Dogs' Body Language

Dogs are popular as pets. They are adorable because they always let us know their feelings and minds with their body language. To understand their feelings, we need to know what their body language means.

HAPPPINESS
When they waggle their tails, wriggle their bodies and bark with cheerful voice, that means they are happy. And some dogs show us their teeth. It is said that they have learned how to smile from people.

RESPECT
When they drop their body on the ground, that means they don't think of us as their enemies. When they lie down on the ground and show us their tummy, that means they obey us. This is the strongest expression for them to express that they respect us.

CAUTION
When they turn their ears forward, close their mouths and raise their tails, that means they caution about something. They stand in an upright position like that so that they can see wide view then pay attention.

CALMING SIGNAL
Calming Signal is their body language to avoid fighting when they are upset, scared and stressed out. For example, they yawn suddenly, withdraw their eyes from our eyes, blink more than usual, screw up their eyes, move their tongue in and out of their mouths many times, shake their bodies, scratch their bodies, smell their paws suddenly, etc. That means they don't want to fight, they try to calm themselves down, and they are anxious.
If your dog did something bad, you would be upset with him. In this situation, have you ever seen your dog start yawning, shaking his body or scratching his body? Then you might have thought that he didn't understand what he had done was bad thing. Then you might have started yelling at him. But actually, he did understand that he had done was something bad and you were upset with him. So he was trying to calm you down because he didn't want you to upset with him.