Let's Talk Dog, Part II
Sep 2006
By Don Hanson
Like humans, dogs are a social species. Dogs often get along well, only rarely resorting to serious conflict. Contrary to popular myth, and some outdated and disproved science, dogs are not in a constant struggle to achieve pack leadership through dominance. That is not to say that dogs do not occasionally have a skirmish over access to a particular resource.
This dog is demonstrating calming signals by
averting her eyes and licking her nose.
However, most disagreements between dogs are resolved quickly through a series of visual calming signals before humans are even aware that anything has occurred. This ability to resolve disputes quietly and harmlessly is necessary to assure survival and family cohesiveness.
Turid Rugaas, a Norwegian ethologist and dog trainer, began teaching the world about calming signals in the mid-1990s. Based on years of observing both domestic and wild dogs, Rugaas noticed how effectively the animals used body language to communicate with one another and to prevent conflict from arising.
Rugaas started to document these signals so that people could understand their dogs better and be better equipped to communicate with them. When a dog uses a calming signal, it is an attempt to communicate that they find a situation to be potentially threatening. It is a polite request to another dog, or to a person, to change their behavior and, therefore, to prevent a dispute from occurring.
Have you ever wondered why it can be so difficult to photograph a dog and to get them to look at the camera? Think of all the times you have seen a dog turn away from you when you try to make direct eye contact. Unless taught otherwise, most dogs find direct eye contact extremely impolite and threatening.
In an effort to diffuse such a potential conflict, a dog will usually first avert its eyes, then turn its head away and, if necessary, turn its entire body away from the perceived threat. While many dogs can and do make eye contact with humans, it is a learned behavioral trait that is encouraged in some training classes by using positive reinforcement.
In the same way that direct eye contact is instinctively threatening to a dog, being approached directly is also. Polite canine decorum calls for dogs that are unfamiliar with one another to slowly approach each other in a curving pattern. Start paying attention to your dog and you may notice that when given a choice, he or she will approach dogs and people new to them from an angle, rather than approaching directly in a straight line.
Two of the calming signals dogs use most frequently are “licking of the nose” and “yawning.” The dog in the picture is demonstrating both “averting of the eyes” and a “nose lick,” probably because the camera is staring at her.
Other signs that can be calming signals are softening of the eyes or squinting, freezing, play bow, sitting down, lying down, sniffing, scratching and splitting up. The latter occurs when one dog steps between two other dogs to settle them down. A dog may step in when two people hug each other, because the dog may view that as aggression between the two people.
To learn more about calming signals, begin by watching your dog and see how he or she uses calming signals with other dogs and with people. Try using calming signals when you want to change the dog’s behavior.
To learn more about canine communication, look for Turid’s book, “On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals,” and her DVD/video, “Calming Signals: What Your Dog Tells You.” Or, go online to www.greenacreskennel.com and click on the “Articles” section.
Don Hanson and his wife, Paula, own and operate the Green Acres Kennel Shop in Bangor, where he is the director of behavior services and training. He is a Bach Foundation Registered Practitioner animal specialist, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Certified Pet Dog Trainer. He also hosts the “Woof-Meow Show,” which airs at 8:30 p.m., Sunday, on WVOM, 103.9FM.
