Why Learning to “Speak Dog” Matters

If there is one thing all dog owners should know, it’s how to ‘speak dog’. 

Unlike humans, who mostly communicate through speech, dogs mainly communicate visually. They are constantly using their bodies to communicate and they rely heavily on visual signals that can tell us how they are feeling – if we can read them correctly. 

Sadly though, many owners find it hard to understand this doggy ‘visual language’ and as a result, often ignore or even misinterpret how their dog is feeling. 

Many of my clients are shocked to find out just how many signals of stress and fear there can be. Behaviours such as yawning, lip licking or turning/walking away which seem ‘normal’ for humans can actually be an indicator of stress in dogs. 

Importantly, the meaning of these signals also depends on the context: so a dog licking his lips after eating or yawning after waking up is not the same as a dog doing those things in the park when other dogs are nearby, or in a group training class. This is much more likely to be a sign of stress. 

But why is it so important we learn to speak dog? Why do I need to know how my dog is feeling?

Well, it’s important to remember that in dogs, emotions drive behaviour. So if we want to create long-term behaviour change, we need to be able to identify, understand and work to change our dog’s emotions in different situations.

Without understanding how our dogs are feeling, many training plans simply will not be effective or may even make things worse. 

Let’s imagine a dog who rushes to the door when visitors arrive, tail rapidly and stiffly wagging. She frantically leaps all over your guests before lying and presenting her belly to them. As your guests sit down, she proceeds to pace around the room and occasionally comes over to jump on them, or perhaps to hump their leg. 

Many owners might assume their dog is excited to see their guests. They just see a high-energy, waggy-tailed dog who wants belly rubs and attention. However, in this situation, all these signals together often suggest a dog who is not excited, but rather anxious, overwhelmed and uneasy. 

Fear responses in dogs can also take different forms to what we are used to as humans. Many of us understand ‘fight’, ‘flight’, and ‘freeze’ responses, but many people don’t know about another: ‘flirt’. 

Some dogs, when scared or uneasy, will come across as sociable and excited to appease the other party and avoid conflict. They present their belly not because they want a belly rub, but because they are trying to diffuse the situation. These dogs will often find it hard to settle when guests are over and will sometimes jump up or hump visitors to try and control the situation or as a way of self-soothing. 

You can imagine then, that if we did interpret this dog as being just excited, we may use a training approach that tries to deal with overexcitement rather than fear. This will lead to frustration both for the dog, whose needs are not being recognised, and the owner, who doesn’t see any results. 

It’s so important to learn to ‘speak dog’ right from the beginning of your dog’s life. One area many people make mistakes is during socialisation. Many well-intentioned dog owners push their puppies to socially interact before they are ready. Why? Because they fail to read the more subtle signs that their dog is uncomfortable. 

Most owners will only pick up on their dogs’ discomfort when their signals become much more obvious.  When a dog’s more subtle signals are ignored they are forced to escalate them to have their intention understood.

In other words, if you ignore your dog’s ‘whisper’s, they might start to ‘shout’, and that’s where growling, snarling and even biting comes into play. So not reading your dog’s body language can actually cause the very thing you are trying to prevent: fear, reactivity and aggression

I hope this has convinced you that learning how to ‘speak dog’ is an essential skill for any dog owner. Our dogs do speak to us… we just need to learn how to listen!

If you would like to learn how to listen to your dog, or get help with any other area of dog training or behaviour, check out my services here. I offer a free no-obligation consultation to discuss your individual situation and how I can help so just get in touch!