Dogs do not use words but a lot of expressions and body gestures to indicate their mood. Among them we can highlight the signs of calm, important to know that your state of mind is calm and calm.
Index of contents
- 1 Appreciable signs in your head
- 2 Body calm signs
- 3 The language of the queue
- 4 The sounds
- 5 Dog’s dream
Appreciable signs in your head
We will begin this review of the dog’s body language by the head, which is usually the area in which we first look.
A calm dog will have its ears down, unless its ears are upright, in which case they will remain still, without focusing on looking for any direction.
He may look at us but he will blink and look down right away. His mouth will be closed, we will not see his teeth at any time and he will not make any sound (except if he is panting, obviously).
You may yawn and stick your tongue out, licking the air or your nose. If we are the ones who want to transmit calm to the dog, we should avoid looking him straight in the eye, since, for them, holding your gaze is a sign of threat.
We can approach a calm dog, always slowly. It is appropriate that we speak to him in a soft tone and approach slowly, showing his hand with the palm facing up.
We can lower ourselves to his height but, as we have said, without staring into his eyes. The caresses on the head, between the ears, are relaxing for the dog.
The chest area too, if we already have more confidence with the dog. Finally, a calm dog will sniff its surroundings.
Body calm signs
A calm dog will be still, probably sitting or even lying down. If you are very relaxed you will find yourself fully stretched out, with your front and rear legs extended, exposing part of your abdomen.
Some may even lie on the back so that they show us the entire belly and neck. This position will only be adopted by a dog when it is completely calm, in an environment where it feels very safe.
Perhaps that posture evokes their first weeks of life in which their mother had to lick their genital area to evacuate. Such a dog expresses calm and submission.
For this same reason, even if we find a dog so relaxed as to reveal all or part of its belly, if we do not have much confidence in it, it is quite likely that, as soon as it notices our hand in that area, it will rise.
On the contrary, our own dog in this calm posture will enjoy our gentle belly massage. If we caress the neck, specifically the place where the trachea is located, our dog will swallow saliva, like a reflex.
It is a trick that we can use when we have to give it a pill. When a dog is in this situation we can see that it sticks its tongue out, licking its nose. Although the dog shows us these signs of calm and we are petting it, we should not force it to adopt any posture, because it could react by getting up, uncomfortable.
Some dogs give the paw as a sign of calm. Walking towards us, bowing our heads and describing a C with our bodies, also tries to invite us to calm down. In this pose many dogs stick their tongues out to lick and others come to urinate as a sign of submission.
The language of the queue
A calm dog will drop its tail and in any case, if it is short, it will keep it still. Although it is believed that its movement is a good sign, it actually indicates that the dog is agitated and is feeling restless for some reason, therefore, it would not be a sign of calm, but it does not imply discomfort either.
An example is when we return home and our dog greets us with a wagging tail. He is not happy, yes to the expectation.
On the other hand, a still but erect tail, the body in tension, possibly with the hair on the back bristling, a fixed gaze and, sometimes, the lips folded so that the teeth are visible, are indicators of an upcoming attack.
The sounds
A calm dog will remain silent but it is also possible that it will make sounds like low audible growls, especially if we are petting it.
We will note that they do not imply discomfort or danger because the dog is going to maintain the calm signals that we have discussed, that is, a relaxed body, tail and drooping ears, etc.
A growl also indicates good disposition and nonchalance when issued by the dog during play. In these cases we will see that he raises his rump while keeping his front legs and head on the ground, jumps and plays.
All that body language indicates, for sure, that the dog is not angry.
Dog’s dream
Finally, it is very common that, with our dog asleep and, therefore, completely calm, we observe that he begins to move his paws, his eyes as if he had nervous tics, his ears, his tail and he even makes sounds like crying, barking or howling.
This situation lasts a few minutes and, although we may be alarmed, it is actually a normal phase of sleep in which muscle movements occur.
It should not be awakened and does not imply that the dog is not calm, on the contrary, it is in a deep sleep phase.