Dog body language and personality
As I've gotten more deeply involved with dogs, I have started to focus a lot on body language. For example, in the vet's waiting room this morning I was sitting there watching other dogs thinking "Dominant-excited" or "nervous-submissive". Watching one dog studiously avoiding eye contact, another trying to barge up to all and sundry, and a third hiding behind its owner but coming back out for a sniff as soon as the other dog gave it some space is fascinating to me.
I also like to watch my own dogs and am very curious to hear how other people's interpretations match up to my own.
As people here who have read my posts probably know, our male Corgi Jack is fairly bossy, outgoing, happy-go-lucky and a bit dominant. Our girl Maddie is a submissive cuddler.
I have noticed that Maddie frequently puts her ears back when she is saying hello, coming for a cuddle, flipping over for a belly rub, etc. Jack rarely does. His are either forward, or relaxed at half-mast. They might flop backwards a bit if he's just chillin', but the only times he has plastered his ears back were the small handful of times in his life where he really got a good talking-to from me over a major disobedience.
It's most obvious when they greet us. When I come downstairs in the morning I am greeted by two waiting Corgi faces (they sleep downstairs). Jack is sitting at the bottom of the steps, eyes right on me and ears pitched forward. He almost never wags at me. Maddie, on the other hand, catches my eye and immediately her ears go back and her body lowers slightly as her whole back end starts to waggle in excitement.
Do other people's more submissive Corgis greet them in such a fawning way? After being used to Jack's "Hey, how ya' doin', let's play!" attitude, it was a bit off-putting at first to see Madison fawn like that, but now I've gotten used to it.
The other thing I noticed is that the agility instructor I will be using in the spring says to not tell your dog "no" in class if they mess up something new, because it curbs their enthusiasm. She said when you say "no" to watch your dog and chances are his ears will go back. I watch Jack and his generally don't (though he will stop what he's doing) while Maddie instantly "apologizes" if she's corrected (though she might take another shot at trying what she was just doing anyway).
How about your Corgis? What does their body language tell you?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nicola Porter on
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I know it is fascinating isn't it. LO is a woosy, he won't approach another dog until the dog approaches him. He stands there looking scared stiff. Pees when excited or scared. Will not play fetch when rexx or boots or superstar is outside. Is not a leader at all.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Mine exhibit similar behaviors. I always say Sparty approaches a new person or dog with an "I like you" and Izzy approaches with a "Please like me". A no to Sparty obviously seems to cause him to give me a look like "Yeah right" or "well what did you mean" and to Izzy it is "Oh please don't be mad". The doberman rarely pays attention to commands immediately. She gets very focused on things and your voice does not often penetrate but if I get her attention she is submissive. They are very interesting to observe!
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Permalink Reply by christy fry on
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my Cody is stable, rock solid, and mellow when his hackles go up you'd better take notice. Jordan has insperations of granduer that gets in him trouble with the other dogs sometimes when his bossyness gets annoying however with humans he's all laid back ears, lowered head, stump a waggin. Teagen is bold but not overbaring and as far as I can tell not interesred in being the boss her ears are always forward hardly ever wags her stump and will brat bark at times to get you to go faster or pay attention to her.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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My Livvy is like Maddy and my Wynn is like Jack. Although when at Pet Expo they all parade around like the top dogs they are and expect everyone to come running to greet them! No exceptions...they actually all know where the treats are and it's embarrassing as they will also snub all the treats except the Bill-Jacks!Then of coarse I have to tell whomever that they want the "good" treats but I request the person ask them to do a trick. Wynn should be a greeter there or the vet clinic and they really could care less about greeting any other dogs! The rest of mine are in between! Bella is so mellow and gentle in her approaches,Rainy is very friendly and excited. Wiley is still figuring it out but very polite and friendly!
It's also fun to watch the interactions with their owners, I've seen some that I think...oh...poor doggie and others who over do...we can easily spend an hour or more browsing and they would stay longer if I'd let them! I'd actually rather watch dogs and people than just people! Sorry this isn't all about body language!
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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I too love to observe canine behavior. Finnigan is an anomaly and I often wonder what Cesar would say about him.
Since he was 8 weeks old he has been very willing to roll over and show his belly. He does it to get pet, when he's being scolded, if he did something wrong that you have yet to discover (he'll roll over out of guilt when he sees us coming), when meeting other dogs, you name it. If he meets a calm submissive dog he will not roll over as they seem to be equals but if the other dog is very rowdy, tense or dominant he will roll over (which often leads to him being bullied by the other dog). As he gets older he's learning to stand up for himself more. He approaches all dogs with a happy, let's be pals attitude and it's not until they are nose to nose that he determines how to act.
When meeting new people his tail is wagging, his ears are back, he has a happy face and runs to meet them. If I don't let him meet them he will whimper with eagerness. He LOVES people. He has only growled at someone twice and I'm glad he did since their presence made me uneasy as well. I don't know why he growled though. he may have been protecting me or he may have been scared himself.
One thing I'm not sure about is his behavior when he barks. When we're inside and he barks he is very alert and doesn't appear to be fearful, but when he barks he instantly comes to me. If I'm sitting to where he can get on my lap he will, otherwise he's at my feet sitting on my foot. He continues to look on guard and bark and growl. I don't know if he thinks he's guarding me or if he is scared and hopes I'll protect him. It's always me, never my husband. last night me, my husband and our friend were on the couch watching a movie. Finn was on our friend Erin's lap when he heard a noise and barked. I was only sitting maybe a foot away but he still tried to climb away from her and onto my lap. I don't know how to interpret this behavior.
For the most part Finn has a great disposition. When we come home he greets us with his tail wagging and lots of licks. He's very playful, friendly and loving (though he only cuddles when he's sleepy). He loves new people, kids, dogs, cats, you name it. He'll let us do whatever we want to him, roll him around, mess with his paws, get in his face, take things out of his mouth etc. He does, however, have a bratty, stubborn side and it's only with me, not my husband. I know I've mentioned it before. When we are walking and it's time to head home, Finn grabs the leash and throws a fit. He pulls on the leash and plants his feet. If I try to correct him it escalates to more pulling, growling, jumping up on my and trying to grab the leash from my hands which has resulted in his nipping my arm instead and leaving a nice bruise. If I touch him he'll roll around and mouth me and makes Gremlin like noises. If I fight him for a while he will eventually be sitting by me and drop the leash but as soon as I take a step it starts all over again. If my husband is there and tells him to drop it he will right away but with me he has this attitude that comes off as very dominant and an onlooker would probably think he was aggressive. He obeys me very well inside the house and at the dog park, it's just this one thing that turns him into Mr. Hyde.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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My experience with Jack is he sits on my feet or crawls in my lap if he wants me to intervene. So, for example, if there is a rowdy older puppy that's much bigger than him and the puppy ignores Jack's attempts to stop jumping on him, he'll sit on my feet. If he hurts himself, scares himself, or if one of us is doing something he can't comprehend (unstringing the lights from the Christmas tree was a recent example that comes to mind) he will crawl in my lap.
When Jack barks his alert bark (if he hears something outside) he sounds very fierce and mixes in growls. To me he always sounded like he meant business. I was reading "The Other End of the Leash" and the author says to check the back corners of the dog's lips when they bark or growl to determine intent. If the corners of the mouth pull back, the dog is fearful. If the lips pucker a bit forward at the back corners, the dog is "aggressive". Well, when Jack barks his warnings, he definitely puckers forwards the corners of his mouth, so I still think he means business! Yet he greets all guests as friends. I have warned my husband that if he's out on the leash at night and barking like that at someone, not to let them approach until the people in question say Jack's name and get a different response from the dog. I have never seen Jack show any aggression towards a single person, but his territorial warning bark seems to be very serious.
Here's a good description of the body language that goes along with various barks:
http://k9west.net/documents/Barking.pdf
Madison definitely has a "backward" posture when she alarm-barks ("Hey, hey, there's a scary thing!") and Jack has a forward/ upright one ("Hey, you, get off the lawn! You don't want me to come out there!"). However, Maddie will alarm-bark outside on walks too whereas Jack with rare exception only does it on the property.
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That link is really interesting. I will watch him more closely to determine which Finn is but as I picture it in my head I am pretty sure his is the territorial bark. He only does this when he's in the house and hears a noise. He never barks at noises outside. The bark has deep growls mixed in but teeth don't show. However, I can easily do what I want with him while he's in this state and while he won't break focus, he isn't bothered by my touch or corrections.
He has given a off a couple quick barks outside before due to movement but it was dark and he could not clearly see the person moving across the street. As they crossed to our side and he saw that it was a person he went into happy puppy mode
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Permalink Reply by Abbea and Vivi on
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Maddie sounds a lot like our Vivi. His ears go back when I reach to pet him, but they go forward again once I start scratching them.
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And about barking, he only barks when we're playing with him, so it's most likely the excited play bark or maybe a little bossy dog bark since he does it the most when we freeze all of the sudden or stalk him slowly while playing with him.
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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Interesting topic.
Bear is my laid back dog. When he walks on the leash, he looks so relaxed and casual, just trotting along. He casually sniffs and looks around. He rarely pulls on the leash, unless of course he sees another dog or a person. He pulls and barks like, "I'm over here!!! Come and play with me!!" In the house, if he sees something/someone out the sliding glass door (or his own reflection) he barks and does a quiet growl. If I tell him hush, he stops barking, but continues a low growl. At the vet office, you'll see Bear straining on the leash to go to the back. He simply can't wait to see everyone. The only time I can't seem to get a handle on with him is meal time, he goes loony, barking and jumping as if he hasn't eaten in months.
Goldy is of course my firecracker. She's the one that barks at a blowing leaf or if there is a car in the parking lot that isn't usually there. In the house, she will stand behind Bear as he barks and bark along with him. She's also my little watchdog. When I go into the bathroom, she lays outside the door - Bear doesn't even notice.
When I correct them, Bear will calm and lick my hand. Goldy on the other hand will give a little yip (backtalking) and sit and stare at me. As if to say, "how dare you correct ME?"
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I'd like to add something interesting. I play growl/bark with them sometimes.
When I growl at Bear and bark, he runs up and licks my face.
When I growl at Goldy and bark, she fraps two or three times, jumps up on the couch, lays next to my leg and gives me that sideways glance.
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