You’ve just gotten home after a brutal day at work. The headache from your busy schedule would love nothing more than to be relieved by a warm welcome from your family. As soon as you open the door, you hear the high-pitched voice of your wife scolding your ten-year-old son, while his little sister is sobbing because he broke one of her new dolls.
The television is loud and your Mother-in-law is chatting on the phone…
So who is the loving one that meets you at the door?
Sammy, your three-year old mongrel dog, does. He’s wagging and wiggling from head to tail. He dances, then jumps into your arms, and, if you allow him, he licks your face. Obviously, he’s glad to see you. Your dog has expressed himself in the language that he knows you understand.
Your dog, like pet dogs all over the world, uses body language and a variety of vocal sounds to communicate with you. The dog possesses an incredible ability to communicate.Your dog talks to tell you how sad he is when he’s scolded. He shouts his distress when a stranger or something foreign approaches, and he talks to you about how happy he is to be near you and share your companionship. Your dog talks best with his tail. When you accidentally step on your pet or upbraid him, he will tuck his tail between his legs and cower down. This shows his submission. By tucking the tail, the dog is hiding his scent and thus hiding himself. This language goes back to the ancient wild dog when submissiveness and dominance were integral parts in pack dynamics. Your pet’s ancestors signaled his subservience to the dominant dog by dropping that tail. Today, the domesticated dog is saying, “I feel terrible about what happened.”
In contrast to the submissive tail movement, there is that happy, excited tail-wagging that states how much your dog wants to please you. The following story is such an example of this need to please. Max, a Collie, did his doggy best to please his young owner while she prepared for her wedding. Max had watched as Angelica opened her wedding gifts the week before the ceremony. One afternoon, the Collie decided to provide his own gift for Angelica…
He yanked a brocade pillow from a neighbor’s clothesline and brought it home. After placing the pillow at Angelica’s feet, he wagged his tail in sheer joy. He thought he was pleasing his owner and sharing her prenuptial pleasures. As you might be able to deduce from this heartwarming example of one Collie’s desire to communicate pleasure, dogs are much more intelligent than we give them credit for. This is especially true in the communication department.
