Dog Body Language Question

[jetcitywoman]

Over the past year of loving Capri we learned to read her body language, specifically on walks. She's very subtle about expressing her opinion on where we should walk, but now that we can see it, her "language" is clear as a bell. If she has a mild opinion that she wants to go a particular direction, she will turn her head toward it. If she has a strong opinion, like during the winter snows that she didn't want to walk in, she will flip her whole body around to point where she wants to go. (You'll say I shouldn't have tried walking her during the snow, but this winter was unusual for this area and it snowed for over one whole day, and she HAD to go pee somehow. She wouldn't go into the yard, so we had to walk her until she peed.) I tried to get her to go just to the end of the block but she would have none of it and kept flipping herself around. (I marvel at that greyhound fast-twitch muscle mass that allows them to instantly pivot on their midline - I never saw her turn around, she just *flipped*.) After the second flip, I gave in and we went home again.

 

We've also noticed that on ordinary days, if we decide to walk a different direction than she wants to go, she will pause and make us pull her gently. As she comes my way, she'll keep turning her head back toward the street she wanted to walk down. Finally, she'll give in, but then walk very slowly almost as if pouting. DH and I have both observed this behavior. We don't mind it, we know it's just her expressing her opinions. I don't remember reading about this behavior in any of the books, though. Does anybody know of a good dog book that discusses this kind of dog language? Is it a greyhound thing, or do all dogs do it?

 

So we've noticed in the first few days of having Ajax that he seems scatterbrained on walks. He "ranges" in a zigzag pattern, pulls a bit and often veers right in front of my knees so I have to stop suddenly. And yet, there are moments when he's fine and we can tell that he *IS* leash trained. I was jokingly calling him a ferret on a leash. Until last night.

 

We (Capri and Ajax and I) were walking down a street that was new to him. Up ahead at one point there was someone with a truck on the other side of the street and some noisy equipment like a saw or leaf blower. The closer we got to that, the more Ajax zigzagged and flipped around backwards. He was clearly getting more anxious, but at that point it didn't occur to me it was that noisy truck. I would stop to let him calm down and then try to go forward again. Each time I stopped, he would too, but turn himself around. He didn't pivot like Capri does, just turn like a non-leash-trained puppy. Finally we got as close as he was willing to go because I couldn't move him forward any more - he kept flipping sideways across my knees or turning around backwards. THAT was when the lightbulb popped for me - "oohhhhh, he's afraid of the noisy truck". Duh.

 

So I turned Capri around and we went back the way we came. Ajax pulling pretty hard on me in his anxiety to get out of there, and Capri hanging back so that I had to pull on HER. She didn't want to go back the way we came. That was a tough walk - he didn't want to go forward and she didn't want to go back!

 

Now that I understand him better, we can work with that. These are just observations. He's not quite a spook, but definitely anxious and easily startled by unexpected noises. I'm going to give him an additional short lunchtime walk all by himself to try to desensitize him to the burbs. We don't have a particularly busy neighborhood, but we do have the usual assortment of trucks and busses and yard equipment that he needs to be exposed to. ... without dragging his poor sister around by the neck!

[Guest fandogs]

Most racing GHs have never been exposed to or heard loud motors, fireworks,drilling machines, lawnmowers, etc.

Not surprising that he got anxious.

Take your time with him.. introducing him to things.. He was probably raised on a quiet GH farm, and (if he raced) was kenneled in a quiet kennel building, with only the sounds of other dogs, and human beings.

My younger dog is also a bit of a spook.. when I walk him, I always make sure I take my older girl with us.. she calms him down. (She is very worldly)LOL.

[jetcitywoman]

Yep, we'll be sure to be gentle with him and expose him to new things more slowly than we did with Capri. On one hand she was so great as a first dog that she taught us a lot. On the other hand, she spoiled us and now we have to work harder with Ajax and learn new things. (But really, is that so bad? I don't think so. Part of the joy of pet ownership is caring for them in all the ways they need care, right? I see them as almost a hobby!)

[dante2zoe]

Zoe basically does the same things that Capri does with regard to where she wants to walk. She has her favorite routes. If she feels that I am not paying enough attention to her desires when she has looked in the direction in which she wants to go and I don't agree, she will stop (and there is NO moving those 56 pounds of her) and turn in that direction and stare. If I succeed in making her go in the direction as the rest of us, she will lag and drag for a good 1/2 block to make sure that I understand that she is NOT pleased! I can usually shorten it by going back to her, rubbing her head and blaming it on the boys.

 

Goose has been with me for 1.5 years and is still very skittish about things in the neighborhood that aren't supposed to be there (in the house, too, like grocery bags). He will stop and stare at the object, but not cross some imaginary line that is 6-10 feet from whatever is freaking him out. If we can take a wide path around it, he will continue.

 

Gotta love the quirky ones!

[Guest buttonwillow]

Over the past year of loving Capri we learned to read her body language, specifically on walks. She's very subtle about expressing her opinion on where we should walk, but now that we can see it, her "language" is clear as a bell. If she has a mild opinion that she wants to go a particular direction, she will turn her head toward it. If she has a strong opinion, like during the winter snows that she didn't want to walk in, she will flip her whole body around to point where she wants to go. ...

