Canine Body Language

The Sweeper

Halfway between a thread and a rant, really.

I'm a keen student of animal body language - dogs and cats. I've read the studies, watched the videos, applied some of it on my own creatures and animals I meet and I'm quite amazed at how effectively it works.

I love to watch the effect of calming signals and other body language, and also to take a moment to try and understand what my pets are telling me. Now that I've started studying and researching it, I feel like an entire new world of communication has opened up to me.

That's the background - yesterday I had a vet around to the house to see two of my pets. One of the cats has an eosinophilic granuloma (rodent ulcer) on her top lip, and the dog has a spot on his muzzle that has remained unhealed for nearly seven weeks (but never grown or changed shape). The vet was over to see both animals.

This vet describes himself as an animal whisperer.

My dog is friendly but inadvertently poorly socialised. I got him at somewhere between 12-14 weeks and he had been completely unsocialised up to that point and kept in a car boot for some of that period. He also had quite a dose of ringworm and a parasitic load. I had to wait a solid month for the ringworm to clear, which meant that by the time he came for enrollment in puppy class he was actually about 19-20 weeks old, and they put me off to the older class, which didn't start for another month.

Upshot: dog totally undersocialised for his first six months.

So I do what I can and he does what he can, and generally we get on quite well. He loves to greet new people at the house, and does so excitedly. He's quite reactive to other dogs. He's quite well trained and his recall is good enough that I'll let him off-leash in an off-leash area and he'll come when he's called.

When the vet arrived yesterday, he didn't greet my dog. Gus sniffed at him intensively when he came in, arse waggling madly, but the vet didn't offer any reassurance to the dog - no 'good boy', no pats, no attempt to use the treats or the toys I offered him (or the toy the dog offered him either). He stood and allowed himself be sniffed (again, arse waggling madly, so not a scruff-standing-up, suspicious sniff, and the dog doesn't come in behind people or anything). So his first interaction with the dog was to try and pull him in by the head so he could examine the spot on his muzzle.

I scruffed the dog and held him and reassured him so the vet could examine his muzzle - I had him by the scruff and was using my other hand to pat his chest, so he didn't feel too crowded (I wouldn't hug him, for instance, to keep him still). He did pretty well. He was a little anxious, but wouldn't you be if someone you didn't know and who hadn't offered you any reassurance grabbed you by the head and held your mouth closed so they could peer into your face from a close angle?

The vet then suggested we take Gus outside so he could see the spot in direct sunlight. Out we went, and the second we were in the yard Gus took off, doing zoomies. Total stress release, I felt - he was shaking out the stress of the initial meeting. The vet appeared irritated by the dog being unruly, and took a step toward him and immediatley Gus bounced and barked at him. (It really, honestly, was not, in any way, an aggressive lunge.) At all times his tail was wagging and to me it was a 'play challenge' - the dog was saying 'Who are you? You're a stranger! Are you a friend? Will you play with me? Make your intentions clear! Do I need to be worried?'

I threw the ball twice for the dog just to do something normal for him and to reassure him that everything was okay. The vet was looking at me like I had two heads. Then I called and caught the dog and again the vet examined him in sunlight, and the dog sat and allowed this total stranger to hold his muzzle closed and squeeze and poke at the spot on his muzzle with great patience. When released he bounced off, shook again, and went to find a toy.

At this point the vet pronounced that Gus was a nervous, frightened and anxious dog.

At that point I felt that the vet was a moron, and 'animal whisperer'? My arse.

One place I was at fault - I don't collar Gus in the house so he had no collar on when the vet arrived. The vet complained loudly at one point that the dog had no collar he could hold him by. I couldn't help but wonder, if he usually behaves like this, giving no calming or reassurance to a dog and the dog behaves anxiously, what sort of result does he get when he grabs it by the collar?! Snapped at, on occasion, I'd reckon... (Gus understands that, when scruffed, he needs to behave. It doesn't hurt him and we're used to it, but it may look rough to a newcomer - I just didn't expect the vet to be like that... I was also holding the dog under control during examination so the vet didn't need to.)

So the upshot is: I have a poorly socialised dog who, at two years old, does the best he can. He has no resource guarding issues, can be run with other dogs (though the first encounter can be full on), lives with six cats without eating them, has never growled at anyone and is obedient in the house. He's extremely people driven, and with a bit of praise and an offered treat he'll be your shadow and do anything he's asked. He plays with my friend's four year old boy (under our watchful eyes at all times) and enjoys his company.

...and the vet has pissed me right off. (See? Rant.)

planetX

Your dog sounds a bit like mine, and he would've been freaked out by someone like that. I'm wondering how he got on with the cat - is he a cat whisperer too?;)

The Sweeper

If holding her up by the scruff of her neck to look at her without any support under her backside is whispering, then yeah, he was a fluent cat whisperer too. :-(

DBB

Dog whisperer?

