The Body Language of Dogs

  Repeated punishments, however, are a blatant advertisement of a trainer's incompetence.

nice article anne. I love this statement, so very true.

oh, she's saying "more attention please" and the submissive looks are probably about feeling insecure about the direct contact- trying to avoid triggering any aggression from you (not saying she has ever experienced any!), calming signals.

I'll buy the licking=submission/attention seeking from the boss thing in most cases, but my dog seems a little different. He's not much of a licker except in the mornings while I'm getting ready for work. He usually lays on my feet while I'm putting on makeup/brushing teeth, etc. He always starts out by licking his own feet all over. Then he moves to his legs. If I'm there long enough for him to finish licking all over his legs, he starts on my feet. He's very careful to lick between my toes & every once in a while does this weird nibbly thing where he puts just the front of his teeth against my skin & nibbles. He never nips me, but I've seen him to the same thing to himself. Does he think he's grooming me or do you think it's a comment on my personal hygiene (lol)?

 Also, when he gets in a cuddling mood, he pressed the very top of his head against my leg so he's kind of looking down. We've only had one other dog who's done this in the past, but I assume it's fairly normal. Is that just attention seeking/deference?

 Man, this is a great topic!

FourIsCompany

It's agonistic.  It basically means the dog bares its front teeth.

Janet808

I always thought Misty was smiling at me!  LOL 

Some dogs do "smile".  Greyhounds are famous for it:

FourIsCompany

But are they licking you as a show of affection (a kiss) or as a display of submission?

See, I've always read that licking was a display of submission, but Sally will sometimes lick Jack, and she most definitely feels that she is above him.  Does anyone have any insight on that?

Christina, I see our dogs sometimes lick one another, too. Penny will lick and nuzzle Jill, but only during play. Jill generally outranks Penny, but will lick Penny's face if she's trying to get Penny to play. I've also seen them lick and nuzzle when one of them is acting like something is seriously wrong, like if one of them is yelping. I've seen Jill nuzzle Penny when Penny yelped, and Pyry, our top dog, also came over to check everything out and give her a nuzzle. Similarly, I've had Penny lick and nuzzle me when I sound hurt or smell sick, and also just when she hasn't seen me in a long while. So I think licking can also be a signal of affection/regard. Perhaps it's almost like the human equivalent of putting a hand on a friend in a caring or nurturing gesture, if dogs are capable of those feelings.

sillysally

See, I've always read that licking was a display of submission, but Sally will sometimes lick Jack, and she most definitely feels that she is above him.  Does anyone have any insight on that?

Well, we'll never *truly* know, but if we wish to make educated guesses based on our experiences, I would definitely call that a sign of affection. Whether it's a grooming behaviour specifically, or just random licks, both would be considered affectionate in the books of any other species. ;-)  If I saw that in people, in gorillas, in parrots, or even mice, it is considered affection, it's never looked at as submission of one to another. So why not in dogs? Sometimes we have to look at the greater picture, the entirety of mammals, to gain better understandings of the animals in front of us. And sometimes (often) that is not what you see written in books.

TexasDaisy

He's very careful to lick between my toes & every once in a while does this weird nibbly thing where he puts just the front of his teeth against my skin & nibbles. He never nips me, but I've seen him to the same thing to himself. Does he think he's grooming me or do you think it's a comment on my personal

He's grooming you and it's a sign of affection, in my opinion.

I think one of the hardest things when interpreting body language is avoiding the tendancy to over-generalize. I'd always read/heard that lip-licking is a calming signal. But Lucy also licks her lips when she is especially happy. Like last night when she was all cuddled next to me I was petting her. She rolled over for tummy rubs and then was licking her lips and occasionally groaning. Definitely not under any stress! It reminded me of when babies smack their lips in their sleep like they're nursing.

It seems to me that Sally will use calming signals when she ios very excited about something that it going to happen--going for a car ride, etc.

Interestingly enough, I don't see Jack use them very much... 

jenhuedepohl

Definitely not under any stress!

