Your Dog's Body Language

Dominance: There are many signs of dominance a dog can give. Common signs of dominance are when your dog has his ears pointing straight up or forward, if his mouth is slightly opened, if his eyes are open wide and staring, and if his body is very stiff and standing tall…often with his hackles raised. These are the most common signs of dominance you may see when training your dog.

If your dog is feeling playful, he will usually arch downwards, and have his mouth open. It may look like he is smiling. The most common give away is when his tail is wagging at the same time.

When your dog is in a friendly mood, his ears will be perked up…his eyes will look very alert, and his mouth will be relaxed in a non-threatening way. His tail may also be wagging, and he may make short barking or yapping sounds.

If your dog’s ears are held tightly back, eyes closed more than usual, he is showing signs of submission. Often a dog may act submissive during training if he doesn’t understand what you want him to do, or if he feels like you’re just trying to assert your dominance over him. When a dog is behaving like this, he isn’t particularly happy…but isn’t in a defensive, attacking state of mind.

If your dog is feeling aggressive his ears will be flattened back against his head. His eyes will also look quite challenging and sharp. He will hold his body tense. He will also show his teeth and keep his mouth open to show he is ready to attack. Many dogs will hold their tail up in the air to make themselves look bigger. He will occasionally bark or snarl or growl as well.

If your dog is worried he will most likely make sharp sounding barks, and growl in between. He could also flatten his ears against his neck. This is to alert you that he is worried and something isn’t quite right. Your dog is feeling uncomfortable and worried.

When your dog is displaying signs of fear he will stand in a low stance, often with his tail tucked between his legs. He will arch his back and look around often with his head. Their pupils will become dilated, and they will sometimes bark out of fear if they fear cornered or threatened.

If your dog is feeling stressed he will hold his ears down against his neck, keep his mouth wide open and have his lips drawn back. Some dogs will also tremble.

These are the most common body language signs you will ever see in your dog. It’s important for training purposes that your dog is in a playful/friendly mood. If he is aggressive or fearful or stressed, he isn’t in a suitable frame of mind to be trained.

If your dog is showing signs of dominance during training, then he is probably not really learning or even listening to you as he feels that he is in charge, not you. It is better for your dog to be submissive when you are training him…as long as he is not so submissive that he won’t listen to you. If your dog is too submissive, you need to build up his confidence before you can make serious progress in training him.