Our doggie “best friends” send messages at different levels. “My Doggie Says… Messages from Jamie: How a dog named Jamie ‘talks’ to her people” is about some of the “big” messages that Jamie sent. “Big” meaning that it was her action or behavior that sent the message. She would sit by a door to ask to go out. Or bark when it was time to go jogging or go to the lake to swim.
Most of us also know that our doggie friends send messages with their tails, ears, posture, and eyes. Having read “Calming Signals,” I would call these message “middle-sized” messages. For example, some tail wags are friendly and some are not. “Ears up” sends a different message than “ears down.”
Turid Rugaas, in her wonderful little book “On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals,” (Dogwise Puslishing) describes some “little,” or subtle messages that dogs send. Her observations of dogs (and wolves) led her to identify over thirty “signals” that dogs use to “calm down the pack.” They are signals that are used to head off aggression, reduce tension, and generally help the pack keep the peace. Interestingly, some of these signals can be used by humans to send messages to their dogs.
These signals are sometimes quite subtle, so you have to watch for them. But I found that once I was aware of some of them I got better at spotting them. For example, actions like a quick lick of the lips, or a sideways turning of the head are meant, by the dog, to say something like “cool it.” The same is true of a doggie yawn or simply turning away. Another is “softening of the eyes,” or a partial squinting of the eyes.
One of the charming themes of this book is that Turid’s own dog, Vesla, was a master at using these techniques to help calm other dogs, including Turid’s clients’ dogs who had various behavior difficulties. Vesla had a sense about what was causing the problems, and she was able to use the “calming signals” to communicate with the troubled dog and help it eliminate the undesirable behavior.
I was quite surprised, after reading the book, to observe how frequently my Golden Retriever, Callie, was telling me to “calm down.” I would walk down the hallway toward her crate, look her in the eye, and say something like “Hi, Callie, how’s it going?” And she would often respond with a quick nose lick, a turn of the head, or a yawn, indicating that my frontal approach was causing her some stress. So I’m working on modifying my own behavior.
When dogs meet, they don’t make eye contact and head straight for each other. This is considered aggressive behavior. They glance away. They “curve,” meaning that they approach each other in a circular path. Then, having established a non-aggressive relationship, they proceed to interact.
One of the fun and fascinating aspects of “calming signals” is that some of them can be used by humans. For example the sideways glance, turning of the head, and yawning are all signals that a human can use to say, “let’s stay calm.” The other day, I yawned at Callie a few times, and, wouldn’t you know it, she yawned back at me!
“Calming Signals” has lots of great color photographs. I also purchased a DVD version which is fun, because you see video of dogs sending the “calming signals” back and forth.
If you really want to know what your dog is telling you, pay attention to the “big” messages, the “middle-sized” messages, and the “little messages” (i.e., the calming signals). You’ll gain a better understanding of your dog, and you’ll be able to actually start talking “dog.”
