Misunderstood Animal Behavior

Have you ever wondered why a dog does what it does and wished you knew what they were saying? The basic body signals that dogs use to communicate are often misread by humans. If we keep correcting our dog for giving warning signals and properly communicating his unease, he will eventually skip all the warning steps and go straight into an attack the next time he feels threatened. Because of this misunderstandings, approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs (aspca.org). Dogs use body signals to communicate with humans and other dogs in efforts to avoid unwanted situations and injury. It is important to consider four individual variables when trying to understand your dog. Some variables include genetics vs learned behavior, appearance reality, body language during Interactions and education.
Genetic behavior in dogs are specific breed behaviors that are expressed even in the absence of training. For example, Terriers are naturally hunters and Greyhounds have running speed and endurance. Most dog behaviors are a product of both genetics and the environment, with that being said, it doesn’t take much to impact your dog’s behavior. Dog training can help suppress the unwanted genetic behaviors. When you are open to …show more content…
Some misunderstood expressions of communication are yawns, tail wags, facial expressions and play fighting. Dogs do yawn when they’re tired, however, they also yawn when they feel stressed or wish to calm a situation. Facial expressions can express a relaxed or focused state. A relaxed state shows as an open relaxed mouth and tongue out with steady panting, whereas a focused state shows ears erected and mouth closed or slightly opened with eyes focused. Tail wagging does not always mean a dog is happy, depending on how a tail wags can also send a warning signal, or that they are