I have not only joined Military Mom Collective as a mother and a military spouse, but I am also a Veterinary nurse. We were called vet techs, but my schooling and experience are the same as an RN in the human side of medicine, so I say nurse because people tend to understand that better. I not only was a nurse anesthetist, x-ray tech, laboratory tech, shot giver, IV specialist, nose booper, cuddle giver, and poo and pee picker upper, but a huge part of my job was also education of the clients. Dog body language is one thing that I educated about on a regular basis.
I no longer work in that field because, well, being a mom and the Army spouse life changed that. I still have a head full of things that can use my college education and years of experience. I also used to teach a weekly online class to kiddos about canine behavior and body language for a couple of years. Teaching kids about how to properly interact with dogs is very important because a little understanding can go a long way. Let’s be frank, it’s downright dangerous in some situations for a kid that does not know the proper way to act around dogs. I know firsthand how dangerous animals can get if not approached properly as I did it daily for a job and the dogs were not always happy to see us.
According to the CDC, 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year and roughly 800,000 of those bites need to receive medical care. Simply put, a large chunk of those bites are easily prevented, and education is the key not only for adults, but it’s almost more important to educate children. Since children are smaller and tend to be more curious, teaching them about canine body language helps them to grow up with a healthy respect of canine boundaries.
Dogs are body language masters; they can actually read human body language better than humans can.
A Tiny Anatomy and Physiology lesson
Let’s start with a teeny tiny anatomy and physiology lesson… I will make it as painless as possible! It all starts with the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and its activation of the fight or flight response. This is an extensive network of nerve cells that regulate some involuntary responses, meaning physiological responses a dog can’t help. When the SNS is activated, it sends a cascade of reactions from all the organ systems in the body, which prepare the dog to deal with an emergency.
What happens in the body during fight or flight?
Increased heart rate
the tubes that lead to the lungs dilate
Pupils dilate
Possible emptying of the bowels and bladder
trembling
In fact, the human fight or flight response reacts in the exact same way. When something scares the daylights out of you, remember how that feels. A dog’s “fight or flight” response is no different. These are super important points to bring up to your child. “If someone jumps out behind you and scares you, how does that make you feel? Dogs feel the same way if you sneak up on them or scare them.”
Look at 4 parts of the dog’s body in this order: Ears, Eyes, Mouth, Tail.
Ears
If the dog’s ears are pinned back and tense against their head, beware. This sign tells us that the dog is uncomfortable.
Eyes
If the eyes are wide open and the pupils are very dilated, that is not good. If the dog is giving you a look out of the corner of their eye showing a large portion of the whites and they are cowering down and they are afraid, this is called the Whale eye.
Mouth
Heavy panting (this can be due to heat, too, which means they need water and some shade). Constant heavy panting is how dogs deal with pain. If a dog is in pain they can be very grouchy. If your dog starts to pant more than normal, it may be time to take them into the vet. Yawning, excessive licking of the nose and lips, excessive drooling, and believe it or not, sneezing can be “calming signals.” If the mouth is closed tight and the corners of the mouth are pushed forward and tense, they feel threatened and could turn very aggressive. This usually turns into the muzzle being wrinkled, curled up and showing teeth and this is usually accompanied by a growl. If a dog gets to this point, do not engage and get an adult.
Tail
A tail tucked far underneath the body is a fearful dog and fearful dogs will bite. If the tail is straight up and very stiff or wagging very fast, the dog may be signaling for you to leave them alone. Making a wagging tail not always a good indicator especially if the wag is tense and fast. Of course, not all dogs have a nice long tail too! On some dogs from the base of the tail all the way up the spine, their hair can stand on edge like a mohawk called raising their hackles. This means the dog is feeling afraid or aggressive. Stay away!!
Here is a good video to show your kiddo on body language to look out for.
Calming Signals In Dogs
When dogs are stressed out and feeling a little pressure, they have what is called “calming signals”. These little things that a dog does are to shake off the stress. Not all stress is bad stress, though! When a dog is learning new tricks, they can also be seen using calming signals because learning new things can be stressful- just like it can be for us! I don’t know about you, but I am good at sighing and being all dramatic with it and I would consider that a calming signal for me especially in traffic. If calming signals are ignored, however, the situation can escalate into something more serious. Teach your kiddos to calm down and relax when a dog starts to show some of these signals. These signals are dogs trying to de-escalate the situation before they go over the edge. Dogs do these things to each other, so they don’t get into a fight as well.
A few Calming Signals to look out for
Yawning is the biggest one.
Giving a big full-body shake
Licking the nose excessively
Raising up one paw taking a pause (if the dog is a pointer they could actually be pointing)
Them turning away and walking away from the situation.
Walking slowly towards you while cowering
Lowering their body to look smaller.
Dog Eye Contact
Eye Contact is a big topic, so it gets a paragraph of its own. Us humans view eye contact as a polite way to show interest. Dogs, however, see this as a sign of dominance and aggression. Never stare a dog down or put your face in their face because that is a very fast way to get bit. Two dogs will rarely make prolonged eye contact with one another because it’s threatening and rude. When I worked with dogs that were extremely fearful I would actually approach them with my head slightly to the side and my eyes averted so I would seem less threatening.
In a nutshell, never approach a dog you don’t know and ask the owner of a dog before you pet their dog if it’s ok. If the owner says no, there is a good reason. If your own dog is showing signs of stress, don’t push them because even the sweetest of dogs can be pushed too far. I also suggest not leaving a child alone with any animal until you know they can understand how to interact with an animal properly. A large dog can do a lot of damage or even kill someone so please have a good respect of what they can do if scared or threatened. Animals are going to be animals and kids are going to be kids, but adult humans should know better and make sure all parties are comfortable.
For a great blog here on Military Mom Collective check out dos and don’ts PCSing with pets to read up on moving with your furry family members.