 

We've also noticed that on ordinary days, if we decide to walk a different direction than she wants to go, she will pause and make us pull her gently. As she comes my way, she'll keep turning her head back toward the street she wanted to walk down. Finally, she'll give in, but then walk very slowly almost as if pouting.

 

I can't answer your question, but Josie does exactly the same things! She will also lean on me to guide me in the direction that she would like to go.

[Guest sheila]

when my dogs are on a leash they are expected to go where I want them to go with no pulling/balking/turning etc. Other than a few stops to check 'pee-mail' we keep moving. The only time they get to decide where to head is when they are at the dog park or in a fenced yard.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I mostly dictate the direction of our walks, but if we're on a laid back stroll, I see no harm in letting my dog follow whichever "fork" in the sidewalk at the park that he chooses. Often I find my dogs turn the same way as we usually do... boy are they creatures of habit! They tend to want to head towards the water. Swimming is about the only thing that's remotely pleasant in summer.

[jetcitywoman]

Yeah, I mostly dictate where we walk too. There's a nice bike trail (the W&OD trail for the locals) that passes through our neighborhood, and Capri LOVES to walk there. If she had her druthers we'd walk there every day. So when I decide not to, and pass where we'd turn to go to the trail, she keeps facing that street and then gets a little sulky afterwards. I don't know why it tickles me so much but it does. Now that I can see it, her nonverbal communication is clear as glass to me.

 

Oh, and we're seeing that she's taking an active part in teaching Ajax the house rules. Early this morning he wanted to get up earlier than us. We'd forgotten to put the baby gate across the bedroom door, so he walked out. She got up and walked out too, hubby heard a growl, and then they both came back into the bedroom and laid down. How in heck does she communicate so much with a growl!? Now that I'm seeing that stuff, too, I'm not scolding her for growling at him. I can see she has a purpose in it and it's not just aggression.

Edited August 11, 2010 by jetcitywoman

[Guest iconsmum]

Yeah, I mostly dictate where we walk too. There's a nice bike trail (the W&OD trail for the locals) that passes through our neighborhood, and Capri LOVES to walk there. If she had her druthers we'd walk there every day. So when I decide not to, and pass where we'd turn to go to the trail, she keeps facing that street and then gets a little sulky afterwards. I don't know why it tickles me so much but it does. Now that I can see it, her nonverbal communication is clear as glass to me.

 

Oh, and we're seeing that she's taking an active part in teaching Ajax the house rules. Early this morning he wanted to get up earlier than us. We'd forgotten to put the baby gate across the bedroom door, so he walked out. She got up and walked out too, hubby heard a growl, and then they both came back into the bedroom and laid down. How in heck does she communicate so much with a growl!? Now that I'm seeing that stuff, too, I'm not scolding her for growling at him. I can see she has a purpose in it and it's not just aggression.

 

 

 

With all due respect, it's often a very tempting thing to explain your dog's behavioue with the human equivalents. The chances of one dog actively teaching the other your house rules is just about zip.

Growling often, often has nothing to do with aggression. Disapproval in the dog world between dogs doesn't exist - it's too sophisticated, but it sure is human . Dogs don't sulk either, even though that's an easy (human) behaviour to apply to what you assume you're seeing.. You might enjoy reading Jean Donaldson's Culture Clash, or Stanley Coren's books, all of which are valuable in pointing out the differences between what we like to think is going on and what is more likely dog logic. \the huge benefit to understanding dogs is that it makes training logical and gentle and successful.

[silverfish]

Sid will often 'point' in the direction he wants to go, and in fact, all of my dogs have done this. It's a kind of polite way of asking, I guess, because they know they mustn't actually pull. If Sid 'asks' to go off the path for pee diversion, and it's appropriate to do so, I'll ask him to 'wait' before going that way, just to emphasise that it's my decision.

 

I've never had one actually flip and insist, though Renie would flip in the early days at buses, she would always settle and turn and continue, with a little reassurance.

[Guest kydie]

It took about a year to get my boy used to sounds around town,, and I pick the direction, but here are times, he wants to go a certain way,,,, as I am sure he wants to check out the "mail" that way,,,, if we haven't been that way for awhile,,,, so we go that way

[greyhoundgang]

I'll be doing a talk at Dewey Beach - Why Does My Hound do THAT? -

Saturday, 4 pm at Grotto Pizza where the Art Show is held.

 

I've done this talk before at Dewey, and at other Greyhound events around the country.

 

It's a fun Q&A session, where the hounds try to stump you with their behaviors, and you try to stump me with in describing these behaviors.

 

I have a booklet gleaned from the many questions at this talk, Why Does My Hound do THAT?

Cover design by Kent Roberts.

 

All proceeds help hounds.

 

Re new hounds and new noises etc. I've found they do better when they have a confident hound with them. On their own, their fears tend to overwhelm them even more. It's why I would never adopt a shy hound to a home without another confident dog residing there. The booklet - Shy Greyhounds Still Your Heart

[jetcitywoman]

Thank you Claudia, you have a very good ordering site. I just bought a bunch of stuff, some for me and some to auction at our BRGA picnic. Nice nice nice!