Dog botherer, more like!

:-)

mymo

Unfortunately I have met one or two vets like that too, I just don't go back.
Once had a vet neuter a female cat and drop her unconscious on the door step, no box or anything, at 1am, just banged on the door and drove off:mad:

Thankfully my current vets are great, actually talk to the dogs almost like they are people. Brought two 5 week old kittens in thursday evening (that someone dropped in, cos I like animals and have cats I must want every waif and stray:rolleyes:), he tickled them talked to them had them purring, before he even examined them and wormed them.
Really wish there were more like them.

I have a very barky dog and one of the vets has called to the house, the first thing he did was offer him a treat and squat down to his level and talk to him, I apologized to him for the noise but he said it wasn't a fear response just excitement. I wish more people understood that, most just say give him a slap, including a girl who claims to love dogs and wants to be a behaviourist:(

Sweeper, do you have any links to vids or easy read books? My daughter often asks how I know what the dog "says", and she'd love something like that.

Cows Go µ

mymo wrote: »

Sweeper, do you have any links to vids or easy read books? My daughter often asks how I know what the dog "says", and she'd love something like that.

I would love that too. Mostly because I have a rescue dog who has gotten a lot better but there are times when I know he is trying to tell me something and I just don't know. Plus I find this subject completely fascinating

tk123

The Sweeper wrote: »

Gus bounced and barked at him. (It really, honestly, was not, in any way, an aggressive lunge.) At all times his tail was wagging and to me it was a 'play challenge' - the dog was saying 'Who are you? You're a stranger! Are you a friend? Will you play with me? Make your intentions clear! Do I need to be worried?'

My guy does this all the time too!! :rolleyes:

Anyhoos I know EXACTLY what you mean we've seen lots of different vets - some in our own practice, some in other places and they can be worlds apart. We went to one place as a referral case and the vets there were stressed out because all their students were off doing exams that day so they had to run the show themselves. My puppy was terrified and growled at them - they muzzled him, held him down on his side and shouted at him to stop growling They pretty much ruined my dog and made him suspicious and afraid of vets. On the flip side when we went to get a second opinion the vet there knew he was terrified so gave him some morphine to help calm him down. He spoke softly and quietly so as not to unsettle him and had me hold and reassure him as he was being examined - he wanted to build trust with him for when he'd be down with them for the operation.
Our own vet is fantastic - she tries to reassure him build a relationship with him rather than throw a muzzle on him and get the exam over as quickly as possible. Other vets in the practice aren't always as patient so we try to stick to one vet as much as possible.

nala2012

I've spoken to a vet who advised me to hit my dog any time she tried to eat poo. She told me her dog used to chase the post van so she gave the postman a stick and told him to hit the dog when he came near the van.

ToniTuddle

mymo wrote: »

Once had a vet neuter a female cat and drop her unconscious on the door step, no box or anything, at 1am, just banged on the door and drove off:mad:

tk123 wrote: »

held him down on his side and shouted at him to stop growling

nala2012 wrote: »

I've spoken to a vet who advised me to hit my dog any time she tried to eat poo. She told me her dog used to chase the post van so she gave the postman a stick and told him to hit the dog when he came near the van.

Dear God!! I'm gonna start tipping my vets extra as they are awesome compared to the incidents yous are talking about.

Mymo- That's feicin insane!!! Surely that vet was seriously breaking protocol when he dumped the cat back like that??

The Sweeper

Next time I'll be back to the previous vet who doesn't do home visits - she at least would wind him up into a waggling frenzy with high pitched 'ooozabootifulboy?' noises :-)

You forget sometimes how bedside manner can be as important as treatment.

Cherry Blossom

mymo wrote: »

Sweeper, do you have any links to vids or easy read books? My daughter often asks how I know what the dog "says", and she'd love something like that.

I have this one. It's a ruddy monster of a book though :eek: very simple to understand, but adult help will be required to understand very subtle signals. The main drawback is that all the pics are black and white and some of the action shots are fuzzy but obviously they had to use pics demonstrating the various things being communicated.

I'm seeing a lot more communication now that I have two dogs again. What strikes me most is how different the signals are between the two dogs/ with the cat/ with the ponies/ with family and with strangers. My terrier for some reason absolutely loves strangers and 'Hi, I'm friendly, ' signals increase an astonishing amount, strange women get more clear communication than family members, strange kids get more exaggeration again, and strange men get off the chart ears flat back on her head, adoring gaze, air pawing, full body wag treatment - embarrassingly so :rolleyes: