Here’s Something to Bark About!

by: Roberto Tusell ‘15

Dogs communicate intelligently, as do human beings. It is just a matter of cracking the code. Obviously, dogs cannot speak like humans can. They use their body language to communicate how they feel and what they want to say. It is known that when they wag their tails they are happy and excited. What do dogs do when they are upset? Are they capable of a deeper way of communication?

Though there is a huge variation between dogs skeletal frames and structures dogs can still very easily communicate how they feel through facial expressions. According to the ASPCA article “Canine Body Language” dog’s faces are excellent indicators of how the animal is feeling and what they are trying to communicate. 

Understanding canine language can help human beings due to the fact that this can help service dogs serve a greater purpose and make it easier for humans to understand them. One facial feature to look at in a canine is its eyes. A dog’s eyes can indicate whether it is stressed out, tired, angry, relaxed or happy. When a dog’s eyes are wider and slightly come out of the socket this indicates that a dog is angry or stressed out about something. According to the ASPCA article this is when the animal is more likely to nip or bite.  When the eyes are at a normal position and are not protruding out the dog is relaxed and calm about it surroundings. When a dog is staring at an object it is trying to communicate to the owner or other dogs around it that it is either wary or afraid of it. So next time your dog is barking don’t just “shush” him or her, try to see what it is attempting to tell you.

This is only a small amount of information of the specifics of canine communication; to find out more go to ASPCA.com.