Canine Communication Diploma

Centre of Excellence Online – Canine Communication Diploma Course

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Canine Communication Diploma

Module 5


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Module 5 Body Language

Module 5 of the course concentrates on the body language of the domestic dog. The objective

of this module is to fully prepare the student for the act of reading and understanding all

aspects of body language in every dog that they meet.

Body language is a huge factor in the art of properly communicating with dogs. Both reading

the body language of a dog and responding in the most effective body language of our own

can make communication effective and useful.

Body language like every other aspect of the domestic dog has been affected by persistent

breeding for a specific appearance. So it’s vital that you are aware how appearance affects

the breed ability to communicate effectively.

Linda P Case tells us in her book, The Dog: Its Behaviour, Nutrition and Health, how severely

the continued breeding affects a dog’s ability to use body language as communication:

“Genetics can influence behaviour through physical structure, and all behaviour depends on

the physical capabilities of the animal. For example, a dog could not show a direct stare if he

did not have an eye type that allowed this.

Similarly, the submissive grin would not be possible without the necessary facial muscles. As

a species the domestic dog is highly unusual in the range and structure difference between


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individuals. Domestic dogs vary widely in appearance, particularly in size. The Shih Tzu, for

example, is 20 to 28 cm (8 to 11 in) in height and weighs 4 to 7 kg (9 to 15 lb). The Irish

wolfhound is at the other end of the scale, measuring about 71 to 94 cm (about 28 to 37 in)

at the shoulder and weighing up to about 61 kg (about 135 lb).

Coat colour, length, texture, and pattern also vary greatly. The muzzle may appear shortened,

as in the Pekingese, or elongated, as in the Borzoi. Limbs are relatively short in the Basset

Hound and Dachshund, but long in the Saluki. The long and slender legs and deep chest of the

Saluki contributes to its ability to hunt by sight whereas the short legs of the Basset Hound

make it perfectly placed for ground scent tracking.

The physical attributes of a particular breed are closely tied to the breeds original function

and so influence the behaviours that are necessary to carry out that function.

Physical differences in appearance may also affect the ability of the dog to send and receive

communications from both humans and other dogs, visually the dog uses body postures,

facial expressions, Ear carriage, eye contact, and tail movement to communicate with others

but some breeds possess traits that prevent or impede them from their ability to send or

receive these signals, ears positioned lower on the head, or that have a pendulous flap as with

Spaniels can alter facial expressions and the dog in the case of a spaniel is unable to prick up

its ears.

The thick coat of a Pomeranian or Samoyed can affect the dog’s ability to signal using its body,

and long hair in the facial area seen in the Bearded Collie and Old English Sheepdog can affect

the dogs use of eye contact and the displaying of teeth, the length and weight of the hair can

also prevent dogs from raising their hackles (beaver1981), this is also true of many curly

coated dogs for example the Poodle and Airedale. However, the ridge of a Rhodesian

Ridgeback gives the impression that its hackles are permanently raised which could cause it

to be viewed suspiciously by other dogs

The curled tails of Pugs or artificially and naturally docked tails associated with Dobermans

and Bulldogs distorts the visual signal of raised or lowered tails and inhibits normal tail

wagging (interestingly those breeds that have a minimal tail tend to compensate by wagging

the whole of the hind quarters)

Excessive skin folds around the face and the natural frown seen in Sharpei coupled with their

very small button ears that are forward facing and held close to the head alter the ability to

show normal facial expressions, ear positions and eye contact.

When dogs misunderstand each other, trouble can occur. The breeds who most distinctly look

like wolves are those with the clearest body language (such as German Shepherd Dogs). Those

with peculiar anatomical features are most far-removed from the wolverine shape and so

may be misunderstood. For example, a Bulldog who has excessive wrinkle, a naturally short,

oddly shaped, or complete lack of tail, naturally dominant muscle bound stance (even when

relaxed) and incredibly short muzzle usually causing the dog to permanently show teeth and

heavy eyes with whites showing are giving out a host of conflicting and confusing signals.


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Black dogs are thought to appear featureless in the eyes of other dogs meaning subtle facial

expressions may not be understood.” (L P Case, 2005)

All of the above information must be taken into consideration when reading the body

language of any dog. The more dogs that you encounter the better you will be pat recognising

breed differences. So let’s take a look at body shapes in general.

Posture

The way that a dog stands and his posture tells us a lot about how he is feeling. The more

confident and/or confrontational (through fear usually) a dog is the tighter his posture will

be. This is a result of hard muscles and tension fuelled by the possibility of confrontation.

Dogs that expect confrontation on meeting are actually quite rare. This expectation is usually

created through fear and conditioning. For instance, a behaviour that is interpreted as

aggression towards another dog is often fear. In this case, barking and growling is usually a

sign of the worried dog that has learned to do this in order to chase the scary thing away.

Submissive Fear

Dogs that are scared will take one of two posture types. They will either make themselves

look small and tuck themselves down low whilst using calming signals or they will make

themselves look big and use attack as a form of defence.

The puppy in this picture is scared. He is not going to put up a fight and when a young dog of

this age shows this type of body language we truly have to ask why. The result of this body

language type in a dog so young will either be genetic or experience based fear. See how his


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body and rear is held low and tucked underneath him? He looks frozen on the spot and

unsure, can you see that from the picture?

Here is another picture of a dog that is showing worry or fear:

This is a second picture from a stock photo site. The puppy is again worried and holding

himself low yet in a slightly different way. Take a look at how the dog is looking at the ground.

She may be experiencing a different surface for the first time, this is obviously making her feel

insecure but in my opinion, although she is unhappy at this point, it seems to be circumstance

driven and not necessarily permanent. What do you think?

The dog is the picture below recently ran up to me and my noisy terriers at a park. She only

approached us because she had particular interest in the ball I was throwing and she actually

had little interest in my own dogs.

As she approached she offered calming signals to placate my dogs, she licked her lips a lot

and would not look at them. Her spine hair raised quickly because she was worried about the

noisy interaction my dogs yet she really, really wanted the ball.

Take a look at the picture. She is waiting, hoping I will throw the ball, yet not looking at us and

her hackles betray her insecurity, yet she wants the ball enough to stick around.


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She was a beautiful dog and in the end I gave her the ball and she went off happily to her

owner with it in her mouth.

Next let’s take a look at the posture of a fearful adult dog:

The dog above is low in his body language, his tail is low and the facial expression makes him

look vulnerable. This is not a confident position for him, nor can he feel confident in the

situation. Finally, look at these two:

Both licking and using calming signals. The sitting dog is leaning away whilst the Labrador

puppy is lying down. Neither of these dogs are particularly confident at this point in time.


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Now take a look at my own dog Posy. She is a Pomeranian cross Yorkshire terrier and on these

pictures she had only been with us a couple of days.

Although not badly treated in her previous home, Posy was low in confidence and didn’t like

the camera pointed at her.

She is showing calming behaviour, sniffing and

looking away. Her entire body is lowered and this mix

of calming signals along with body language shows

how uncomfortable she is. Her more recent pictures

show a far happier little dog.

A big part of Posy’s body language is her tail. She has

the traditional Spitz tail that in the most natural

position sits over her back when she is relaxed. The


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moment that she becomes worried her tail begins to drop and this is a big sign that she is

unhappy, low in confidence or fearful. Let’s look closer at tail position.

Tail Position

For all dogs, tail position is one of the most obvious signs of how they feel. This is again

hindered by breed standards for many dogs are docked, to look a certain way. Thankfully, tail

docking is illegal in many countries now including the UK, for any other reason that medical

necessity.

A dog uses the tail to communicate and when the tail is removed this can hinder

communication altogether. This is particularly so for dog breeds that have also been

genetically changed to look a certain way, which already prevents fully effective

communication, then the tail is taken away too. This can cause communication problems with

other dogs and even cause the dog to be bullied or attacked.

Take a look at the English Bulldog pictured below. This dog is a good example of the breed,

yet his face is squashed which will hinder his breathing, the dog has no tail and he is bred to

be muscular, thus look like he is posturing for confrontation at all times.

Communication for this dog must be difficult.

This is because his entire body and face is far from being easy to read and the lack of tail takes

away his opportunity to make up for that by utilising tail positions.

Natural tail position is very different in all breeds, therefore it does not help to state that an

up tail means the dog is feeling a certain way. Only when you are aware of the dog’s natural


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tail position will you know whether his mood has changed and whether he is relaxed, aroused

or scared.

For instance, if you look at the two pictures below you will see the same tail position that

means two very different things:

The Spitz with a low tail will be definitely unhappy, as his natural tail position is over the back:

Whilst the whippet or greyhound naturally holds his tail low and often between the back legs

as a relaxed tail. So the same tail position in a different breed could mean two very different

things.

