Your dog is watching you
Dogs are incredibly good at communicating with their bodies. We often mention the calming signals they use. But it is also true that dogs are very good at observing and understanding body language of others, including us, humans.
We tend to pay very little attention to our own movements and face expressions. Yet unconsciously we are constantly communicating something to our dog with our body language. And it can mean a lot to our dogs!
Imagine being in a foreign country and not understanding a word of what people are trying to tell you. You would also look very carefully for nonverbal cues.
For our dogs these include:
The direction your face and body point to - dogs will pay attention to the direction of your face and body and will usually follow you. Therefore, when calling your dog or asking your dog to follow you it makes more sense to look to the direction you would like them to go instead of looking at your dog.
Your breath - dogs will often understand how you feel from how you breathe: breathing quietly will communicate calmness while if you breathe excitedly or heavily it will likely make your dog more excited or worried. So taking a slow, deep breath in stressful situations to calm yourself and your dog is a good idea!
The pace of your walk - a study has shown that dogs will follow the pace of a person walking with the dog. We often say - if you want your dog to slow down, start by slowing down yourself.
Tension in your body - dogs will notice if you are tense and still. They will likely get suspicious or worried, too. On the other hand, a relaxed body and movement will make a dog more relaxed as well.
Your body posture - dogs often find it threatening when people bend over or look down at them, even when people mean well. It's best to avoid leaning or bending forward when you are near dogs. We can also sit down to make our communication more pleasant.
Dogs notice tiny movements of our faces and look at your face expressions to understand how you feel and what they can expect from an interaction with you. For example, some dogs love it when we smile and feel good, and others would hide once they see their caregiver having an angry expression.
Calming signals - dogs do understand when we are being polite and using certain calming signals - for example, it's very polite to curve when you approach a dog instead of walking in a straight line. Another polite gesture is looking to the side instead of staring directly at the dog.
These small things we do can make a big difference in the relationship with our dogs. It is especially relevant for sensitive or fearful dogs, but all dogs will appreciate our polite communication skills.
