Canine Communication Diploma Course

Centre of Excellence Online – Canine Communication Diploma Course Canine Communication Diploma Module 5 1 Centre of Excellence Online – Canine Communication Diploma Course 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 2 Centre of Excellence Online – Canine Communication Diploma Course 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. 3 Centre of Excellence Online – Canine Communication Diploma Course 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 4 Centre of Excellence Online – Canine Communication Diploma Course 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. 5 Centre of Excellence Online – Canine Communication Diploma Course 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. 6 Centre of Excellence Online – Canine Communication Diploma Course 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.

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