Every dog, whether Akita, bichon, or beagle, knows the same language. You and your dog probably pick up on each other's signals without thinking much about it. But if your dog begins to behave differently, if you are getting to know a new dog, or if you encounter a dog you don't know, it helps to be able to read the universal body language of dogs.

Signals Dogs Use - Although a dog can't speak and has no hands and fingers for gesturing as humans do, you can watch key parts of his body to determine how he's feeling and reacting to the world around him.

• Face - Although the dog's facial muscles are not as refined as a human's, he can wrinkle or straighten his forehead to show confusion or determination. If your dog wants you to give him further direction, he may raise his eyelids quizzically and tilt his head to one side.
• Eyes - A dog's eyes brighten when he looks at a creature he considers friendly and when he wants to play. If he is afraid, his pupils dilate and he shows the whites of his eyes. He averts his eyes to avoid confrontation. But if he is angry or ready to defend himself, his eyes narrow and follow your every move. At this point, it's particularly important not to look the dog in the eye because he sees that as a challenge to defend his position.
• Lips, teeth and tongue - A relaxed dog in normal posture may let his tongue loll out of his mouth. If he wants something from you, if he is happy or wants to play, he may pull his lips back in what appears to be a smile and show his teeth, an expression, by the way, dogs show only to humans and not to other dogs. But beware the dog that bares his clenched teeth and wrinkles his nose. He is ready to attack.
• Ears - The dog's sense of hearing is much more acute than ours and even dogs with floppy ears have the ability to move and turn them to follow sounds. If a dog's ears are raised, he is relaxed, listening, or showing acceptance. If they are back, he may be signaling submission and deference or may be frankly fearful.
• Tail - A dog wags his tail when he is happy or wants to play. It is really an energy indicator. When he is submissive, he tucks it between his legs. A taut tail, held down rigidly behind him, may show that he is prepared to spring since he uses his tail for balance when jumping.
• Voice - Dogs are vocal animals. They yip, bark, whimper, howl, and growl. The pitch or volume of their sounds can increase with their level of emotion. A bark may be playful or aggressive. Unlike body signals, dog noises can mean different things from different dogs.

Posture Speaks Volumes -

When two dogs meet, as long as their human companions aren't tugging tight on their leashes, they carry out a series of actions that looks like a choreographed dance. With their bodies tense and tails taut, they circle and sniff each other, silently gathering and exchanging information, ready to defend themselves at any moment if necessary. They hold their ears back and the hair on their back may stand on end. They often avoid direct eye contact at first, sizing each other up to determine if the stranger is strong or weak, male or female, hostile or non-hostile. One dog may place his head on the nape of the other's neck or nip at his nose. It seems they are getting ready to fight and then, one lies down. Soon, they may separate and urinate. At this point they have agreed on which dog is dominant.

Dogs learn body language from their mothers during the first 8 weeks of their lives and they test out this form of communication with their littermates. If a dog misses out on such training, he will have trouble communicating with other dogs throughout life.

• Normal posture - The dog appears alert with head held high. His tail moves freely. His jaw is relaxed.
• Invitation to play - The dog happily signals his desire to play by wagging his tail and dipping down into a "play bow." His front legs are in a crouch and his backbone swoops up, leaving his rear haunches high. His head is held up expectantly to capture your attention. He may raise a front leg or lean to one side with his head.
• Submission - The dog crouches down further and still appears relaxed. He may lift a front foot as in a play invitation, but his ears are back and his tail is down. He may yawn, scratch, or sneeze, which is meant to calm him and the dogs or people confronting him.
• Fearful aggression - A dog who is afraid tenses his body and holds his tail rigid, though it may be wagging. His rear legs are ready to run or spring. He bares his teeth, draws back his ears and the hair on his back stands on end. He growls or snarls constantly to warn off the subject of his fear.
• Dominance aggression - Teeth bared, this dog stares you down and advances confidently with his tail wagging slowly and his ears in the forward (alert) position.
• Total submission - The dog drops his tail and curls it between his legs. He drops his head to avoid eye contact. He rolls over on his side and bares his belly, with one hind leg raised and urinates. If he isn't afraid, he'll tilt his head up a bit and raise his ears to show trust.

The Nose Knows -

The first thing your dog does when you walk in the door is sniff your legs. Dogs gather a lot of information from a quick sniff of their environment – both physical and emotional details. He smells where you've been and even how the experience affected you. Dogs sniff each other and each others' secretions constantly, monitoring various physiological and emotional changes on an ongoing basis.

Dogs live in a world of odors. Their sense of smell is their most refined sense; in fact, it is so refined a bloodhound can identify scales of skin shed by humans three days previously. They can also detect drugs in hidden in body cavities, can sniff out rats, termites, bombs, missing persons, bodies drowned or buried in snow or rubble, and even the presence of melanoma cancer. Their noses are about as sensitive as our eyes.

The scrolled, scent membrane inside a dog’s nose is about four times greater in area than the equivalent smell organ in humans. In the dog’s nose, there are over 200 million scent receptors in the nasal folds compared to our 5 million. Moisture on the nose helps to capture scent and transmit it onto odor-sensitive nasal membranes, which cover the nose’s wafer-thin turbinate bones. These bones comprise of convoluted folds, ensuring that the tiniest amount of scent is captured within them.

See, Spot -

Have you ever noticed how your dog acts when you are approaching him from a distance? He sees you immediately, and he stops and stares; but it’s obvious that he doesn’t know who is coming toward him. You start talking to him, perhaps calling his name, but he is still unsure, although he will act interested. Finally, when you get close enough to him that he picks up your scent, he will run to you happily.

Your dog trusts his sense of sight the least. However, while smell is his most refined sense, sight is his strongest. Dogs have no good biological reason to identify different colors. Though they can distinguish between certain colors, their color vision is limited and the colors may appear muted to them. Dogs see more clearly than humans do in dim light. This allows for increased movement definition of prey animals. Although their ability to see detail is limited, they are quite exquisitely sensitive to movement, and are able to pick up even very slight movement of hiding prey. A stationary object may not be noticed from a distance, but the dog will see it as soon as it makes a move.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye -

You must have experienced the result of your dog’s super hearing ability. You are sitting in your favorite chair reading or taking a nap, with your faithful pet lying at your feet. It’s blissfully quiet – not a sound to be heard. Suddenly your dog leaps to his feet and begins barking loudly, his protective bark, and you run to the window to see who is approaching. But there’s no one there. At least not at first. It takes moments before someone actually comes into view and walks by the house or into the yard.

The dog’s ability to hear is incredibly acute compared to humans. They can hear sounds over a wider range of frequencies and a greater distance than we can. Also, experiments have shown that a dog can locate the source of a sound in about six-hundredths of a second. Their highly mobile ears capture sounds and funnel them down to the eardrum. You might see your dog cock one ear to capture the initial sound, and then use both ears to catch the maximum number of sound waves. Protection and guard dogs use their sense of hearing, along with their sense of smell, to detect possible intruders, sometimes from great distances.

Touch and Go -

Touch is the first sense the dog develops and remains a powerfully important sense throughout his life. Mothers begin touching newborn puppies almost immediately after birth by licking and nuzzling. Touch-sensitive hairs called vibrissae, which are capable of sensing airflow, develop above the eyes, on the muzzle, and below the jaws. The entire body, including the paws, is covered with touch-sensitive nerve endings. The physical sense of touch is very sensitive, although dogs do have a high threshold of pain.

Body sensitivity varies among dogs, but most enjoy being stroked around the head, chest and back. The most sensitive nerve endings are along the spine and towards the tail, and dogs show great enthusiasm in pats or extended rolls and slides on the grass.