Calming signals aren't only used during times of stress. It's something to keep in mind, and why I think the term "calming signal" might be a bit of a misnomer. Calming signals are a form of communication dogs use all the time, not only to calm themselves and others, but to prevent disagreements as well, and simply to communicate. They can simply say "see, I'm not going to cause any problems here!"

Most important is indeed the context of the signal, and in relation to other signals the dog is sending. If my dog yawns just after it wakes up, chances are it's not a calming signal - it's a yawn. If a dog is laying down, just having dug up a bed, and yawns, again it's likely just a yawn. If my dog is in public though, confronted with strangers, she might let out a yawn. This is not just a yawn, this is a calming signal and communication. And often with experience you can learn to tell the difference between what different contexts of the same behaviour mean.

So I would agree that your pup wasn't any stress at all, given the context of the situation. In that case, the lip licking was likely simply communication "I'm not threatening you" or even "I don't find this threatening at all", or even "Oh boy, yeah....a little to the left....wait.....up a little.....oh yeah right THERE, that's the spot". *G*

Great topic!  I am always trying to figure out what Wesley is telling me! 

I think the toughest part is learning about the different things dogs do while remembering not to over-generalize...

Yawning is a great example as is the "smile" - while these things may both indicate stress under certain circumstances, but, usually when I see these behaviors from Wesley he is not stressed.  Many times Wesley will yawn as just a yawn, or in what appears to me to be excitement, or trying to contain himself (he does it pretty often when we go for rides, which he LOVES).  The only times he gives a pretty closed mouth "smile" is when he rolls over for belly rubs - this is pretty new for him, he did not used to flip over completely - he would give his side and maybe lift a leg so you could get to his belly, but he would not totally splay himself out.  Now he will - and is is always accompanied by a relatively closed mouth that is completely pulled back, like a smile.  I don't think this is stress, I think he is totally comfortable and thrilled with the tummy rubs...

I do notice that he does some lip licking when he is unsure, for example, sometimes when I approach him and lean over him to pet him (which I do with plenty of reward as part of our effort to desensitize him to this type of handling by people).  I think this is a low level indicator of stress or uncertainty - he is not cowering or behaving aggressively, he is just not sure he is comfortable (a much improved reaction than what we used to get)...  This is accompanied by eyes darting quickly away and then back again, and is, to my understanding, a manifestation of submissive uncertainty/discomfort (which we are trying to work through and replace with excitement/contentment with being approached and petted by his people).  On the other hand, lip licking can be in anticipation of, or right after eating - then I see it as more of a lip-smacking "ooooh yummy" type of behavior, having nothing to do with stress or uncertainty.

I am not sure what I think about licking, Wes only licks if DH or I have something tasty on us that he wants...  Although, reading the posts on licking as grooming makes me think that might also happen on occasion (Wesley will sometimes go from licking his own paws to licking my feet).  He does not give kisses as affection or lick in greeting - I think this is because he was likely kennel bound as a puppy, with very little, if any, human interaction or socialization (he was not our until he was 9 months old)... 

I am re-reading Suzanne Clothiers "...Bones Would Rain from the Sky" and am really trying to do what she says when she talks about hearing what our dogs are telling us, in order to work WITH them to achieve the kind of relationship we want to have with them.

Luna grooms herself a lot, far more than Rosco and Lexi. She also grooms Rosco and Lexi with licks and little nibbles. I have always attributed that to the fact that she was raised in a healthy home with her breeder and other well socialized dogs, whereas Rosco and Lexi are both rescues who were bounced around a lot as small puppies with poor socialization.

Does that sound right? 

Pit_Pointer_Aussie

Luna grooms herself a lot, far more than Rosco and Lexi. She also grooms Rosco and Lexi with licks and little nibbles. I have always attributed that to the fact that she was raised in a healthy home with her breeder and other well socialized dogs, whereas Rosco and Lexi are both rescues who were bounced around a lot as small puppies with poor socialization.

Does that sound right? 

That's interesting, because Sally (rescued at a year, was not properly socialized and most likely an outside dog) is the one that grooms herself a lot and will sometimes groom Jack, and Jack rarely grooms Sally and only sometimes grooms himself, and he's been heavily socialized and with us since 10 weeks...