Dogs communicate their feelings, needs and happiness mainly through body language. A skilled behaviour professional can help you understand what your pet is trying to tell you.

For example, a fast helicopter tail wag indicates high arousal and positive emotions like greeting people. A dog wrinkling its muzzle, on the other hand, is a sign of aggression.

Aggression

Aggression between household pets usually does not result from dominance but rather from conflict, fear and anxiety or redirected aggression. This can be the result of lack of early socialization or emotional pathology. Aggression when being handled by a family member can also be caused by frustration. This type of aggressive behaviour is a defensive response and should not be interpreted as dominance, although genetics, early experience and learning play a role.

Intra-dog aggression is common and often a result of poor socialization as puppies, lack of training or traumatic encounters. This can also be the result of resource guarding (one dog may take priority over food, toys or a bed). Aggression toward people can be caused by fear/anxiety, territorial/possessive, or pain-related. If a normally non-aggressive dog suddenly becomes aggressive, there could be an underlying medical problem such as hypothyroidism or painful injuries or neurological problems like encephalitis or epilepsy. A veterinarian can help determine if this is the case.

Socialization

Puppies that experience early socialisation display pro-social behaviours and have a reduced fear/avoidance tendancy in novel situations. These effects appear to persist into adulthood and the benefits of socialisation classes are likely to be enhanced by appropriate follow-up interventions.

Owners may need guidance on what are normal and acceptable dog behaviours and how to manage those that fall outside this range, such as chewing or marking. In addition, those that exhibit excessive play biting should receive guidance on how to inhibit this behavior using commands and a head halter.

A dog’s tail position reveals information about its internal state: tails that point down to the ground suggest anxiety, tucked between the legs indicates fear and those held up like flags indicate confidence and vigilance. Eye colour is also important: eyes that are soft and relaxed have a calm, happy appearance whereas hard eyes suggest aggression. The latter often accompanies defensive behaviors such as guarding resources or resource competition and can result in redirected aggression and impulse dyscontrol.

Fearfulness

Fearful dogs may exhibit defensive fear aggression (barking, lunging, snapping or biting) in response to a perceived threat. They may become more aggressive if their first signs are ignored. Fearful dogs often have a history of negative experiences and some breeds are genetically predisposed to being jumpy or suspicious.

Fearfulness in dogs is a major cause of behaviour problems and can be very difficult to resolve. Fearful dogs can show many telltale signs including crouching in a low body position, fidgeting, licking their lips or tucking their tail. Some dogs will whine or bark in distress as they try to escape or confront the stimulus that is making them afraid. Get more information through Bulldogology.

It is important that people do not encourage a dog’s fearful behavior by petting or consoling them, as this will only make the dog feel more afraid. People should also avoid putting their hands in the dog’s face or looming over the dog. Many fearful dogs are mistaken for being obstinate and being called stubborn, which is not helpful to the dog’s recovery.

Stereotypies

Many dogs display fear-related behaviour such as barking, pacing, sniffing at doors, chewing and scratching furniture, and aggressive behaviors in the presence of humans or other animals they perceive as threatening. Fear is also associated with a variety of other behaviours such as licking, head shaking, yawning, lip licking, tail wagging, rocking and crouching. Some behaviours are considered to be stereotypies such as self orality, in which animals lick and gnaw on parts of their own bodies (eg, digits, tail or genitalia) without a nutritive purpose and may be a form of displacement behavior.

Cage stereotypes such as twirling, spinning and flank sucking are a response to living in a cage and are thought to be related to the rearing history of the animal. However, some researchers have suggested that the environment might play an important role in the development and maintenance of such behaviours as well. Owner encouragement of these behaviours might be a factor as well.