pam@cepu.UUCP (Pam McGarvey ) (06/07/85)
At a recent meeting of our local dog obedience club, the speaker (a UCLA professor of phonetics) had some interesting things to say about canine communication and I thought netlanders might enjoy a summary. Dogs communicate in several ways -- odors, body language, vocalizations. ODORS -- All that peeing is, of course, territory staking and establishment of pecking orders. Two dogs will try to establish dominance by going through a I-pee-you-pee-in-the-same-spot repetitive routine until dominance of one is established. (I recently observed my dog and a friend's drown a bed of lilies trying to determine dominance during a 45 min session.) BODY LANGUAGE -- Basically, up is dominant/agressive and down is submissive. We are all familiar with our dogs' signal for play time -- bowing with forelegs outstretched and posterior raised with wagging tail. The most dominant body stance is for one dog to place his chin on the other dog's back. If both tend to be dominant, the result will be a dispute. The two things I found most interesting were: A dog that is not used to other breed characteristics may have a hard time determining if a new dog who has a heavy coat, floppy ears and a tail that curls over the back is being aggressive. Natural stance may be confused as an agressive posture by an "uneducated" dog. So, it is a good idea to socialize dogs to other breeds so he can learn what is an agrressive stance for other breeds. When your dog meets a new dog that is unsure of whether to be aggressive or starts to growl/bark, our natural instinct is to pull back on the leash. However, this puts the dog in an up/aggressive stance which the new dog interprets as a prelude to an attack and an altercation usually follows. Rather than pulling up and back on the leash, you should have the dog sit or lie down, thus giving a non-aggressive signal to the new dog. VOCALIZATIONS -- Deep low tones indicate aggression/dominance and high pitched tones indicate submission or fear. A barking or growling dog can be either just plain aggressive or a fear- biter. Plain aggression is relatively easy to control but fear-biters are almost impossible to stop. The clue is in the dog's presentation of his head. Plain aggression will present with ears up and forward and the lips relatively forword. Ears forward mean aggression. Vocal tones can be modulated by the shape of the mouth. With the lips not fully drawn back at the corners, the tones are deep and low -- an aggressive sound. Fear-biters will present with ears back indicating fear/submission combined with the corners of the mouth drawn tightly back giving a high-pitched growl/bark. If you want to vocally stop a potentially aggressive dog or wish to emphasize a command to your dog, use a deep, low tone at loud volume rather than a high pitched tone. Pamela McGarvey UCLA Comprehensive Epilepsy Program