Take a look at the two dogs above, how do you think they are feeling? Take into account

posture and body language, look at the greyhound’s mouth and facial expression, what do

you think?


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Defensive Body and Tail

When a dog is being defensive, he will often lift his head and tail a lot higher than its natural

position. You will see this type of act in dogs as they greet too, then if both animals are

balanced the greeting diffuses quickly.

Take a look at the three dogs below:

The biggest dog has his tail straight up. This is a sign that he is either confident or prepared

for trouble. The hair on his back near the tail is standing up too and he has approached the

Border terrier head on. This may appear like a play bow and in fact, it’s a dog trying to find his

place with a stranger.

The white dog is simply an interested onlooker. His tail is in its natural position for his breed

type and he’s giving the Border terrier space.

The Border terrier looks worried. His body language shows little confidence, he seems to be

saying that he wants no trouble and finds the whole thing pretty intimidating.

At this point in time everything is likely to diffuse with proper communication between the

dogs as they explore each-others intentions and their communication arousal levels drop.

It’s important for the Border terrier, when he feels like this, to be able to have confidence

that his human is nearby. People often state that dogs will “sort it out” yet that is not always

true.


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Dogs that are free to learn from each other socially usually know how to sort things out, very

efficiently. Which is why we rarely see feral dogs with antisocial behaviours.

Yet where humans have created false social behaviours in their dogs and interfered with the

development of social skills of animals, all sorts of problems can occur. This is exactly why we

need to ensure our dogs are confident that we can protect them on walks.

Defensive Fear

Defensive fear is a very different type of posture. The dog that is scared and defensive often

looks like he wants to attack another dog, which many will if given the chance. A lot of people

believe that their dogs are aggressive when actually the animal just feels pressured into

unhealthy situations and like he has to be defensive

Whilst the posture of submissive fear, the kind that wants no trouble, is small the posture of

defensive fear is big and tight. The objective of the dog is to look as scary and aggressive as

possible in order to be left alone.

The irony of this type of behaviour is that it is carried out when a dog feels over exposed to

things he is scared of. The behaviour and all of the associated stress can be avoided by

understanding and lifestyle changes. Yet many people, often advised by poor quality dog

trainers, expose their dogs even more to the scary situations, in a practice often described as

socialisation.

Let’s take a look at the roots and maintenance of fear aggression as described by Stan

Rawlinson:


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“It is almost certain that the pups will inherit some of the mother’s traits through both

genetics and socialisation. Genetically the pups may inherit her timidity and through the time

they are with her will observe her fear and follow suit.

Scientific research has shown that even pups that are born to a solid and stable mother, and

are then put with a bitch that is fearful.

Then they can pick up some of the unstable habits from the fearful dog, especially in weeks

three through to seven. Other reasons for this fear type of problem is when a puppy or adult

dog is attacked by another dog, especially whilst on the lead,

If the dog has no means of escape or is restricted from showing submissive body language to

the attacker because of the owner’s actions and the lead. Then the dog can get a fear of dogs

approaching whilst on the lead.

If the young pup, especially between the age of seven and sixteen weeks, is not carefully

socialised with both adult and pups alike. Then they do not learn to “meet and greet”. The

complex body language dogs learn at this age is crucial to their later behaviour, when they

are approaching unknown dogs.

If they are unable to either perform or understand the greeting rituals, then they are

immediately viewed with suspicion and conflict may arise. This especially so if they have not

been socialised with puppies of a similar age. Hence the requirement to attend puppy classes

as soon as possible, from eight weeks of age.

With nervous and fear aggressive dogs, you will find that they will react similarly to any dog,

regardless of whether it is male or female. The behaviour is often worse if the dog is on the

lead or is cornered, especially if close to the owner, who backs up the behaviour, (though

unwittingly) by becoming nervous and agitated as another dog approaches.

This manifests itself in a tightening up on the lead and shoulders because of the expectation

of conflict. Nervous owners also kick out a cloud of adrenaline that the dog instantly detects

a causes it to look for what is causing the concern. It sees the dog approaching and reacts

accordingly. This type of dog is also normally a barker, it will lunge and bark at the

approaching dog but generally will not snap, unless all its options have run out ie flight or

freeze and after all its threat posturing the other dog has still got too close.

http://www.doglistener.co.uk

Dogs are complex creatures and we really only know the tip of the iceberg of how they think

and emote. The more dogs you observe you better you will understand them. You don’t need

to dive in and communicate, in fact doing that can cause more problems than it solves.

