Utah Animal Adoption Center

Reading Dog Behavior Week 3 (Feb 10th) 

This week I am going to focus on calming signals.  Calming signals are signs that your dog demonstrates when he starting to get stressed and is wanting to calm himself down.  If you see many calming signals then you know that your dog is pretty stressed.  Remember that any dog that is extremely stressed can bit or fight.

These signs can be shown during play and also during training sessions.  If you see them during a training session it is best to end the training the session on a positive note.  Some of these signals can mean different things in other contexts.

Here is a list of calming signals:

• Eye Blinking
• Freezing
• Slow Movement
• Lip Licking
• Backing Away
• Yawning
• Sneezing
• Stretching
• Shaking
• Sniffing
• Paw Lifting
• Scratching as if for no reason

Have fun watching your dog and seeing these signals this week! calmin