The Taste Test -

Dogs use their large tongues to lap up water, but they have few taste buds in comparison to humans, approximately one for every six, most of them clustered around the tip of the tongue. They can detect sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes. However, your dog has no real sense of taste as we know it; he smells rather than tastes. It’s possible that dogs gain more information about food from their sense of smell than from taste. This may account for their desire to for indiscriminate chewing or eating.

How Do They Do That?

Then there all of the other things that dogs can do that seem to defy explanation – a kind of sixth sense. They seem to be able to detect changes in the earth’s magnetic field; they may, to some extent, be able to detect infrared wavelengths of light, a kind of heat that living animals emit; they can detect sudden changes in barometric pressure when a thunder storm is brewing; they can detect vibrations from earthquakes much sooner that instruments; they can find their way home from long distances over unfamiliar terrain. They can even detect your mood.

Do dogs have a sixth sense? Maybe they do. Or maybe, like some believe, it can all be explained by already-known biological mechanisms. However you explain their abilities, dogs and their sensitivities are truly wondrous.

Your dog lies asleep at your feet, and suddenly his legs begin to twitch and run. Is he dreaming? Or are you dreaming to think such a thing? Wake up and smell the dog food! Of course he's dreaming. Why would you think otherwise?

Although no one really knows the true function of dreaming it does seem to be necessary for normal data processing and memory storage. Dogs think and they have memory. And their memory banks need period purging and reorganization during sleep just as ours do.

Dogs and humans are not as different as some scientists would have us believe. Scientists tend to dwell on the differences between the two species, whereas the sameness is positively compelling. We're 95 percent identical genetically and physically (right down to the iron-containing porphyrin ring our common blood pigment, hemoglobin). Because of this blue print similarity, you might expect a lot of the inner workings to be the same –and they are. Our brains are similar, our neurochemistry is the same, and our reflexes and memory are "wired" in like manner.

Types of Sleep -

Like humans, dogs have two main types of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and slow wave sleep (SWS). As a dog falls asleep the first stage he enters is SWS, the “sleep of the mind,” in which mental processes are muted but muscle tone remains. The next stage is REM sleep, the “sleep of the body,” in which the body is fully relaxed but the mind is racing and the dog’s eyes are darting rapidly.

In SWS, brain waves are slow, undulating and of high amplitude much like those in a lightly anesthetized animal or person. In this stage, the dog appears calm and at rest. Dogs and humans are more easily aroused from SWS sleep, which appears to be a transitional state with incomplete muscle relaxation.

By contrast, in REM sleep brain waves are rapid and irregular, like those of the awake state. Dogs, like people, display REM sleep, and during REM sleep they show evidence of heightened mental activity – fast electroencephalogram [EEG] (brain wave) pattern. They may move their legs as if they are running, may whine or whimper as if excited, and may breath rapidly or hold their breath for short periods.

When REM sleep is achieved they are at their most relaxed and are most difficult to waken. It is during this more profound physical sleep that their eyes begin to dart and the brain waves pick up pace. Humans awakened from this state report that they have been dreaming; dogs are probably dreaming too when they are in REM sleep, although no dog has ever told anyone about a dream he’s had.

Incidentally, adult dogs spend about 10 to 12 percent of their sleeping time in REM sleep. Puppies spend a much greater proportion of their sleep time in REM sleep, no doubt compacting huge quantities of newly acquired data.

And if you’ve ever wondered whether dogs that seem to be running during sleep are dreaming of catching rabbits or something similar, you can safely say they are.

Without a sound, two properly socialized dogs meeting for the first time can size each other up in just a few moments. An exchange of glances can tell each canine if they’re going to be friends or enemies.

How can dogs do this without a sophisticated verbal language? The answer: facial expressions, body language and posturing. Although dogs signal intent by barks and growls, the message is not complete without the telegraphy of body and facial language.

Various parts of the dog’s body are involved in this form of communication. Here is a quick primer in canine body language.

