Turid Rugaas, a Norwegian trainer and behaviorist has been studying dogs for well over 25 years. She has done incredible research on how dogs communicate with other dogs, and also how they also attempt to communicate with us. If you want to get better acquainted with how dogs definitely communicate their feelings, please click on this link: http://www.canis.no/rugaas/gallery.php
Once you get to view these pictures, you can then click on each individual photograph to see a larger picture that shows a lot more detail.
Please note that many of these calming signals are very subtle signs given off in body language. Next time your dog goes to greet a dog, notice how he behaves. You’ll see calming signals for several minutes, such as look-aways, nose-licks, sniffing the ground, play-bows, and many other behaviors. The more familiar you become with dog calming signals, the better you will be able to understand how your dog is feeling about events that are taking place daily in his life.
What I find incredibly interesting and important is how dogs respond to our human body language. Take a look at your dog next time your young child goes to hug him or kiss him. Can you honestly say that your dog is actually enjoying this closeness? Believe it or not, many dogs only tolerate our getting up front and personal. And many dogs don’t tolerate it, and then nip at children’s faces!
Dogs are incredible creatures. They’re extremely honest and they don’t hide their feelings. As dog owners and guardians, it’s our responsibility to learn how to determine what makes them happy, and what makes them very unhappy. I think you’ll be quite surprised about what you learn from these photographs.
