog is a way that signals dominance. A dominant, in-charge individual will rise up to his fullest height and may literally take the high ground when approaching and signaling his seniority to a more inferior creature. On reaching the other dog he may rest his head or a paw on the other dog’s back. Mild mannered acceptance of such challenges from above will be viewed as concession and submission.
When people tower over a dog, lie on him or rest a hand on him, the message is similar. The response, however, depends on the relationship between the person and the dog. A dominant dog may repel such an insult to his unquestionable superiority while a submissive dog may squat and pee. Vice versa, if a person lies on the floor next to a dog, allows a dog to sit next to him on a couch, or permits the dog to sit on his lap the message received by the dog is one of social equalization or deference. With respect to the lap sitters, an easy way to remember the social implications is to consider the rhetorical question, “In this situation who is the king and who is the throne?”
Fearful dogs are less afraid of a person who is sitting down because they feel less threatened. Sitting down on the floor can cause an anxious dog to approach where he wouldn't have before. If you stand up the dog may back up. If you drop to one knee, your dog may approach once more. So powerful is this effect that you can yo-yo a dog into the exact place you want in a room by altering your body position with respect to the ground.
While floor sitting may not be a problem with a mild-mannered dog, a more dominant one may take advantage of the positional message and deliver a strong signal of his authority – particularly if the person simultaneously does something displeasing to the dog [like petting the wrong way or for too long]. This effect is even more pronounced when it involves children for the same reasons as mentioned above.
Forward Body Motion
Just like you can dynamically signal to a dog by means of your body height from the floor, so can you send messages by means of your approach. A direct, full frontal approach is a confident, semi-challenging one from dog to dog or person to dog. You should never walk directly toward a dog you don’t know in case he’s dominant, particularly if he happens to be eating, resting or chomping on a bone. He may bite. Also, you should never walk directly toward a dog that is fearful of people, as your sudden approach will likely be viewed as threatening even if your words and intentions are entirely honorable. For this reason a fearful dog should always be approached indirectly using a curved trajectory.
Many of the behaviors and postures we engage in during the course of our interactions with dogs are construed or misconstrued by them in terms of body language. Sometimes they get the right message, sometimes the wrong message and sometimes a message that wasn’t even sent or intended. The actual signal they perceive is synthesized as a composite of the body language signs mentioned above, with reference to contemporaneous sights, sounds and smells.
Occasionally, a dog may act confused when he receives conflicting messages. The constant presentation of unclear and confusing messages to a dog will likely make him chronically anxious, bewildered and less likely to obey. It is as if they write off the message sender as unreliable, unworthy of their attention. To circumvent the various problems and utilize dogs’ uncanny powers of observation to advantage:
<LI> Make a point of getting to know your dog – his character strengths and weaknesses.
<LI> Do not allow unknowledgeable people, especially young children, to interact with a dog unsupervised, and prevent any invasive or obnoxious behavior on the part of any child.
<LI> Learn how to act and interact properly with your dog by observing his reactions to you and others. Try not talking to him for a few hours while you are doing things together.
<LI> Be cognizant of canine good manners – don’t stare!
Teach your dog your own body language signs in the form of hand signals to accompany commands. They learn quicker and remember better when hand signals accompany verbal cues.
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=600 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=4>http://www.petplace.com/images/trans.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>You can speak for hours in front of your dog, tell him your deepest fears and highest hopes. He won’t understand a word. But the movement of your body speaks volumes to him.
Dogs are expert readers of body language. Their skill in this area is not surprising; as a member of a pack, dogs needed to communicate with one another without the benefit of a spoken language.
You can teach that certain words mean certain things, but you’ll never teach him the art of syntax. Instead, dogs communicate mainly through conscious and subliminal signing and gesturing, and watching for the actions and reactions of the other dog or animal.
Humans, on the other hand, are less developed in the skill of body language.
Eye Contact
A dog’s natural instinct is to look away from another dog’s eyes to avoid challenging him. A stare is a challenge and a fairly rude one at that. Dogs will naturally tend to look away from us unless they are challenging us or we have trained them to do this. If we stare at them, unwittingly or not, the signal we transmit is one of challenge. A dominant dog will stare back, growl, and generally escalate aggressive behavior until one party backs down, whereas a very submissive dog will squat or roll and urinate in deference.
Different people give conflicting advice on how to deal with dominant dogs. For example, some Rottweiler breeders say, “Never look a Rottweiler in the eye.” Others say, “Always look a Rottweiler in the eye.” Why the difference? The former group is telling you that you always have to be a Rottweiler’s boss and the latter that you should never challenge a Rottweiler. Both have a point, depending on the individual dog and the circumstances, but the safest thing to do is to blend both pieces of advice by looking at the tip of the dog’s ear. That way you are looking directly at the dog without actually challenging him and can have the best of both worlds.
