Reading Your Pup’s Emotions
Your puppy is or will be brilliant at reading your emotions. It’s equally important for you to learn to do the same for your pup.
By
Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public and make it simple for people to get dogs from good sources and for reputable breeders, shelters and rescues to put their dogs in good homes.
Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public and make it simple for people to get dogs from good sources and for reputable breeders, shelters and rescues to put their dogs in good homes.
Your puppy is or will be brilliant at reading your emotions. It’s equally important for you to learn to do the same for your pup. When we pay attention, we can see how clearly dogs communicate their feelings but most people see what they want to see, rather than letting dogs tell us. Let’s learn how to read our dogs better.
Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public and make it simple for people to get dogs from good sources and for reputable breeders, shelters and rescues to put their dogs in good homes.
To build trust, socialize, and train your pup, you need to know when it is anxious, fearful, cautious, proud, eager, annoyed, frustrated, and more. Look for cues like yawning, lip licking, squinting eyes, looking away, and distracted sniffing. These are indications that your dog is a little stressed by what is happening. It's progressing to serious discomfort with the situation when it runs away, gets hyperactive, freezes, growls, or shows its teeth. When you see these responses, stop pushing the dog and determine what was the trigger that caused this extreme stress.
Let's look at the dog in the photo above. He knows he's going to be patted so he's squinting his eyes and tightening his lips, expressing discomfort. Look up "dog hugs" on Youtube and watch the dog's faces as they get hugged. Yes, there are a few dogs that like it but most simply tolerate it because they love us. We can change our behaviors around our dogs, teach our children to interact with dogs appropriately as well as read their emotions, and protect our pups from other people who aren't very dog savvy.
Some things we need to ask our dogs to tolerate handling that they don't enjoy, such as grooming, restraint, and toenail trims. It's thus our job to condition our puppy to these activities using the methods in Teaching Your Pup to Tolerate Handling.
Reading Your Pup’s Emotions Video
Illustrations of Dog Emotions
Lili Chin's images do a great job illustrating dog emotions so you can learn what your dog is telling you. Look at your pup's posture, tail position and movement, ear position and movement, eyes, and face.
Illustrations of Canine Calming Signals
In addition to expressing emotions, dogs send signals to other dogs and people, to calm a situation and to relieve their own stress. When your pup shakes, as if shaking off water, after a training session, it is shaking off the stress of learning. We don't need or even want to remove all stress from our dog's life but we do want to monitor it.
These drawings from Lili Chin show the range of signals dogs send in social situations.
Dr. Gayle Watkins, PhD is the Founder of Avidog, the leading educational platform for dog breeders and puppy owners, and Gaylan's Golden Retrievers, her 40-year breeding program. Today, Gayle is the only golden retriever AKC Gold Breeder of Merit, and is a three-time AKC “Breeder of the Year.”
