I just read this short article in Dogtime about body language of dogs. There were some points I had not considered before. Some of them are:
- our dog friends use their language to reduce and resolve conflicts
- they meet each other in an arc instead of a direct straight line (reminds me of the detective Columbo)
- they prefer to avoid face to face and direct eye-contact
My interactions with dogs have varied from one individual to another. One really good dog friend likes eye-contact with me. We could look at each other all day long.
I have met other dogs that approaches from an arc and look at the ground before making contact.
What is YOUR experience? Let me know.
Here is a portion of that article:
We are actually very forward and can be a bit overbearing with our dogs in terms of our attention. The way we use of bodies to speak is very different than the way our dogs would use their bodies. I know it can be hard to believe, but yes, your gregarious waggy tail friend believes your interactions to be a bit impolite at times.
Dogs for example, meet each other in an arc. It’s rude, in their world, to walk a straight line toward them and make direct eye contact. In fact, polite dogs do everything they can to avoid the face to face and direct eye contact greeting that we interpret as polite and appropriate.
Dogs turn their head away, they might sniff the ground upon approach, walk up to each other’s sides, then sniff a tushie. This is good dog communication.
You can read the entire article on Dogtime.com
Article Source: Dogtime.com
Image Source: Aiko, Thomas, & Juliette + Isaac on Flickr.com
