#dog language

[thehmn]

I’m pretty sure I’ve made a post about this before but I think I need some gifs to illustrate my point.

I’m something of a dog nerd. I don’t know a lot about breeds but I love diving into dog language and it’s a common misconception that a dog wagging its tail means it’s happy. That could not be further from the truth. A wagging tail just means it’s excited and that could mean happy, scared, curious or angry. A wagging tail is the dog asking you to pay attention to it. A dog that’s trying to hide never wags its tail.

First off, happy. A wagging tail combined with soft loose body language is a happy welcoming dog.

Stiff body means the dog is on guard and you should only approach with caution. It’s trying to determine if you’re a danger so if you approach you should avoid making eye contact and talk in a friendly high pithed voice. If the dog’s body remains stiff leave it be. If it lowers its head and starts wagging its tail more slowly and loosely that means it’s softening up to you.

Basically if it goes from acting like the dog on the right to the dog on the left you’re in the clear.

For understandable reasons I have trouble finding a gif of a truly scared dog but closed stiff body language with no snarling but a wagging tail means fear and you should only approach with caution because fear can quickly turn to anger.

If a dog looks away or try to avoid making eye contact it’s terrified and if it suddenly turns to look at you you’re probably in trouble.

And of course anger. We all know what that looks like but most people are so focused on the snarling teeth they don’t see the wagging tail. If you do don’t try to rationalize it. Listen to your fear. It’s not playing roughly. It’s fucking angry and you should absolutely not approach.

Btw, I don’t want to get into all the tiny micro expressions that dogs make but if you see a dog making this face it’s not smiling. It’s terrified. If it’s not accompanied by soft wiggly motions it’s a very very scared dog that is trying to appease you and though it’s not always the case it’s most likely a dog that’s used to getting hit or beaten.

These are broad guidelines but you should always approach a dog you don’t know with caution. They are individuals who doesn’t always follow set rules for how to behave but if you keep this in the back of your mind you’re far more prepared for interacting with dogs than just “tail wag means happy”.

[bones-n-bookles]

Dog Language: An Encyclopedia of Canine Behavior, by Roger Abrantes, 1997

[derpduck99]

If you were a dog, and you had a dog wife, would it be socially acceptable to call her a bitch?

Like if you were a dog wife, would you get offended if your dog husband walked up to you and said "Hey bitch! Got a bone for me?"

[doghowto]

Man unintentionally teaches his Corgi sign language! 😊 Follow me for more smart puppers!

[pointers4dogs-blog]

Using Dog Language To Train Dogs

Use Dog Language To Up Your DogTraining Game No matter what we’re teaching a dog, it’s crucial to be able to read dog body language. Then we can offer a visual cue as a means of letting him know what we want him to do. Obviously, inter-dog communication doesn’t use verbal language like we do. Instead, dogs communicate via complex combinations of body postures, movements, facial expressions and…

[estragonsgayass]

[kaionyx]

If I can’t bruise your insides from fucking you into the mattress like I hate you for a few hours then cook for us to eat and cuddle together while I cover you with licks and kisses like an devoted dog after, then I don’t want it.

[lotus-pear]

"dazai would princess carry chuuya" "dazai would hold chuuya bridal style" no shutup dazai would pick chuuya up like he's a sopping wet kitten or a sack of potatoes

[critterbitter]

Language divides and building bridges.

Elesa’s feeling homesick. Emmet, bless his heart, tries to help by infodumping while Ingo frantically runs off to find water (crying is a very dehydrating experience).

((Would you look at that! The kids are picking up kantonese and galarian from each other!))

BONUS:

Heh. Callback.

Want to see more? Here’s the masterpost for submas!

[brainrotcharacters]

Mothers and fuckers of the ketchup and mustard household (I'm going even more insane than usual)

[canisalbus]

✦ Dies Veneris ✦

[dire-wolf-days]

“I love you”

“I love you too”

<3

[beardedmrbean]

good doggy

[braceletofteeth]

For those of you who might not know, in thai there is an idiom, หมามองเครื่องบิน, which translates as “A dog looking at an airplane”, and means to want something beyond your status/out of your league.

That's most probably what inspired the plot and title of A Dog and A Plane.

[elrohirtheneurodivergent]

I just wondered:

If a dog grew up, not ever meeting another dog, would it still know the social cues of dog languages?

Do dogs learn social cues or are they instinct?

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 131

Okay, so first of all Dan would like to say it’s not his fault. Ellie was the one to bring some unknown object into the speeder and Jazz was the one driving. Or had Sam been driving- didn’t matter! It wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t the one shooting at them, he wasn’t the one to break whatever, he was not the one to open a stupid portal, and so it wasn’t his fault! 

So why is he now like, five years old, and why is the speeder crashed in some sort of corn field. Why is everyone- except for Jazz whose now like six- also like three at most?! And- oh fuck the door just opened and… okay that’s a kid. Like, nine at most. 

A kid and an adult, who he hadn’t noticed at first so again, it’s not his fault if he hissed at them and tried to hide his not-siblings behind him. It’s also not fair they’re apparently stuck to ghost speak for who knows how long, but at least they can understand the people. 

“Martha, get some blankets, it’s happened again!”