OT Article Calming Signals - The Art of Survival

[Guest guest]

Calming Signals - The Art of Survival by Turid Rugaas

For species who live in packs it´s important to

be able to communicate with its own kind. Both in

order to cooperate when they hunt, to bring up

their offspring, and perhaps most importantly: to

live in peace with each other. Conflicts are

dangerous - they cause physical injuries and a

weakened pack, which is something that no pack

can afford - it will cause them to go extinct.

Dogs live in a world of sensory input: visual,

olfactory, auditory perceptions. They easily

perceive tiny details - a quick signal, a slight

change in another´s behavior, the expression in

our eyesÉ Pack animals are so perceptive to

signals that a horse can be trained to follow the

contraction in our pupils and a dog can be

trained to answer your whispering voice. There´s

no need to shout commands, to make the tone of

our voice deep and angry - what Pryor

refers to as swatting flies with a shovel.

The dogs have about 30 calming signals, perhaps

even more. Some of these signals are used by most

dogs, while other dogs have an incredibly rich

´vocabulary´. It varies from dog to dog.

The problem

Dogs use this communication system towards us

humans, simply because it´s the language they

know and think everyone understands.

By failing to see your dog using calming signals

on you, and perhaps even punish the dog for using

them, you risk causing serious harm to your dog.

Some may simply give up using the calming

signals, including with other dogs. Others may

get so desperate and frustrated that they get

aggressive, nervous or stressed out as a result.

Puppies and young dogs may actually go into a

state of shock.

Basic knowledge

Dad calls Prince and has learned in class that he

needs to sound strict and dominant so that Prince

will understand who is in charge. Prince finds

dad´s voice to be aggressive, and being a dog he

instantly give dad a calming signal in order to

make him stop being aggressive. Prince will

perhaps lick his own nose, yawn, turn away -

which will result in dad becoming angry for real,

because dad perceieves Prince as being

pig-headed, stubborn and disobedient. Prince is

punished for using his calming signals to calm

dad. This is a typical example of something that

happens on an everyday basis with many dog owners.

We need to learn to understand the language of

dogs so that we can understand what our dogs are

telling us. That is the secret of having a good

life together.

How the dog is using the calming signals

Yawning

The dog may yawn when someone bends over him,

when you sound angry, when there´s yelling and

quarreling in the family, when the dog is at the

vet´s office, when someone is walking directly at

the dog, when the dog is excited with happiness

and anticipation - for instance by the door when

you are about to go for a walk, when you ask the

dog to do something he doesn´t feel like doing,

when your training sessions are too long and the

dog gets tired, when you have said NO for doing

something you disapprove of, and in many other

situations.

Threatening signals (to walk straight at, reach

for the dog, bending over the dog, staring into

the dog´s eyes, fast movements, and so on) will

always cause the dog to use a calming signal.

There are about 30 different calming signals, so

even when many dogs will yawn, other dogs may use

another calming signal.

All dog knows all the signals. When one dog yawns

and turn his head to the side, the dog he is

´talking to´ may lick his nose and turn his back

- or do something completely different.

The signals are international and universal. All

dogs all over the worlds has the same language. A

dog from Japan would be understood by an elkhound

who lives in an isolated valley in Norway. They

will have no communication problems!

Licking

Licking is another signal that is used often.

Especially by black dogs, dogs with a lot of hair

around their faces, and others who´s facial

expressions for some reasons are more difficult

to see than those of dogs with lighter colors,

visible eyes and long noses. But anyone can use

licking, and all dogs understand it no matter how

quick it is. The quick little lick on the nose is

easier to see if you watch the dog from in front.

It´s best seen if you can find somewhere you can

sit in peace and quiet and observe. Once you have

learned to see the lick, you will also be able to

see it while walking the dog.

Sometimes it´s nothing more than a very quick

lick, the tip of the tongue is barely visible

outside the mouth, and only for a short second.

But other dogs see it, understand it and respond

to it. Any signal is always returned with a

signal.

Turning away/turning of the head

The dog can turn its head sligtly to one side,

turn the head completely over to the side, or

turn completely around so that the back and tail

is facing whoever the dog is calming. This is one

of the signals you may see most of the time in

dogs.

When someone is approaching your dog from in

front, he will turn away in one of these ways.

When you seem angry, aggressive or threatening,

you will also see one of these variations of the

signal. When you bend over a dog to stroke him,

he will turn his head away from you. When you

make your training sessions too long or too

difficult, he will turn his head away from you.

