Most avid pet owners or animal lovers know that all animals have their own communication system. Contrary to popular belief they use this technique not only to communicate with their own kind but also to communicate with humans. Whether its simple dog training, living a happy life with your dog or gauging first signs of an impending illness all of these things can be achieved if you learn to understand the subtle cues that your dog is to trying to give you.

Dogs only communicate by barking and wagging their tails, isn’t that what you think? Well not really they also use their ears, paws, mouth and eyes to communicate with you.

Here are a few body language cues that will tell you a lot about your dog’s emotions.

Friendliness: a friendly dog usually has a relaxed body posture, his ears are upraised, his eyes are open and he looks around intently. You will usually find him wagging his tail as he yelps or whines for attention. This may also mean that he wants to play with you. And if he really likes you and desperately want to play with you he will get down on his front legs and maintain a bent posture while wagging his tail.

Dominance: A dominating dog has a very taut body posture. He tends to stand upright with ears pointing upwards or towards the front. His eyes are wide and his tail point outwards tautly. This behavior may be accompanied by loud barking.

Worry: When you see a dog with raised neck hair and if he is barking and howling at the same time this means he is worried or senses danger.

Fear: A clear signal of fear is a tail that is turned inwards. This will also be followed by excessive barking and enlarged pupils. The dog also seems restless,

Submission: An excessively submissive dog will sit quietly with his eyes closed, ears pulled back and a raised paw.

Stress: You know that your dogs is stressed out if you see tell tale signs such as fast open mouthed breathing, ears pointing down and backwards, trembling, shoulders down, tail between its legs and a bent posture. If you see these signs you should know that your dog is in desperate need of reassurance.

Aggression: An aggressive dog has a very taut and rigid body stance, his ears are pointed upwards, tail pointed outwards and ruffled, raised neck hair and an open mouth. This behavior is usually accompanied by a menacing growl and finally the dog will also be bearing his fangs at you.

Watching for these signals will tell you what your dog is going through or feeling at a particular point in time. This information can be very helpful while training a dog. Spotting dominance at the right time will help you to put your dog back in line and avoid future episodes of aggression. If you feel that your dog is under too much stress while being trained its time to take a break. He needs all the reassurance and love that he can get from you at this point. So change your approach and start petting him and playing with him for a while. You can resume training later at a slower pace.

Observe your dog keenly in various circumstances you will notice so many different ways in which he expresses his emotions and state of mind all of these can help you to keep him happy and safe