Head and Neck Position
If a dog holds his head up high, he is confident and perhaps challenging. If he holds his head low, he is deferring, fearful or depressed. A dog will read our head and neck carriage the same way that he does another dog’s. If you approach a bully dog with your head in an upright position, even if you are looking over his head, he may interpret this appearance as challenging – certainly not as deferent. In extreme cases he may start to growl and act threateningly. However, if you approach the same dog with your head bowed there is a good chance that he will recognize your body language as submissive, perhaps even as soliciting play, and may be disarmed.
Interferences Around the Head
The muzzle and nape of the neck are sensitive areas for dogs. They are sites at which the dog’s mother would deliver messages of chastisement, admonishment and leadership. When dogs grow up they seem to remember this early mode of communication and many retain sensitivity regarding interferences in these areas. In dogfights, most of the ‘legal’ action is directed toward the head, and muzzle- or scruff-grabbing are favorite moves. When humans come along and grab a dog by the muzzle or scruff they are asking for trouble. Whether they get it or not depends on their authority.
Unfortunately, the most common human offenders regarding this type of intervention are young children and they naturally lack authority because of their small size and perceived junior status. The results of children's interferences in this manner are sometimes catastrophic. Petting a dog on the head and hugging him around the neck likewise are viewed as threats or challenges.
Height From the Ground and Body Position
Being high up and/or on top of another dog is a way that signals dominance. A dominant, in-charge individual will rise up to his fullest height and may literally take the high ground when approaching and signaling his seniority to a more inferior creature. On reaching the other dog he may rest his head or a paw on the other dog’s back. Mild mannered acceptance of such challenges from above will be viewed as concession and submission.
When people tower over a dog, lie on him or rest a hand on him, the message is similar. The response, however, depends on the relationship between the person and the dog. A dominant dog may repel such an insult to his unquestionable superiority while a submissive dog may squat and pee. Vice versa, if a person lies on the floor next to a dog, allows a dog to sit next to him on a couch, or permits the dog to sit on his lap the message received by the dog is one of social equalization or deference. With respect to the lap sitters, an easy way to remember the social implications is to consider the rhetorical question, “In this situation who is the king and who is the throne?”
Fearful dogs are less afraid of a person who is sitting down because they feel less threatened. Sitting down on the floor can cause an anxious dog to approach where he wouldn't have before. If you stand up the dog may back up. If you drop to one knee, your dog may approach once more. So powerful is this effect that you can yo-yo a dog into the exact place you want in a room by altering your body position with respect to the ground.
While floor sitting may not be a problem with a mild-mannered dog, a more dominant one may take advantage of the positional message and deliver a strong signal of his authority – particularly if the person simultaneously does something displeasing to the dog [like petting the wrong way or for too long]. This effect is even more pronounced when it involves children for the same reasons as mentioned above.
Forward Body Motion
Just like you can dynamically signal to a dog by means of your body height from the floor, so can you send messages by means of your approach. A direct, full frontal approach is a confident, semi-challenging one from dog to dog or person to dog. You should never walk directly toward a dog you don’t know in case he’s dominant, particularly if he happens to be eating, resting or chomping on a bone. He may bite. Also, you should never walk directly toward a dog that is fearful of people, as your sudden approach will likely be viewed as threatening even if your words and intentions are entirely honorable. For this reason a fearful dog should always be approached indirectly using a curved trajectory.
Many of the behaviors and postures we engage in during the course of our interactions with dogs are construed or misconstrued by them in terms of body language. Sometimes they get the right message, sometimes the wrong message and sometimes a message that wasn’t even sent or intended. The actual signal they perceive is synthesized as a composite of the body language signs mentioned above, with reference to contemporaneous sights, sounds and smells.
Occasionally, a dog may act confused when he receives conflicting messages. The constant presentation of unclear and confusing messages to a dog will likely make him chronically anxious, bewildered and less likely to obey. It is as if they write off the message sender as unreliable, unworthy of their attention. To circumvent the various problems and utilize dogs’ uncanny powers of observation to advantage:
<LI> Make a point of getting to know your dog – his character strengths and weaknesses.
<LI> Do not allow unknowledgeable people, especially young children, to interact with a dog unsupervised, and prevent any invasive or obnoxious behavior on the part of any child.
<LI> Learn how to act and interact properly with your dog by observing his reactions to you and others. Try not talking to him for a few hours while you are doing things together.
<LI> Be cognizant of canine good manners – don’t stare!
Teach your dog your own body language signs in the form of hand signals to accompany commands. They learn quicker and remember better when hand signals accompany verbal cues.
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