Our canine companions are very, very dear and close to us, so much so that sometimes it feels like we know what they’re thinking. For our own dogs, it is amazing how well we can tell how their feeling or what they might do, but that’s because we know them. What about other dogs? What about bringing another dog into our families that we cannot read so well? Hopefully this post and the resources provided can help to shed some light on reading the subtle body language of dogs. This will not only benefit your own furbabies, but your relationship with other dogs you do not know.
Humans experience a vast array of emotions, many different types of the same base such as sad (melancholy, depressed, upset) or happy (ecstatic, giggly, content). Dogs are much simpler, however. Most of what they experience can be boiled down to three bases: Positive Stress, Negative Stress, and Relaxed. I am not completely throwing out the idea that canines of any sort do not feel more complex emotions, but for most interactions it can be simplified. Positive Stress is what you see when you come home from work or when you come to pick your dog up from the groomers. Excitement, open mouth, and that full-body wiggle! Negative Stress is what we sometimes see bringing our dog into the groomers or during a thunderstorm. Slinking down, shaking, heavily panting, and hiding behind your legs. Relaxed is of course when they feel at ease or are drifting off to sleep.
The poster to the left is one of the many wonderful informational posters drawn by Lili Chin of Doggie Drawings, and of her popular subject, Boogie her rescued Boston. On her website (link at the bottom) she offers many adorable educational graphics that are easy to understand and a lot of them are free to use. I personally enjoy them because they are easy to understand and make it easier to identify these characteristics in real dogs as opposed to merely reading descriptions of them. Research will always be you and your dogs best defense in dealing with negative stress of yours and other dogs.
We understand that it is not always easy to see your dog deal with negative stress while in the lobby at Puff and Fluff, but in most cases the worst that happens is what you see in the lobby. Once your pup is settled in with our staff, surrounded by calm energy, they tend to relax and allow the grooming process to take place. After all that, they are rewarded by seeing you again!
To see more informational posters, click here!
To read more about negative stress during a thunderstorm, click here!
Don’t forget to like us on facebook!