As your puppy grows into a young adult, they learn how to respond to your commands, and you learn how to respond to their body language and facial expressions.
How do young dogs communicate through body language?
Your dog expresses how they’re feeling through their body language, which includes their posture, how they hold their tail, facial expressions and more.
When your dog was a young puppy, they likely expressed a lot of loose, wiggly body language as well as appeasement body language (showing tummy, raising a front paw). As they learned how people and animals responded to their body language, your puppy’s body language was reinforced as an effective form of communication. Now your young dog can tell you if they’re feeling relaxed, anxious, aggressive or happy without making a sound.
You shouldn’t assume that a young dog is happy just because they’re wagging their tail. There’s actually a lot to know about how puppies communicate with their tails. The chart below covers how young dogs express emotions through their tails and more.
|
|
Relaxed |
Anxious or fearful |
Aggressive |
Happy or excited |
Posture |
Neutral stance or resting comfortably |
Attempting to appear smaller, head held lower, possibly raising a paw or rolling over to show belly
|
If fearful, may be hunched or crouched
Otherwise, likely to be holding themselves tall and stiff |
Loose and wiggly |
Hackles |
Not raised |
May be slightly raised |
Raised up |
May rise slightly if highly aroused but otherwise not raised |
Tail |
May be resting in a neutral position or wagging in sweeping motions |
Tucked between their legs |
Fearful dogs may have the tail tucked at first and then raise their tail during an act of aggression, but confident dogs will have the tail straight up above the body and may even wag their tail before an aggressive act |
Broad, wide wags, which may cause the hips to swing back and forth |
Ears |
Held in their natural position, which is up straight for pointy ears and hanging slightly forward for floppy ears |
Tucked backwards |
Held forward or to the side if confident and aggressive
|
Usually in a normal position but could be a little perked |
Eyes |
Soft eyes that don’t show the whites of the eyes |
Showing the whites of the eyes (whale eyes), may avoid direct eye contact |
Hard stare, pupils may dilate |
Eyes may be opened wide but shouldn’t show much of the whites |
Mouth |
Closed without tension around the muzzle or lips, or a relaxed pant |
Closed with the corners of the lips pulled back, stressed panting |
Tension around the lips, baring teeth
|
Closed mouth without tension, open and relaxed mouth, or normal panting |
Concerned about your young dog’s behavior? Find out what’s normal.
