Bark To Me Please!

July 9, 2018

If you’re a new owner of small puppies, then your world has changed, and for the better we add!

Dogs have a way of enriching our lives in so many ways. Sometimes we just don’t know how, but they do. Now that you’re a pet owner, you’ve probably cuddled with and talked to your dogs countless times. Your small puppies have responded, but you aren’t quite sure what they’ve said. Dogs communicate their thoughts all of the time, to humans and other dogs. It’s just done in their own language. How? Read on to learn!

Doggie Body Language

Whether they’re small puppies are large adult dogs, they all communicate with their bodies. Here are some typical signs they use:

• With their ears: Dogs with their ears raised are either relaxed or listening. Dogs with their ears back may be afraid or signaling submission.
• With their eyes: Their eyes will brighten when looking at something they consider to be friendly. If you notice dilated pupils and the whites in their eyes, this means they’re afraid.
• With their faces: To show confusion or determination, they will wrinkle or straighten their foreheads.
• With their lips, teeth, and tongues: You’ll know that your small puppies want to play if they pull their lips back, showing their teeth (like a smile), and sometimes with a hanging tongue. Keep in mind, this is only done with humans, not other dogs.
• With their tails: A study was conducted that if your dog wags his tail more to the right, then it’s a sign of positive feelings. If it wags more to the left, there are negative feelings.

Dog-to-Dog Communication

Dogs know how to “speak” and physically convey their feelings to other dogs, by doing the following:

• They bite: This is a sign of playing! It’s sometimes accompanied with slight growls and those are playful in nature, too.
• They bow: This is a telltale sign meaning “let’s play!” It can also mean, however, “I’m sorry I was so rough, but let’s keep playing please.”
• They paw slap: This is like a human patting you on the back. For dogs, it’s a signal that the dog trusts the other dog playing partner.
• They rear their hind legs: A sign of affection is displayed when dogs rear up on their hind legs. It will look like your small puppies are dancing!

Barking Dogs

Not all dogs are big barkers, but when they do it means that they’re talking and their barks can mean a myriad of things. The pitch and volume will increase with the dog’s emotional levels. A study conducted by Hungarian researchers tested 6,000 different barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs using special software. The results concluded that 43% of the time the software correctly identified what the dog was trying to communicate.

Proper and consistent training will help your small puppies and you understand each other. It’s such a joyful thing when it’s achieved!