Facial Expressions -

A combination of facial expressions communicate a dog’s mood and intentions that can be understood by other species, including humans. Here are a few examples of facial communication:

• Relaxed mood: Soft eyes, lit up, looking – but not staring. Ears forward or flopped, with tips bent over (if anatomically possible). Mouth open, lips slightly back, giving the impression of smiling. Tongue hanging limply from the side of the mouth
• Anxiety: Eyes glancing sideways or away. Ears to the side of the head or flopped. Teeth clenched, lips firmly retracted. Tongue either not evident or lip licking
• Intimidating: Eyes staring like searchlights. Ears forward. Teeth bared
• Fearfulness: Eyes looking forward or away, pupils dilated. Ears pressed back close to the head. Panting/breathing hard through clenched or slightly open mouth. Jaw tense so that sinews show in the cheeks
• Stress: Yawning plus other signs of anxiety or fearfulness (as above)
  Head-Neck Position
• Head down (“hang dog”): Submission or depression
• Head in normal mid-way position: Everything is all right
• Head/neck turned to side: Deference
• Head held high/neck craning forward: Interest or, depending on other signs, a challenge
• Head resting on other dog’s back: Demonstrating dominance

Torso/Trunk/Upper Limb -

• Tensing of muscles and the raising of hackles: Threat/imminent fight

Gestures -

• Play bow – head low, rump elevated: The universal sign of canine happiness and an invitation to play
• Paws on top of another dog’s back: Dominance
• Looming over: Dominance
• Rolling over: Submission/deference
• Urinating by squatting: Deference
• Urinating by leg lifting: Dominance/defiance
• Humping: Dominance
• Backing: Unsure/fearful

Tail Position -

• Tail up: Alert, confident, dominant
• Tail wagging: Dog’s energy level is elevated (excited or agitated)
• Tail held low or tucked: Fearful, submissive
• Tail held horizontal and wagging slowly: Caution
• Tail held relaxed and stationary: Contented dog

There is no one sign that gives away a dog's feelings but if you consider all the body language signs, you can get a pretty good idea of what’s going on in the dog's head. A dog that is staring at another dog, his ears pricked and his tail stiff, is probably conveying dominance, or at least a wish for it.

A dog that averts his gaze from another dog and hunkers down nervously as if waiting for an explosion is likely fearful and is trying to defuse the situation by acting submissive.

Sometimes body language signs can be ambivalent, however. For example, it is not uncommon to observe a dog growling at another dog while occasionally glancing to the side, backing up, and with his tail wagging. Such a dog is invariably fearful. Whenever fear signs are present, fear is in the equation. These dogs are unpredictable with other dogs and will alter their body language and behavior according to circumstances. If the opposing dog retires, they may jump around and “look happy.” If the opposing dog approaches too close the fearful one may snap or bite. Owners, if present, can help defuse their dog’s ambivalence and uncertainty by taking a strong leadership role. It’s amazing how rapidly a fearful dog’s disposition will change when an authoritative owner steps in and controls the moment. Dogs need strong leaders.

Another aspect of communication is odor. Because dogs have such an amazing sense of smell, it is likely that they learn a lot about other dogs from their smell. That’s what all the sniffing is about. It is difficult to imagine what sort of information passes between dogs via this medium. We do know that intact male dogs “smell male” (because of male sex pheromones) and that neutered males do not have this characteristic musk. By neutering males, we alter the olfactory signals they emit and thus other dog's perception of them. It may even be that the "non-male smell" equates with a diestrus (in-between heat periods) or a neutered bitch smell.

When an intact male dog meets a neutered one, the response may not be confrontational because the other dog doesn’t perceive a rival. He may believe the neutered dog is female.

Non-verbal communications signaling “let’s play,” “leave me alone,” “who do you think you’re talking to,” “I’m not going to cause you a problem, I promise,” are going on all the time between dogs but many dog owners don’t realize it. It's amazing what can be conveyed with the odd glance or posture. Some dogs are masters at such subtle language.

