Mary Allen
Isn’t that so?
Many dog owners ask themselves this question – usually whenever something in the communication between you and your dog is not going so smoothly. We have put together some classic misunderstandings for you, which should help you to better understand your dog – and thus its behavior.
Misconception 1: Yawning Dogs are Always Tired
Not only do dogs yawn when they are tired, but it is also a sign of stress. For example, if you see that your dog is romping with other dogs and the game changes from a running game to a solitaire game, for example, not only does the context change, but also the dog’s behavior. This can mean stress for the dog, which can also be indicated by yawning, among other things. Therefore, always observe the context in which the dog is, this provides information about whether it is tired or whether it has to find its way into a new situation.
Misunderstanding 2: My Dog Sometimes Bares His Teeth When He Sees people Greeting Him
In fact, it seems strange when a dog runs up to you and your whole body looks like a happy greeting – except for its mouth. Because he seems to be baring his teeth. Can you pet this dog now? As it seems, you are then standing in front of a dog that can “grin”. The exciting thing is that not every dog grins. Researchers are also interested in the dog’s grin, but there is no 100% clarity as to why dogs do it. It is assumed that dogs have copied the grin from humans and used it for communication. Wolves, on the other hand, cannot smile.
Misconception 3: A Dog That Wags Its Tail is Happy
This is a classic. Children learn early on (unfortunately) that wagging a dog’s tail (always) expresses joy and that such a dog is in a good mood. This is not always true, as dogs do wag their tails when they are happy, but they do so in many different moods. If a dog wags its tail, this only says that it is ready to interact. So also when he barks at people at the garden fence or shows aggressive behavior towards other dogs.
Dogs use tail wagging to communicate in a variety of situations. For the correct interpretation of the behavior, always look at the respective, individual context.
Misunderstanding 4: Dogs Have a Guilty Conscience When they Have Done Something Wrong
This thought often comes up when the dog owner comes home and the dog appears humbled, as if by a bowed head and a slinky walk. For the dog owner, this is usually related to the fact that the dog may have entered the apartment. However, it is more likely that the dog does not know that he has done something wrong. But he knows that the master often gets upset when he comes home. However, he no longer associates this reaction with the long-past misdeed. The dog uses its crouched body language to calm the situation down.
Misconception 5: Looking Directly Into a Dog’s Eyes is Always Seen as a Threat
In fact, some dogs often find it very uncomfortable to look directly at you. There are u. a. two possible strategies to respond. They avoid eye contact with us or they show aggressive behavior. However, the fact that our own dog lives with us builds a trusting relationship. In this way, the dog does not have to be on the alert when it makes direct eye contact – which, from a biological point of view, would be an unnecessary waste of energy. If you and your dog have a good bond, the opposite will happen. Oxytocin (the hormone people like to call “social glue”) is produced when two living things that are close together look at each other. So, please take a look!
Misconception 6: A Dog Chasing its Own Tail is Playing
Especially with young dogs, it can be seen that they like to chase their own tail and turn in circles. This is where the skipping actions mentioned above come into play again. Most of the time, your dog is already in an excited mood. Dogs turn around themselves a few times. However, sharpen your eyes to the fact that the behavior should be stopped, i.e. it does not last long, as the dog does not show it in more and more situations that do not give a reason for it. That would be the area that has nothing to do with play and stress reduction, but health impairments may have occurred. This is where a good dog behavior consultant should provide support.
Misconception 7: A Dog Shouldn’t Growl at its Human
Understandably, it is usually surprising for a dog owner when their own dog growls at them. Helplessness and disappointment often set in. Sometimes the growl is also classified as overbearing. However, we must be aware that growling is part of the normal repertoire of his communication. He uses it to threaten. This is how a dog communicates that it does not agree with a situation and thus warns before attacking. By growling (i.e. his warning), his counterpart has the opportunity to react in a de-escalating manner in order to avoid a conflict. The dog must also be able to use this with its owner in order to be able to communicate. Therefore, it cannot be true that the dog is not allowed to growl at its own owner, because dogs use it to communicate their own needs, usually for more distance or the interruption of action. If you punished your dog when he growled, he could learn that while growling is undesirable, instead he skips the threat and snaps directly.
Misconception 8: Barking and Loud Dogs are Dominant
Sometimes dog encounters are a bit louder. Barking, growling, bullying, impressing, threatening behavior. Many owners think that this stands for a trait – that their dog is dominant. However, this is not correct. From a scientific point of view, the term “dominance” does not describe a fixed character trait but is a relationship between at least two individuals. Thus, individual A has certain freedoms over individual B, who accepts them without complaint. At the same time, the same couple can react in the opposite way even in a different situation. Dominance relationships serve to avoid recurring arguments about resources and privileges. So actually very practical and they have nothing to do with hierarchies of power. A dog cannot be dominant per se. In addition, we humans usually perceive “loud” as emotionally negative. Many of us usually learn this in childhood – that’s how we evaluate barking, although this is not correct.
Misunderstanding 9: If My Dog Doesn’t Come Directly When Called, the Bond with Him is Bad
Actually, you live well and contently with your dog. Everything is going well, only the retrieval under distraction leaves a lot to be desired. The dog is more interested in the jumping rabbit than in you. An observer stands by and tells us that our dog now has a bad bond… Careful, that’s not true. A bond is built over a long period of time. This is something exclusive! It doesn’t break so quickly and no hopping rabbit destroys our years of work. Unfortunately, the distracting stimulus is only more attractive than us right now. Here it says: training the recall. But don’t worry, the bond stays.
Misconception 10: Mounting Other Dogs is a Designof Hypersexuality
Does your dog like to ride up once in a while? Don’t worry, he’s not going to be sexually hyperactive right away. Dogs show this even less. In the vast majority of cases, it relieves stress. The dog knows that he will feel better if he can use it to relieve stress. You can easily test it by eliminating the stressor and the mounting should settle down.