Observe, listen with your eyes and you will soon start to understand what dogs around you

are saying.

http://www.doglistener.co.uk/


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Unease

I wanted to add these following pictures in to show you the subtle progression from unease

to relaxation. The Cocker spaniel in these pictures is a dog called Hovis. She came to visit a

few times and is an extremely sweet natured dog. Hovis was worried at first but soon made

herself at home, take a look at her progress.

Picture 1 – hiding under the table:

When dogs feel worried they often hide under something. This is why it’s always a good idea

to offer a crate or table to get under during firework seasons or storms is the dog is scared.

Picture 2 - she made it onto the chair but look how she is looking away, a typical calming

signal.


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Picture 3 she feels more confident, out in the open and even looking at the camera.

It took Hovis around 3 hours to feel confident, during which time I pretty much ignored her,

which was the best way to get her used to the new situation she had found herself in.


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Module 5 Assessment

The below test is one which is designed to test intelligence in dogs. Choose a willing dog and

carry out the test. This is truly only a bit of fun but I would like you to write a 500-word essay

after doing the test, about the results along with any behaviours that you observed in the dog

whilst carrying out your tests.

Dog Intelligence Test

(adapted from The Intelligence of Dogs by Stanley Coren)

Test 1 - Problem Solving

Place treat under soup can.

Scoring:

5 Dog gets treat in 0-5 seconds




1 Dog tries to get treat and fails

0 Dog shows no interest


Quickly throw a large towel over the dog's head and shoulders.

Scoring:

5 Dog gets free in 0-15 seconds



2 Dog gets free in 1-2 minutes

1 Dog doesn't get free within 2 minutes


Place treat under a small towel.

Scoring:




2 Dog gets treat in 1-2 minutes

1 Dog tries to get treat and fails



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Test 4 - Short Term Memory

Let the dog see you place a biscuit in the corner of the ring, then turn him loose.

Scoring:

5 Dog goes straight to the treat

4 Dog searches systematically and finds the treat

3 Dog searches randomly but finds treat in under 45 seconds

2 Dog searches but fails to find treat


Test 5 - Long Term Memory

Let the dog see you place a biscuit in the corner of the ring (a different corner than the one in

the test 4), remove him for 5 minutes, play with him, return, and then turn him loose.

Scoring:

5 Dog goes straight to treat

4 Dog goes to the corner from test 4, then the correct corner

3 Dog searches systematically and finds treat

2 Dog searches randomly but finds treat in under 45 seconds

1 Dog searches but fails to find treat


Test 6 - Problem Solving and Manipulation

Place treat under a low platform (too low and far enough back to reach with mouth).

Scoring:

5 Dog gets treat in under 1 minute

4 Dog gets treat in 1-3 minutes

3 Dog uses paws and muzzle but fails to get treat

2 Dog uses muzzle only a few times and gives up

1 Dog doesn't try to get treat

Test 7 - Language Comprehension

Leave dog as if for a recall and in your usual voice, call "Refrigerator".

Scoring:

3 Dog comes

Call "Movies"

2 Dog comes


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Call " (dogs name), Come"

5 Dog comes

Call " (dogs name), Come" again

4 Dog comes

1 Dog fails to come


Dog is shown a treat through a slit in a large cardboard barricade. Dog should not be able to

get treat through the slit. Handler encourages dog to get treat.

Scoring:

5 Dog goes around barrier in 0-15 seconds



Handler stops encouraging dog after 1 minute

2 Dog goes around barrier in 1-2 minutes

1 Dog tries to reach through slit and gives up


Interpretation:

36 - 40 = Genius!!!!!

32 - 35 = Highly Intelligent!!!!

28 - 31 = High Average!!!!!!!

20 - 27 = Average!!!!!!!

16 - 19 = Low Average!!!!!

12 - 15 = Borderline!!!!!!!

0 - 11 = Deficient!!! (a Really dumb dog!)

Don't take this I.Q. scale too seriously. A dog's performance on these tests will no doubt be

affected by many traits other than "intelligence", such as confidence, greed, activity level, and

previous experiences. It should be interesting, however, to see how different dogs react to

these challenges. Maybe it will help you to understand your dog a little better!

https://pets1st.com/articles/00025adoggieiqtest.asp

https://pets1st.com/articles/00025adoggieiqtest.asp

Canine Communication Diploma

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