This week we’re going to take a look at part 2 of one of my favorite youtube trainers, Kristin Crestejo. You can check our her previous video, part one, here: Improve Your Dog Reading Skills: Part 1
In part part of the dog series, Kristin Crestejo is going to cover tails, ears, and body shape of the dog. Dogs communicate from head to tail. Each movement adding a small piece of information to the entire conversations.
Take the tail for instance. Ever heard someone tell you about how they “never saw it coming” when their dog or a friends dog snapped at them? “His tail was wagging the whole time!” they will say. Just because a dog’s tail wags, doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is happy to see you. You have to look at the whole picture. What height is the tail? How fast is the tail moving? And better yet, what is the rest of the dog’s body doing? Learning to read all of a dog’s body language can help you prevent bites and increase the trust you have between you and your dog because he or she know you will understand what they are saying.
Before, your dog would build, and build and build in stress, going from:
- Oh, no! what’s that?
- I don’t like it
- It keeps coming!
- Oh please GO AWAY
- AHHHHHH!!!!
- *SNAPS OR BITES*
By having this better understanding of what your dog is saying to you, you can interrupt him or her before the dog gets to panic mode. By preventing the panic or fear in the first place we built the bond between canine and human.
- Oh no! What’s that?!
- I don’t like it
- *You interrupt and guide the dog away from the thing the dog is worried about*
Videos like Kristin’s and blogs like this help to make humans become more aware of what their canine friends are trying to tell them. Watch part two of Kristin’s dog behavior blog below: