#officialcountdooku

if you spend any amount of time with your dog, especially just watching them and interacting with them (as most people do) then you probably understand your dog's communication fairly well? like, if you stand up, and then your dog starts to get excited and prances over to the door, you know that dog wants to go on a walk! if you're petting your dog, and then stop to message somebody on ur phone, and ur dog paws at you, know know that dog wants more petting! if your dog keeps running between you and the couch, or is sitting by the couch whining and using all of those evolutionary eyebrow muscles to give u the saddest eyes in the world u just KNOW there is something under that couch and that dog wants it so bad but lacks the thumbs and arm reach to grab it and get it out!

There are a LOT of really useful guides to understanding dog body language and getting better at communicating effectively back, or even just, using the information that the dog is giving u better, but i think all in all, most people understand their dogs fairly well?

the only area that i usually see people run into trouble is stuff where they have an assumption/expectation of the dog based on some idea of how dogs Should be acting—

for example, some dogs don't like petting that much! People who have these dogs, or encounter dogs like this, and try to pet the dog but find the dog keeps backing off, or, when that fails, starts growling at them, might think the dog is an asshole, or that the dog hates Them Specifically, but it could just be the dog just Doesn't Enjoy Petting! not everyones a cuddler

here's a video and description abt the idea of the consent test, something to use so that u actively ask and collect data abt whether or not ur dog enjoys being pet or not

if your dog pees inside or on something important of urs, they're not trying to spite u LMAO, this is the one that gets people the most bc thats something that's understandably really upsetting from a human perspective, but the relationship to the smell of urine is. wildly different for dogs then it is for humans, its not even always "marking ones territory" they can do it when they're excited, scared, when they just Rlly Gotta Go, for dogs the smells in the urine carry a lot of information too so it could also be seen depending on context as a dog saying "here! im not hiding anything! this is all my information!" or something similar.

another big misconception is that tiny dogs are vicious or evil shdghshghsg buddy if whenever i got upset somebody scooped me up and took away my bodily autonomy id be snarling at everything that moved too

but like, if you come at every dog honestly, trying to pay attention to the way theyre trying to communicate with you, or the way they react when you interact with them, you will understand what ur dog is saying really well

just like humans, body language is really individual specific. sure, we have overarching patterns of behavior (laughing when something is funny, crying when sad, smiling to be friendly) but we also have individuals who do not fit all the patterns (many people laugh in nervous situations, some people cry when happy, i forget to smile often, even when im in a good mood and with people i like)

i know of at least one dog who growls happily-when hes being pet he starts to rumble which scares people who don't know him, but for him that specific growl is more like a purr

if you really want to become like An Expert in ur specific dogs communication style, i would approach it like a field scientist. get urself a cheap little notebook and a pen, observe their behavior, and jot down notes, the more scientifically detached and observational, the better (because that makes it harder to bring in even Small Assumptions, which could hamper ur data collection)

but. i'll admit thats a huge pain in the ass. and can be a rlly unfun lense to view ur dog or ur relationship with ur dog thru if you dont like doing that kind of observational note jotting thing in the first place

really, i think if ur just spending a lot of time with ur dog, watching them and interacting with them, you will know ur dog better than anyone else

the blog i linked early is a spectacular resource i think for people trying to learn more about how to interact with and communicate w/ their specific dog as well

here's a follow up to the "consent/petting test" post about some dogs who like to be pet, some who dont, and some who have alternative preferences for touch (including a chihuahua who likes to be Gently, Gently Wiggled...) it also includes the very important reminder that ur dog might not like being touched at all, and if that's the case, that doesn't mean that your dog doesn't like u! some dogs just are Not cuddlers

here's a post about dog tail wagging, and how the dogs tail carriage doesnt necessarily tell you everything u need to know about how that dog is feeling and can, in some circumstances, even be misleading! it has a very good video too

heres a fantastic one about how "Smiling" dogs arent always happy