Dogs' Body Language Explained

In this video, you’ll learn how to interpret canine body language to help you better understand your dog, and to make you a responsible dog parent.

Wagging Tail
All a wagging tail means is that the dog is emotionally aroused. It could be excitement, but it could be frustration or negative feelings. Excited dogs hold their tails higher than a neutral position, and wag them quickly from side to side. An uncertain or nervous dog will also wag their tail, but their tail will be slightly lower than a neutral position, and wagged slower and more steadily.
A tucked tail
A tail tucked between the legs is an unmistakable sign that the dog is scared, afraid, in pain, or feels uncomfortable. Putting a paw on youIf your dog puts their paw on you, it is their way of saying “I love you.” Avoiding Eye ContactDogs who are fearful or afraid will often look away as though they are avoiding something. You often see this if you scold your dog.
Squinting Their Eyes
Dogs squint their eyes to indicate peaceful intentions. If your dog squints their eyes when they look at you, they are expressing their love and desire for your attention.
Tilting their head
For many dogs, head-tilting helps them hear better. Rotating their ears, or their entire head, can help triangulate the location of the sound so they can hear it more clearly.
Ears forward
If the ears are standing straight up, or in the case of dogs with floppy ears, inclined forward, the dog is paying close attention to something or someone. The dog is curious and alert.
Ears flattened against the head
Slightly pulled-back ears signal that the dog is feeling friendly. You often see this when you are stroking your dog.But ears laid tightly back against the head may indicate fearfulness.
A Raised Paw
A raised paw is when a dog lifts one paw slightly off the ground. It often indicates the dog is uncertain about a situation or perhaps feels a bit insecure.
Licking you
Dogs lick you for a lot of reasons. They may want to show you affection and love. They may even want to groom you to show that they care about your well-being. Or they may simply enjoy the taste of your skin as you may have the residue of some yummy treat on your skin.
Play Bow
An easy-to-read aspect of dog body language is the play bow. This is when dogs place their chest on the ground with their butt in the air.This playful gesture is a clear sign that your dog is happy and is trying to initiate play with you or another animal.
Trembling
Trembling or shivering in response to another person or dog means your dog is scared. If it’s freezing cold outside, bring them indoors to help them stay warm! Smaller dogs may be more prone to shivering than larger breeds due to their lack of body fat and thinner fur.
Exposing belly
More often than not, belly-exposing behavior in canines indicates trust and acceptance. A dog may also use this submissive display as a way to avoid confrontation. At times, the dog may even dribble or squirt small amounts of urine to communicate a submissive status to a person or animal.Easing TensionA dog who is in the middle of a challenging or unfamiliar situation may suddenly turn away and start sniffing the ground to politely avoid interaction and calm themselves down.
Hunching over
A hunched-over posture in dogs indicates they are fearful and feeling particularly vulnerable. By hunching over, dogs try to make themselves small, almost wishing to become invisible.
Whale eyes
When a dog shows the whites of its eyes, it is known as “whale eye”. it’s a signal they are feeling anxious or stressed in a situation.Smiling A dog’s mouth mimics the emotions human mouths show. A happy dog will have a soft, relaxed mouth which may look like a grin.
Yawning
In dogs, yawning is also a sign of stress and indicates your dog is feeling nervous. If your pooch yawns after you, it means they are very attached to you. Recent studies have shown dogs that dogs yawn contagiously, and dogs that are bonded with their owners are more likely to yawn when their especial humans do.
Turning their back to you
When your canine turns their back to you, they are showing you that they are friendly and trust you
Shaking off
If your dog shakes without some kind of irritant such as water, it’s a way of relieving tension. Probably your dog was stressed.
Zoomies
You often see your dog getting the zoomies when they've been confined in a crate for some time, or after a bath.
Nose And Lip
Licking Licking lips or noise is also a sign of stress in dogs.
Raised Hackles
When a dog’s hackles are raised, it is a clear sign that the dog is aroused, but not necessarily in a negative way.
Baring teeth
If a dog shows their teeth, but doesn’t bark or snarl, it is often a sign of territory protection. You will often see this if you try to take food away from a dog who is eating.
Whining
More often than not, dogs whine when they need or want something from you, like some food, or going out for a walk

[JustADogLover]

As a dog trainer, this video is entirely true. Good job for actually putting the time into researching different dog body languages.

