When you see a dog with their tail tucked between their legs, you probably immediately assume they are feeling stressed or anxious. And more than likely you'd be correct! But what if you saw a dog yawning? Or glancing at you like they'd just chewed up your favourite pair of socks?
Believe it or not, these are also signs of stress and anxiety. Dogs communicate primarily through body language and vocalisations, unfortunately many people are unaware of what these signals mean.
This ignorance of dog's communication attempts often leads directly to bites and attacks, when warning signals are continuously ignored. How do we combat this? By learning how to read a dog's stress signals when we're interacting with them and taking the time to listen to them and respect their communication.
So, what are the signals of stress in dogs? While each dog is an individual and has their individual "quirks", there are several common stress signals that are more or less universal in all dogs. Let's take a look at a few of them.
Panting
Since dogs don't sweat the same way humans do (they can only sweat through their paws), they cool down by panting. However, outside of this context, panting is often a symptom of a stressed dog.
When dogs are stress panting, you will often notice the corners of their mouths stretched back or wrinkled and they might appear to be "smiling" (I often think of this expression as a Joker smile). When dogs pant from heat, their tongue will usually loll or flop out of their mouths, however stress panting can be identified from the flat "spatula" shape of the tongue. You may also notice the teeth being exposed more than in a normal pant, and the whites of the eyes showing.
"Whale" Eyes
Speaking of eyes, "whale" eyes refers to the whites of the eyes showing, as they often do when a dog is nervous. Whale eyes may be accompanied by the dog turning their head away (but keeping their eyes on the trigger), growling, snarling, or lip licking. This is the expression that many dog guardians refer to as a dog looking "guilty". For example, if you come home to find your pup has chewed your favourite pair of shoes, you might find them crouching at the door, looking up at you with that "guilty" expression. In actual fact, your dog is stressed and worried about a potential punishment.
Ear Pinned or Pulled Back
Pinned ears is a behaviour that many animals display, both in domesticity and in the wild. Because of this, it's one of the most commonly understood signals that a dog is experiencing stress. Dogs with pricked ears tend to pin or flatten their ears against their skull, however with floppy-eared dogs it can be harder to notice. Floppy eared dogs more noticeably pull their ears back, when my mastiff mix is stressed he looks like his ears have completely disappeared. You may also notice tension around the corners of the mouth and the eyes as these muscles contract.
Averted Gaze
This is another expression that is often misinterpreted by dog guardians, usually either as a "guilty" look (as it is often paired with whale eyes) or a "sneaky" look. In reality it is neither of these things. Gaze is an important part of dog communication, and an averted gaze usually communicates that dog is feeling uncomfortable with something. It may be a plea for space, a polite and non-threatening method of asking a person or another dog to take step back. It is often seen with a lip-lick or stress yawn.
Cowering
Cowering is one of the most obvious signs that a dog is experiencing stress in a situation. An all too common scenario is a stranger reaching out to pat a dog on the head, while the dog cowers away from their hand. Or an on-leash dog greeting, where a nervous dog cowers in front of a more bold, confident dog. Many of us will be familiar with the mortifying ordeal of watching our dog cower in front of the veterinary surgery and refuse to enter the door.
Cowering looks different from dog to dog, and depends on the severity of the situation. It can be as simple as a dog flattening their ears and hunching over slightly, all the way to a dog "pancaking" on the ground, by pressing their stomach to the floor, spreading their paws and freezing in place.
Lip Licking
Like humans, dogs do lick their lips in anticipation of a tasty treat, or after eating something a bit messy that gets tuck on their whiskers. However, outside of this context, lip licking usually indicates stress. You might also notice your dog making a chewing type of movement, or as if they're licking the inside of their mouths. As with all the signals on this list, lip licking is usually paired with one or more other signals, such as lip licking as they turn their head away.
Yawning
Dogs yawn for the same reasons we do--fatigue, boredom, and a feeling of awkwardness or stress. Yawning may be followed by another stress relief tactic, such as a shake off (without being wet).
In Conclusion
This is by no means a complete list of signs your dog may exhibit when feeling stressed or anxious in a situation. However, it is a good starting point for understanding dogs' behaviour--whether that is your dog at home, or an adorable pup you happen to meet on the street. I've provided several links below for you to learn more about your dog's body language. If you need help improving your dog's anxious or reactive behaviour, send me or another certified force free trainer a message and we'll do our best to help you both.
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