When the dog is taken by surprise or take someone

by surprise, he will turn away quickly. The same

happens when someone is staring or acting in a

threatening way.

In most cases, this signal will make the other

dog calm down. It´s a fantastic way in which to

solve conflicts, and it´s used a lot by all dogs,

whether they are puppies or adults, high or low

ranking, and so on. Allow your dog to use it!

Dogs are experts at solving and avoiding

conflicts - they know how to deal with conflicts.

Play bow

Going down with front legs in a bowing position

can be an invitation to play if the dog is moving

legs from side to side in a playful manner. Just

as often, the dog is standing still while bowing

and is using the signal to calm someone down.

These signals often have double meanings and may

be used in many different ways - often the

invitation to play is a calming signal by itself

because the dog is making a potentially dangerous

situation less tense and diverts with something

safe.

Recently, in a puppy class with a mix of puppies,

one of them was afraid of the others in the

beginning. The others left him alone and

respected his fear. In the end he would dare to

approach the others. When he did, he went into a

play bow as soon as one of the other dogs looked

at him. It was an obvious combination of slight

fear of the others, as well as wanting to take

part in the playing.

When two dogs approach each other too abruptly,

you will often see that they go into a play bow.

This is one of the signals that are easy to see,

especially because they remain standing in the

bow position for a few seconds so that you have

plenty of time to observe it.

Sniffing the ground

Sniffing the ground is a frequently used signal.

In groups of puppies you will see it a lot, and

also when you and your dog is out walking and

someone is coming towards you, in places where

there´s a lot going on, in noisy places or when

seeing objects that the dog isn´t sure of what is

and find intimidating.

Sniffing the ground may be anything from moving

the nose swiftly down toward the ground and back

up again - to sticking the nose to the ground and

sniff persistently for several minutes.

Is someone approaching you on the pavement? Take

a look at your dog. Did he drop the nose down

toward the ground, even slightly? Did he turn his

side to the one approaching and sniff the side of

the road?

Of course, dogs sniff a lot, also in order to

´read the paper´ and enjoy themselves. Dogs are

pre-programmed to use their noses and it´s their

favorite activity. However, sometimes it´s

calming - it depends on the situation. So pay

attention to when and in which situations the

sniffing occur!

Walking slowly

High speed will be seen as threatening to many

dogs, and they might want to go in to try and

stop the one who is running. This is partly a

hunting behavior and is triggered by the sight of

a running human or dog. If the one running is

coming straight at the dog, it involves a threat

and a defence mechanism sets in.

A dog who is insecure will move slowly. If you

wish to make a dog feel safer, then you can move

slower. When I see a dog react to me with a

calming signal, I immediately respond by moving

slower.

Is your dog coming very slowly when you call him?

If so, check the tone of your voice - do you

sound angry or strict? That may be enough for him

to want to calm you down by walking slowly. Have

you ever been angry with him when he came to you?

Then this may be why he doesn´t trust you.

Another reason to calm you may be if the dog is

always put on a leash when coming when called.

Take a look at your dog the next time you call

him. Does he give you any calming signals when

coming? If he moves slowly, you may need to do

something different in the way you act.

Freezing

" Freezing " - is what we call it when the dog is

stopping while standing completely still, sitting

or laying down and remain in that position. This

behavior is believed to have something to do with

hunting behavior - when the prey is running, the

dog attacks. Once the prey stops, the dog will

stop too. We can often see this when dogs are

chasing cats. This behavior, however, is used in

several different situations. When you get angry

and aggressive and appear threatening, the dog

will often freeze and not move in order to make

you be good again. Other times the dog may walk

slowly, freeze, and then move slowly again. Many

owners believe that they have very obedient dogs

who is sitting, lying down or standing completely

still. Perhaps they are actually using calming

signals? Very often a dog will stop and remain

calm when someone is approaching. If your dog

wants to stop or move slowly in a situation like

that, then let him. Also, should your dog be in a

conflict situation with a human or dog, and is

unable to escape, freezing may be one way to calm

the other dog or person.

Sitting down/lifting one paw

I have only rarely seen dogs lift their paw as a

calming signal, but on a few occasions it´s

clearly been used to calm another dog.

To sit down, or an even stronger signal, to sit

down with the back turned towards someone - for

instance the owner - has a very calming effect.