[nicolewagner]

My dog does the paw thing. I've always thought it was cute. Now I'm extra happy to know it means she loves me. 💘

[purpleorchids]

I knew what some of the body language positions meant, but I learned about several that I didn't know. Thank you for taking the time to explain each one & give examples of what the dogs are trying to communicate. Very helpful

[DoveShmpo]

This doesn’t have anything to do with the video but one time when my dad came to my house to say hi even tho I was sleeping (obviously he didn’t know😂) and my dog was just sleeping near my bed, and when my dad came and tried to wake me up and hug me my dog barked at him bc she probably thought he would hurt me! When I heard about this I was so happy!

[Beachbby]

My dog always seem so dang happy, for no reason. She’s awesome & my soul mate. But I always wondered about her postures, thank you!

[yusunha]

Of all the dog behaviour contents out there, this channel seems to provide the most complete information. Thank you!

[lakshmisrinivasu]

Dear friend I had a hard time understanding my puppy but I was assuming all these signs correctly, and your explanation has boosted my belief in my puppy. Thank you for your wonderful work.

[tati]

Many comments mention that zoomies (8:57) are a good thing and dogs do it for joy. This can be true in many cases, but also wrong in others. I watched a puppy doing zoomies to relieve stress. Kids would force him to play all day long and chase him a lot. Also putting him up, carrying him around, stuff like that. He had zoomies so much, it was crazy. Please tell your kids how to interact with dogs, how to read their signals and respect them..!

[Eternal__Sasha]

I have been a people trainer for over ten years and would like to share an interesting story about the "exposing belly". I had a client I was working with that came to me for training with her 8 month old female Shih Tzu. I was working with the owner and dog for about 3 weeks. The dog was very social and quite sweet. I noticed that she would leak urine when approached by a friendly stranger. This would happen at the start of our sessions but stop after we had been in our session for a little while. I also noticed the dog would excitedly run up to strangers and once they started petting or engaging with her, she would quickly lie down and expose her belly. On her 4th week of training, I didn't spend as much time in the beginning of the session petting her as I had a very clear cut routine that I wanted to quickly get started on with her. However, she performed exceedingly well that day and at the end of the session, so I decided to have a little play session to end the day. I knelt down to pet her and she did her signature roll over and show belly. I gently petted her belly while I looked at her parent engaging her in conversation. As I petted her, I quickly noticed her lower belly felt different. I looked down at her belly and noticed the mammary glands closest to her back legs looked (and felt) swollen and bruised. I instructed the parent to quickly get to the vet. She took her in the next day and it was discovered the dog had a mastitis or infection in the glands. She underwent vet care and the dog was also spayed. There was a two week span for the dog to recover before we picked training back up. Once she came back to me I noticed that she was no longer exposing her belly like she did so frequently before. She seemed so be more engaged in the training than before as well. I wonder if sometimes, dogs can use exposing a belly for example to indicate trouble and perhaps that's what this dog was trying to do? Just a thought.

[timraschke]

So thankful for this info.
I'm a "pet whisperer". We have a rescued dog that has been very standoffish toward me. We believe that his former owner abused him. But after five weeks, he is beginning to know that I'm not his former owner.

[CGMB]

The differences in breeds is very important.

[mdhrhfgvbf]

I asked my dog how's life, he said "ruff"😭

[SashaTheConqueror]

Omg. The dog will literally "Shake it off" ...oh the joy in my heart right now ☺

[bridgetbtuttle]

My mini Doxie pets my cheek with his paws — true love ❤️

[ErnieTheDachshund]

Im going to show my owner this video so now she can understand me 😁🐾

[benprofessab]

My dog can talk. I asked him what his favorite part of the house is, he said, “roof, roof”…I’m not sure why he likes the roof though

[jeanicegraves]

"Your dog may lick you because you have some yummy residue on your skin."
My dog: Lotion.

[youtuber]

thanks a LOT for the USEFUL information SERIOUSLY

[justinbolton]

I really enjoyed your video's.
I love my Dog 🐶. I take her everywhere with me including work. Dogs are the greatest companion you could ever want.

[yifeiii]

This is really helpful, thank you, this will definitely help me understand me dog more ☺