Is my dog ​​yawning because he's tired? Does it wag its tail for joy? Five Dog Behaviors That Don't Mean What You Thought

The social network does not matter.

Anyone who shares a life with a dog will be offered —algorithm through— an innumerable offer of videos of pets having almost human behaviors.

From dogs that supposedly guide their owners in a parking lot to those that theoretically kiss, hug or smile.

There is no doubt that human beings tend, in an attempt to understand other species, to anthropomorphize their behaviors, that is, to attribute traits, emotions or intentions of a person to their domestic animals.

The problem is that, in the vast majority of cases, it is a misinterpretation that can lead to problems.

“Ignoring a dog's body language can have consequences that affect the dog's quality of life and, in many cases, can damage the bond with humans.

In addition, this ignorance is one of the main reasons why accidents are generated”, explains Juan Manuel Liquindoli, ethologist, canine educator and director of the Animal Philosophy canine education school.

And it won't be because dogs don't try: they don't stop communicating, both with other dogs and with their owners, and they usually carry out various behaviors that reinforce the meaning of each other.

But to understand them, you have to break the tendency to humanize their behavior and learn how their own language works.

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Of course, it must be taken into account that, like humans, each dog has its own character and other issues also influence it.

"It has nothing to do with how a terrier can manage the different situations than a shepherd dog that drives a herd, or a dog used as a human guard," says Hugo Fernández, canine educator and creator of Enclavedecan.

Carles Barbany, from the Positive Dog training school, provides an example: “Shepherds tend to control, they are work dogs and they have always been asked to pay attention to everything.

On the contrary, perhaps a hunting one tends more to manage with movement or searching with smell”.

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To this we must add the human attitude.

For example, on walks, if the dog is nervous or fearful, it is essential that the human be his calm reference.

“The guardian's energy and his emotions are detected by his dog.

This is the tutor, this is how the dog will be”, says Juan Carlos Castilla Elena, director and founder of the Noblecan training school.

The same thing happens with canine attitudes, which are often inadvertently reinforced.

“Dogs learn new behaviors by association or conditioning mechanisms.

And in these learnings, the animal's tutors play a fundamental role.

For example, if a dog barks in the context of dinner asking for some food and his guardians offer it to him, he will have learned that if he barks he has a high probability of receiving a reward ”, Liquindoli states.

Today there is a growing number of publications, books, courses and even accounts on social networks that seek to disseminate truthful information on ethology, always with respect and without physical punishment for the animal.

And from there, the key to understanding a dog is, in the opinion of all the experts consulted, observation.

So, here are five behaviors that surely many have observed in their pet and most likely have misinterpreted.

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1. Wag the tail

There is no doubt that the movement of the tail is one of the dog behaviors that most people know and that has been commonly interpreted as a sign of joy and happiness on the part of the animal.

However, this simple wiggle can have countless connotations.

“It is related to a physiological activation of the organism.

A dog can wag its tail when it feels happy, but it can also do so in situations of anxiety, stress, tension and aggression”, explains Liquindoli.

A golden retriever specimen wags its tail.

HollyAA (Getty / iStockphoto)

For example, it is not the same for the tail to be rigid, something that usually leads to greater nervousness and tension, than for it to be broader and softer movements, synonymous with a friendlier attitude.

Furthermore, according to a study published in the journal

it is important to watch which way the tail moves.

A more directed movement to the right indicates an activation of the left hemisphere and vice versa, which translated would mean that a greater displacement to the right occurs when faced with a positive stimulus, while if the movement is broader to the left it would be something that makes you afraid or nervous.

Appreciating these slight oscillations can be difficult for the inexperienced human eye, but they are very evident to other dogs, which is why docking the tail —something prohibited in Spain— compromises canine communication.

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2. Yawn

The motivations of the human yawn have been studied for years, as has the reason for its incredible contagion capacity.

Normally, it is associated with sleep or fatigue, and the same thing happens with dogs, although not always.

If he has just woken up or his eyes are closing, it is very possible that the yawning is simply due to sleep, but when the context changes and the yawns are longer and more frequent, the dog tries to communicate his disgust.

“There are studies that show that yawning could be related to stressful situations.

For this reason, when our dog yawns, it can be a good sign to see if some situation in the environment or some of our attitudes is causing him discomfort”, summarizes Liquindoli.

If they are also accompanied by shaking, sneezing or licking, the dog is communicating his displeasure.

3. The bow

among experts ,

consists of the animal squatting exclusively with its front legs, raising its rear.

"For many years it has been insisted that its only meaning was to invite other dogs or people to play," says Fernández.

He also explains that this behavior is currently known to have a wide range of meanings: “A stable position from which to make the next decision, an invitation to start a chase, to express possession over something, to regulate the interaction of the other dog or stop it, and even to ask for space”.

The key to understanding what it means is to observe what other signs it is accompanied by.

4. The hypersociable dog

The dogs also have their character when it comes to meeting or playing with others of their kind.

There are some who play for a while and then move away, there are those who prefer to be quiet without interacting with the rest and there are also those who want to greet and play with everyone they meet, without leaving one behind.

Normally this is interpreted as something positive, relative to a very sociable dog, but this is not always the case.

“Most of the time there is an emotional lack of control behind it.

Manage those emotions with play, but it is a nervous game and one that is often not liked by the greeted individual.

Behind this attitude there may be insecurity, frustration, poor social skills, etc., "explains Barbany.

He gives a human example so that it is better understood: “It is like someone who is laughing in a conversation with another person, but out of pure nerves”.

5. The canine smile

The smile is one of the gestures that dogs most like to associate in an effort to humanize their behavior.

There are various studies that ensure that, in positive environments, they can have a posture with their mouths open and relaxed, but that cannot be considered a smile.

“Dogs, even though it weighs us down, do not smile.

In fact, bringing the corners of the lips to the back in contexts in which the heat is not playing an important role, it is more accurate to think of stressful factors rather than complacent ones”, says Fernández.