The worst canine communicators are those dogs that have been raised without the company of other dogs during a critical inter-dog socialization phase of their lives (3 to 6 weeks). Hand raised orphans provide an extreme example of what may be lacking. Many of these dogs are socially inappropriate having not learned canine communication and social etiquette. They may attack and continue to attack another dog when the psychological war is already won. They may not know how to signal defeat when they are being attacked themselves. And that’s just the (extreme) tip of their communication failures.

Most dogs are not this “dyslexic” and can communicate what they need – as with humans – but the good communicators usually have the edge. Fully functional body language is a beautiful thing that can help resolve uncertainties at a glance. Humans communicate in body language too. We’re just not so good at it and some of us are positively stiff. If dogs could talk they’d probably categorize us as “dumb animals.”

You have just got a new dog… and now she needs to be accepted into her new pack – otherwise known as your family.

From the moment she arrives at your home, she’ll bond with you, realizing she is dependent on you – her new "lead dog."

To help her connect with you, reward her with praise, but remember that firmness on your part – plus consistency and gentleness – will teach her to trust you.

All in the Family -

Even before you bring your dog home, discuss the ground rules for what your dog will be allowed to do and where she can do it. Remember that it's easier to prevent a bad habit from developing in the first place than it is to correct it. If the dog knows how tasty the garbage is, or how chewy a sneaker can be, you'll have a hard time making her forget. If you want your dog to stay off the furniture, everyone in the family must agree on the command that will keep her from jumping up. If you don't want her to hound dinner guests, never give her table scraps.

Children should be taught that puppies and dogs are not play things: If the dog is a small breed, show the little ones how to pick her up properly by supporting her bottom with one hand and her front shoulders with the other. If she is a larger breed, show them how to pet her and play with her in a way that she enjoys.

Even if the dog doesn't immediately warm to one or more family members, they should be taught to treat her with respect and, above all, to avoid pressuring her for affection. She'll come around when the time is right for her. And she'll be grateful for their tolerance.

Be Consistent -

Post your dog's schedule and training commands on the refrigerator, near the front and back doors and on the children's bulletin boards. Your dog craves routine, so be certain that she is fed measured amounts two to four times a day; that she is walked and put in her crate, all on a strict schedule. You'll also want to be sure that "sit," ”down,” and "come" all mean the same thing when those words are spoken by the members of your family. The dog wants nothing more than to please you, so don't confuse her.

For the most part, aim to imitate the way your dog's mother taught and disciplined her: Correct her swiftly and firmly, but don't raise your voice. Have her wait for you at a door so that you always enter or exit before her. Before you feed her, eat your own dinner.

Grooming her and examining her teeth and ears is another way to remind her who's in charge. If she is introduced to grooming gently at an early age, it will be fun for her and will provide another opportunity for her to be close to you.

Play and Explore the World -

A simple game of catch or fetch can develop into more sophisticated interplay and communication between you and your dog. You two will learn to read each other, varying the pace of the game, with your dog sometimes deciding to change “catch” to “fetch” and letting you know what she intends to do.

The entire family can participate in games that will teach your dog people’s names, and the names of objects and places. Hide-and-seek, for example, can help your dog distinguish between "find Tommy in the kitchen" and "find Mary in her room."

Relax with your new dog. Talk to her, so that she understands your various moods and tones of voice. Take her on walks. This will give you a chance to help her adjust to sudden noises, such as fire trucks and motorcycles. Observe how she interacts with wildlife and other dogs and note where she might need training.

After you've exposed your dog to car trips, stairs, elevators and parks, expand her world. Help her negotiate crowds, stores, and school zones, where there are groups of strange children. Expose her to men and women of all ages, abilities and races.

Your dog is wired to behave like others of her breed and her wolf ancestors. Though the role of predator, hunter, or herder comes naturally to her, your job is to shape her into the best human companion she can be.