As a dog owner, sometimes you just wish that your dog would start speaking to you, whether it’s because you need a companion who understands you or whether you just can’t figure out what’s going on with your pet, how helpful would it be to understand what they Are saying: well, here’s the thing with a few simple tricks and careful observation on your part. You can start making sense of what your dog might be, trying to tell you from clenching their jaws to wagging their tails and smiling a toothy smile. We’re going to be talking about 15 ways, you can start understanding and speaking your dog’s language
1. Ears lay flat
Dogs don’t just bark to communicate, Instead, they like using their whole bodies to try and get to their owners, and their ears, are a body part that you should be aware of and on the lookout for at all times. If you notice your pets lying down flat, instead of standing upright like they usually do in search of any sounds just know that your dog is scared. This can happen if they’re with unfamiliar people and in uncomfortable situations where they could use some attention and reassurance from you.
2. Yawning
Now much like humans, dogs yawn as well. But sometimes it’s not because they’re sleepy, a dog’s yawn is usually an indication of frustration or grumpiness, and that might not have anything to do with sleep at all. You might notice your dog yawning in the presence of other bigger dogs or animals in general, which means that it doesn’t like feeling intimidated.
However, sometimes you might also notice your dog yawning when you yawn and that’s just their way of trying to show you how much they love you pretty sweet.
3. Licking their face.
Unlike cats, dogs do not groom themselves with their tongues. So when you see a dog furiously licking its face, stop right there and offer your pet some comfort in cuddles dogs start licking their face and lips when they feel stressed or anxious about something they do this to express their concern to other animals or people who Might be perceiving them as a threat, and the lip-licking is your dog’s way of telling the other person hey I'm not a threat
4. Rolling over
When you and your dog are playing around and it rolls over to expose its belly. That means that your dog loves you and trusts you enough. At that moment, animals especially dogs are usually wired to protect their vital organs by rolling over onto their stomachs, but they do the opposite with you.
It means that they know you’re a safe person to be around if they do it with their owners. They are usually asking for some stomach rubs so that they know that they’ve been a good pet
5. Noses to the knee,
let’s say you’re, sitting on your sofa and watching tv. Suddenly, your dog comes up to you and starts rubbing its nose around your knee. Now you might think that your dog is smelling, something on you, or maybe they’re, just trying to itch a scratch, but what this usually means is that your dog wants your attention because it needs to spend some time with its owner right now. Similarly, if your dog starts touching its nose to your hands, that means that you should pet them to reassure them because that’s what they’re looking for right now.
6. Shaking
If you ever find your dog shaking its entire body like it, would right after a shower, all it means is that just like us, our dogs, get stressed out too, and to relieve some of that stress they like to get up, move around and shake themselves till.
They feel a little better. Most of the time, your dog will do this when a stranger touches or tries to play with them out of nowhere or right after a meeting with the vet. The best way to help them relieve their stress is to distract them right away by playing or initiating physical contact with them.
7. Hair.
This one will take some effort to notice, but if you want to know what kind of mood a dog is in notice, the hair at the back of its head, and if this hair starts to lift just know that you might want to keep your distance. This is your dog’s way of telling you that it’s nervous and angry, which is why it’s not comfortable for them to be approached by anyone at all, at least not until they’ve calmed down a lot of the time. Your dog’s hair will also go up if they sense some kind of danger nearby through their elevated senses of hearing and smell, and want to warn you to stay alert.
8. Wagging tail.
Most of you might already know this, but your dog wags its tail when it’s the happiest. A wagging tail means that your dog is having a good time and wants you to know what a great owner you are.
This usually happens when you’re playing with your dog or, if you’re, rewarding them, with some treat the faster, the wag, the more excited and energetic the dog. Usually, when dogs wag their tails out of happiness, they are in extremely relaxed positions, which just tells you that they’re at peace,
9. Erect tail.
The complete opposite of a wagging tail is an erect tail. That’s barely moving. This happens when a dog’s entire body goes rigid because it might be feeling territorial or threatened because of one reason or the other dogs have senses that humans, don’t so your dog might be smelling or hearing something that it might find dangerous, resulting in an erect tail. The tail might be wagging extremely slowly to indicate that your dog is hesitant and doesn’t know what to do in a situation.
10. Mirrors their owners.
Sometimes when a dog is listening to you or playing with you, they’ll try to mimic all of your body movements. If you turn your head a certain way, they will try to do the same. If you bring up your hand in front of them, they will try to match the movement. This is their way of telling you that they empathize with your feelings and that they are there for you, even if they can’t say it aloud.
11. Ping
while meeting new people when your dog meets new people and immediately bends down low to greet them. It might be a sign that your dog is afraid of them, especially if it urinates in the process.
This is your dog’s way of saying that it’s not a threat and it surrenders to you and will do whatever you say and behave. However, you, like most dogs, usually outgrow this habit as they become adults, but if they don’t, it might be time to take them in, for a checkup.
12. Toothy smiles
A little less intense than urinating while greeting. But if your dog smiles a toothy smile upon meeting new people, that’s their way of showing submission and respect. This big grin is your dog’s way of telling strangers that they’re not a threat and they want to be friends and play around with them. During this, your dog might also have a lower posture and lowered relaxed tail, all of which are good signs.
13. Avoiding eye contact.
If you ever notice your dog avoiding eye contact with another human or dog, it usually means that they’re not comfortable in their presence. As friendly as dogs are, sometimes you might see that they turn their heads away when they come in contact with certain people or dogs. This is a sign that you should calmly move your dog away from there, just in case they get riled up and start behaving aggressively.
14. Standing upright.
If a dog stands upright trying to make itself look larger than ever, then usually, this means that it’s trying to establish dominance. Dogs usually do this when they want their owners to listen to them and take them seriously. In this case, your dog will also try and maintain direct eye contact with you without ever looking away. Dogs might also try to put their paws on your knees in case you’re, sitting down to assert control.
However, if this continues to happen, you need to start establishing authority and calm your dog down before it gets aggressive with you, thinking that that’s okay.
15. Tense Jaws.
Sometimes happy dogs like to let their mouths hang loose with their tongues hanging out, but when your dog closes its mouth and starts to clench its jaw, that’s when you need to start worrying about a closed one. An intense jaw often means that a dog is ready and waiting to attack any second now, which is why you might need to keep a distance until your canine has calmed down. Stress and anxiety are the most common causes of clenched dogs and jaws, but it happens too often. It might also mean that your dog has some sort of an oral or gastrointestinal order that you might need to get checked.