Dog behavior Essay
These are movements of the ears, eyes, eyebrows, mouth, head, tail, and entire body, as well as barks, growls, whines and whimpers, and howls. While most often dogs are perceived to behave not only according to their breed, but also by their gender, their body language signals, and understanding the way dogs communicate and interact with one another. While standing in the yard watching the dogs, an observation I made was the various breed-specific factors that influenced the dogs temperaments and behaviors.
For example, how much exercise a dog requires varies greatly room dog to dog, but some breeds are most certainly more active and lively than others. Dogs such as Australian Shepherd’s, Huskies and Labrador Retrievers are full of life, hard to tire out, and constantly ready for action. Although, when the owners of these particularly active dogs do not provide enough stimulation and exercise for them, I find myself struggling to control the dogs that may begin to act out, try to escape the yard, Or become hard to control when on a leash.
Another observation I made was the different intelligence levels of dogs that vary significantly between breeds. Could tell which dogs were considered highly intelligent by their responsiveness to training and learning a wider range of skills and tricks. The intelligent dogs also tend to become easily bored and require a lot of stimulation, interaction and variety in order to keep them happy and relaxed. If the intelligent dogs do not have enough entertainment or stimulation this causes them to try and find ways to fill that gap. For example, there are a lot of Labrador Retrievers that constantly need to burn energy.
When they have no one to play with or can’t find something to do, they tend to either chew on the objects we have in he yard or scratch at the turf. The less intelligent dogs tend to have a lot of energy and never want to stop running around. They don’t get bored as often and it doesn’t take much to entertain them. After more observations started to notice a dog’s gender influence on their behavior and how they act in a certain environment. Since a dogs behavior has a lot to do with their individual personality factors that are unique to that dog, males and female’s differ greatly.
For instance, I noticed the dogs have a tendency to get along better with dogs Of the opposite sex. Females do not always get along with there females and males can sometimes become aggressive with other males. I believe this has to do with dominance and leadership that correspond with their gender. Dogs operate in a pack mentality and will sometimes challenge other dogs for that status. In addition, I noticed the male dogs tend to have more stamina and energy and can be more territorial than females. As I continue to observe, I see that “Dogs are very expressive animals.
They communicate to us whether they’re feeling happy, sad, nervous, fearful and angry, and they use their faces and bodies to convey much of this information. Dog body language is an elaborate and sophisticated system of nonverbal communication that, fortunately, humans can learn to recognize and interpret. (Canine Body Language)” Knowing the different body languages of a dog can help you avoid fearful situations and aggressive behavior, react when problems occur and keep the dog comfortable in any given situation.
One thing have learned while working with a group of dogs is how important knowing and watching for stress signals is. A dog that is stressed can cause a lot of problems both within itself and others around them. Stress is known as an arousal level, that relates to aggression. (The Language of Dogs)” Some common stress signals may include yawning, teeth chattering, pacing, tucked tail, ears back and the body is soft, wide eyes, sweaty paws, and lip licking. All of these may mean the dog is uncomfortable in the situation they are in or they are anxious and worried at that moment.
Other stress signals may be vocalizes such as whining, heavy/dry panting and cheek puffing. When dogs show these signals often or for a long period of time it is our job to make them feel as comfortable as Seibel or we will give them some time in a quiet place to relax and calm down. Knowing body language signals that may lead to aggression are also very important to be aware of. For example, the ‘Vulvae eye” is when you see the white of a dogs eye that is usually followed by a bite.
The dog may freeze which means the body stops for an instant and they look hard and stiff. In contrast, some of the signals that a dog shows when they are either relaxed or comfortable are a gentle pant, ears facing forward, dog looking around and taking an interest in it’s surroundings. These are great signs to notice because you know that dog is okay with where it’s at and there is no immediate concern. One thing I have learned is that breaking a dogs body language down into components is helpful for building observation and interpretation skills.
I must be able to observe the entire dog and the situation or context he’s in, in order to accurately determine what they’re trying to say. As watch the dogs run around and play with each other, I observe many different things. “Dogs show subordinate behaviors that are grouped into two general disgorges: active submission (appeasement), characterized by increased activity and diminished posture, and passive submission (deference), denoted by decreased activity and lowered body posture.
The difference lies in whether the dog offering the submissive behavior desires attention from the higher-ranking individual, or would prefer that the attention he’s receiving go away. (Miller)” Some active submissions or attention seeking behaviors towards one another involved nuzzling, licking, jumping up, pawing motions, crouching, and play-bows. The dogs ears may be pulled back and his tail may e wagging expressively. For example, an older dog that comes regularly for daycare and is very comfortable and dominant over the yard usually gets active submission from a puppy.
When a new puppy comes in to play, they instantly know to be submissive to the older dog that has been here longer and normally seeks attention and acceptance from that dog. “Passive submission usually involves a dramatic reduction in activity with a goal of diverting attention, and is most often seen in a lower-ranking dog when threats are directed toward him by a higher-ranking member of the social roof (dog or human). ” The dogs ears may be pressed flat against the head, tail tucked between legs, averts eye contact, and lowering of the head and body.
I have learned that it is important to understand the submissive/ subordinate behaviors when dogs interact with each other because it helps with keeping a playgroup safe and fun. While dogs may interact with other dogs in a certain way, they interact similarly with humans. Active submission and passive submission also relate and play a huge role in the way dogs interact with humans. When a dog monstrance active submission towards a human, such as nuzzling, licking or jumping they are communicating their recognition that you are the leader.
You may use positive reinforcement towards the behaviors the dog is expressing to you or negative punishment. For example, when a dog nuzzles my hand when I am standing in the yard, I will automatically respond by giving them attention whether its petting them or making eye contact. Therefore I am positively reinforcing the behavior and it will continue or increase. If were to use negative punishment would either turn away or elk away from the dog because he is seeking attention. If nuzzling consistently evokes the opposite of the intended response, the attention goes away and the behavior will stop.
Passive submissive behaviors are offered by a dog in response to a perceived threat such as direct eye contact, a loud voice or bending over the dog. If a dog were to react this way towards me, I would not punish nor correct the behavior, but would walk away from the situation and slowly work on building the dog’s trust by being consistently non-threatening. Every day I notice how dogs have the ability to read human odd language. It is interesting how dogs can see how our movements and gestures contain important cues as to what will happen next in their world.
By observing dogs, I have learned to recognize and respond to the various behaviors they perform. Have developed a new understanding of the different ways they act whether it’s because of their breed, gender, the body language signals they give off, or the way they communicate and interact with one another. It is important to understand how communicative behaviors are adaptive in nature, helping dogs maintain peaceful pack relationships without escorting to violence. Reference “Canine Body Language. ” ASPIC.
