Reading Your Dog

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Learning to read a dog is much like studying aforeign language. It requires concentration and recognition thatcommunications can have quite different meanings in different culturesand depend on the context within which they are sent. Dogs bark, whineand growl, but mostly they "speak" via a body language designed to beunderstood dog-to-dog. The meaning may not be intuitively obvious tohumans; decoding requires some practice. To understand "dog"successfully, we must stretch beyond ourselves into canine culture.

What are the rewards of making this effort? Clearly a better reading ofunknown dogs can prevent the occasional nip. But far more importantly,we gain the chance to interact more fully with the dogs that share ourlives. We can reach more of an "inter-species" understanding and deepenour bond by our ability to communicate. It seems only fair. Over thecenturies, dogs have become very adept at interpreting human bodylanguage and even at learning spoken words and hand signals. Now it'sour turn.

Communicating Soundlessly
A dog's tail, ears, eyes and mouth speak volumes without making asound. Everybody recognizes a rapidly wagging tail as a sign of canineexcitement, but the tail also is a primary conveyor (传达者) of social standing(社会地位)and mental state. Don't make the mistake of automatically interpretingtail wagging to mean friendliness. Generally, a tail held above andaway from the body or curled over the back denotes（指示） dominance（支配） and,especially if accompanied by bristling of the hair, threatens（威胁，预示）aggression（侵犯）.

However, some dogs, such as the Siberian husky(西伯利亚雪橇犬), have tails that curl upnaturally, and would appear perpetually dominant based solely on a tailreading. A relaxed dog, comfortable in its surroundings, generallyholds its tail lower and away from its body. On the other hand, afrightened or submissive dog holds its tail close to its body, tuckedbetween its legs. But be aware that some breeds — greyhounds andwhippets, for instance — naturally carry their tails between theirlegs, whether submissive or not.

A domestic mixed-breed mirrors the aggressive posture of hisgray-wolf counterpart. Whether displayed by a small domestic dog or awolf in the wild, this body language means business. Note thesimilarity in appearance: In each, the hackles are raised; the lips arepulled back in a snarl showing the large canine teeth; and the stare isintent on the subject of aggression. You can almost hear the growl. Fewcanines, or humans either, would misread the signals: "I am ready tobite!"

Knowing Your Dog
A dominant dog walks on its toes, often leaning forward, with a stiffgait. Ears and tail are up, the head is high, and the dog meets yourgaze confidently. If it senses a challenge, its hackles rise and itstares more intensely. Your return stare, regardless of how sincerelyand kindly meant, may be seen as a challenge and could elicit a bite.When meeting a more submissive dog, the dominant dog may attempt toplace its muzzle or paws across the subordinate's shoulders or back. Ifa dog is highly dominant, it may respond to your touch on or at theback of its head with a growl or snap, reading into your hand positionan attempt to express your dominance.

When they're feeling playful, dogs assume the easily recognized"play box" — with tail up, front legs on the ground and an expectant,alert look. The dog may bark, but the context shows it is an excited,not a threatening, bark. An interested dog also exhibits this alertlook, standing with mouth partially open, often with his head cocked toone side.

The fearful dog recoils, its ears flat and tail tucked, but it mayalso show signs of aggression with raised hackles and bared teeth. Whenconfronted with mixed signals like these, always heed the ones from the"sharp end." This dog could bite, although out of fear, not to showdominance. The submissive dog crouches down with its ears back, eyesaverted, tail low or between its legs. In a more extreme submissivedisplay, the dog gradually rolls over onto its back, exposing thebelly. The animal may even urinate a few drops, perhaps a throwbackresponse to the first authority figure in its life, its mother, whostimulated her pups to urinate and then cleaned them up. Submissiveurination is easily misunderstood, especially if produced in responseto the owner's anger over some infraction. From a human perspective,the dog may seem defiant, even spiteful. But far from committing an actof defiance, this dog is trying to placate the angry owner by showingextreme submission.

Barking Talk
While dogs' primary communication is via body posture and position,they also do some vocalizing. Many dogs seem to enjoy a good bark —especially combined with howling — often to their owners' frustration.A bark can express many things, from sheer joy at the thought of a gameof ball to celebrating your arrival home or warning of an intruder.When a gentle bark accompanies a nosing of the leash or a tentative pawon your lap, it may even be a question or suggestion. Dogs will alsogrowl when threatened, whimper and whine when seeking attention, andyelp in fear or pain. In each of these situations, a combination of thedog's body language and an understanding of context are vital tounderstanding your dog's message.

Body Language
With wolves, as with domestic dogs, body language can easily be misinterpreted.

In a display of dominance, a dog will stand over another dog, withraised ears and tail, staring intently. Another dog, lowered intosubmissive position, averts its eyes and holds its ears and tail down.While similar to the posturing of wild canids, this body languageusually occurs in play with domestic dogs, and in most cases ends upwith the two frolicking together.

The combination of selective breeding and cosmetic surgery moldsdogs to suit human tastes, but such modifications can have anunexpected consequence: miscommunication among canines.

When dogs are bred for heavy, long coats, for example, other dogshave difficulty seeing their eyes, ears, mouth and raised hackles andthe messages they normally convey. Surgically altering a dog's ears toremain erect and forward means that it will look perpetually alert anddominant, regardless of its true personality. And docking a dog's taileliminates one way of conveying its feelings to fellow canines.

The Vocal Dog
Most dog owners can easily differentiate between "I want to go out,"and "Somebody's out there," as well as other barks conveying happiness,annoyance or even fear.

Small dogs, such as the toy fox terrier, are usually the most vocalof domestic canines, seeming to make up with volume and persistencewhat they lack in size.

The wolf emits a howling whistle to communicate with its brethrenwhile they circle prey in the undergrowth, enabling the group tocoordinate the attack.