It´s often seen when one dog wants to calm

another dog who is approaching too quickly. Dogs

may sit down with their backs turned against the

owner when he or she sounds too strict or angry.

Walking in curve

This signal is frequently used as a calming

signal, and it is the main reason why dogs may

react so strongly towards meeting dogs when they

are forced to walk straight at someone.. Their

instincts tell them that it is wrong to approach

someone like that - the owner says differently.

The dog gets anxious and defensive. And we get a

dog who is barking and lunging at other dogs, and

eventually we have an aggressive dog.

Dogs, when given a chance, will walk in curves

around each other. That´s what they do when they

meet off leash and are free to do things their

own way. Allow your dog to do the same when he´s

with you.

Some dogs needs large curves, while others only

need to walk slightly curved. Allow the dog

decide what feels right and safe for him, then,

in time and if you want to, he can learn to pass

other dogs closer.

Let the dog walk in a curve around a meeting dog!

Don´t make him walk in a heel position while

you´re going straight forward - give him a chance

to walk in a curve past the meeting dog. If you

keep the leash loose and let the dog decide, you

will often see that the dog chooses to walk away

instead of getting hysterical.

For the same the reason, don´t walk directly

toward a dog, but walk up to it in a curve. The

more anxious or aggressive the dog is, the wider

you make the curve.

Other calming signals

By now you have learned about some of the more

common calming signals. There are around 30 of

them, and many have yet to be described. I will

mention a few more briefly so that you can make

further observations:

* " Smiling " , either by pulling the corners

of the mouth up and back, or by showing the teeth

as in a grin.

* Smacking the lips

* Wagging the tail - should a dog show

signs of anxiety, calming or anything that

clearly has little to do with happiness, the

wagging of the tail isn´t an expression of

happiness, but rather that the dog wants to calm

you.

* Urinating on himself - A dog who is

cowering and crawling toward his owner while

wetting himself and waving his tail, is showing

three clear signs of calming - and of fear. ·

Wanting to get up into your face and lick the

corners of your mouth.

* Making the face round and smooth with the

ears close to the head in order to act like a

puppy. (No one will harm a puppy, is what the dog

believes)

* Laying down with the belly against the

ground. This has nothing to do with submission -

submission is when the dog lays down with the

belly up. Laying down with the belly towards the

ground is a calming signal.

* ...an there are even more calming signals

that are used in combination with others. For

instance, a dog may urinate at the same time as

he is turning his back to something. This is a

clear sign of calming by for instance an annoying

adolescent dog.

Some dogs act like puppies, jumping around and

act silly, throwing sticks around, etc. if they

discover a fearful dog nearby. It´s supposed to

have, and does have, a calming effect.

Meeting situations

A meeting situation between two strange dogs will

almost never show signs of strong submission or

what people refer to as dominant behavior. A

meeting situation between two dogs will usually

be something like this:

King and Prince sees each other at 150 meters

range and are headed toward each other. They

start sending each other message the moment they

see each other. Prince stops and stands still

(´freezes´), and King is walking slowly while he

keeps glancing at the other dog through the

corner of his eye.

As King gets closer, Prince starts licking his

nose intensly, and he turns his side to King and

starts sniffing the ground too. Now King is so

close that he needs to be even more calming, so

he starts walking in a curve and away from Prince

- still slowly and now he is licking his nose

too. Prince sits down, and looks away by turning

his head far to one side.

By now the two dogs have ´read´ each other so

well that they know whether they wish to go over

and greet each other, or if this could get so

intense that it is best to stay away from each

other.

Never force dogs into meeting others

Allow the dogs to use their language in meeting

situations so that they feel safe. Sometimes they

will walk up to each other and get along, other

times they feel that it´s safer to stay at a

distance - after all, they have already read each

other´s signals, they do so even at a several

hundred meters distance - there´s no need to meet

face to face.

In Canada, dog trainers who attended my lecture,

came up with a new name of these calming signals:

´The Language of Peace " . That´s exactly what it

is. It´s a language which is there to make sure

that dogs have a way to avoid and solve conflicts

and live together in a peaceful manner. And the

dogs are experts at it.

Start observing and you will see for yourself.

Most likely, you will get a much better

relationship with your dog and other dogs, too,

once you are beginning to realize what the dog is

really telling you. It´s likely that you will

understand things you earlier were unable to

figure out. It is incredibly exciting, as well as

educational.

Welcome to the world of the dog, and to knowledge of a whole new language!