How to Interpret Your Dog’s Facial Expressions and Behavior

Do you ever feel like you can read your dog’s mind based on a certain look they give you, or some subtle change in their body language? If you think it’s all in your head or that you really can read your dog’s mind, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that it's not all in your head; dogs really do communicate a ton of different emotions and messages through their body language. The bad news is that you’re not telepathic, no matter how much you and your pup are on the same wavelength.

Understanding your dog’s body language and paying close attention to the subtle clues they send is crucial to deepening your bond. It can also help you to know when to intervene before situations escalate to keep your dog, other dogs, and other people safe. Read on to learn more about how to understand your pup’s expressions.  

Navigating life
with a new pet? Head to littleKin!

littleKin™ is Kinship’s home just for puppy and kitten parents. Bop over to check out expert advice, new pet tools, and special deals—all curated for your newest family member.

Get Free Advice

Main takeaways

• Dogs have a large number of tools they use to communicate their emotions and desires through body language.

• It is important to interpret their expressions in the context of their overall posture and behavior as certain expressions can have multiple meanings.

• Keen observation of your dog’s body language can help you deepen your bond.

Dog facial expressions

Dogs are social animals, so it’s no wonder that they use their facial expressions to communicate lots of different feelings. And just like humans, the general expressions that we associate with certain feelings are not always cut and dry, but rather, need to be interpreted with the rest of their body language and in the context of the situation. I mean, how many times have you put on a fake smile when you’re cringing inside and your body is clearly tense? Keep in mind that one expression alone does not signify the whole mood, and sometimes there are overlaps between certain features. This includes:

Happy and relaxed expressions

For many dogs, a happy and relaxed expression will include a relaxed brow without any wrinkles or furrows, along with slow blinks or eyes that are partially closed or squinting. Some dogs may also have a relaxed, open mouth. Happy dogs may also pant depending on their level of activity or warmth, and their ears may be perked up at attention, especially if they are playing. 

Fearful or anxious looks

Dogs who are fearful may be reluctant to make eye contact and may stare at the floors or walls. They may also do something known as a whale eye, or side eye, where they look towards the object they fear from the side. Nervous dogs often lick their lips frequently or yawn, and their mouth may also be pulled back into a grimace. Anxious dogs also pant frequently and may have their ears pulled back.

Alert or curious facial features

When a dog is alert or curious, their facial expressions may resemble many traits of a happy and relaxed dog. In addition, they may also tilt their head to one side in an adorable, quizzical look. Their ears will likely be perked up on top of their head, in an alert posture but may be pulled back as well. 

Signs of aggression

Dogs who are escalating towards aggression often show many changes in their body language. Since aggression often escalates from fear, these dogs may start off by showing facial expressions consistent with fear or anxiety, especially the whale eye or side-eye. If they continue to feel threatened, this may escalate to additional signs including a hard, direct stare, stiff body posture, hair standing up and puffing out, ears pulled back, a lip curl, or showing teeth. These are all high alert warnings that a dog may become aggressive if the situation is not neutralized.

Related article

Your Dog Can Understand Your Facial Expressions, Study Says

And they love it when you smile.

What tail wagging means

A classic wagging tail is one of the most well-known signs of happiness in dogs, however, did you know that there are many different ways dogs wag their tail with different meanings? This is why it is so important to analyze your dog’s body language in the context of what else their body is doing and what’s going on.

A big clue to the meaning of your dog’s tail wag is its position. A happy, playful dog usually has their tail held at mid-level or lower with a slow, loose wag and overall wiggly body. A nervous or fearful dog will tend to tuck their tail tightly to their body or even between their legs, but the tip of their tail may still be wagging. A dog that is on high alert or acting aggressively will tend to hold their tail up high and have a stiff wave, like a flag. Playful dogs may also hold their tail up high over their body, so it is important to assess the rest of their body language to determine what’s going on.

Understanding dog behavior language

Body language incorporates all of the elements of your dog’s body in reaction to different situations. It is really important to look at the whole picture, not just one characteristic, to determine how your pup is feeling.

Sometimes, people miss signs of fear and aggression because they focus only on seeing a wagging tail and misread the rest of a dog’s body language. It’s important to look at their overall stance; are they stiff or loose and wiggly? Are they making any sounds like whimpers, growls, or barking? Are they approaching or retreating? What is their tail doing? All of these behaviors offer additional clues as to what a dog is trying to communicate. This includes:

• Play bows: You’ve likely seen dogs do this when they are trying to get another dog or person to play with them, or during a play session. One dog hunches down on their front legs while their hind legs, butt and tail wiggle in the air. This is known as a play bow and is a way that dogs invite others to play with them.  

• Stiff body: When a dog’s entire body seems to become stiff and rigid, that can be a sign of fear or impending aggression. If you see this, be on alert that you may need to intervene to remove your dog from a situation that is making them uncomfortable. Sometimes dogs will do this briefly during play, so be sure to look at all the signs in context to get the best read on the situation.

• Hard barking: This is a term for a style of barking that dogs use as a warning. It is a loud, deeper bark done when dogs are acting fearful or aggressive. They may accompany this hard barking with lunging, growling, or other signs of fear or aggression.

• High-pitched barking: Dogs tend to use a high-pitched bark to express frustration or during play. These barks sound very different from hard-barking and tend to be shorter in duration too. 

• Growling: Growls are warnings and most commonly signify fear or aggression. A dog who is growling and showing other body language consistent with fear or aggression is putting everyone on alert that they may escalate to more aggressive behaviors. In these situations, if you can safely redirect your dog or remove them from the situation, you can prevent things from escalating; however, you need to protect yourself as well and avoid putting yourself in a situation where you could be bitten.
  
  Dogs who are growling should not be punished; it is a valuable warning tool that gives pet parents a chance to take action before something bad happens. When dogs are punished for growling, they may stop giving that early warning and proceed straight to escalating to more aggressive behaviors. Of course, many dogs will also growl intermittently during play, so once again, you have to look at the big picture to determine if you need to intervene. 

How dogs communicate with humans

Dogs have co-evolved with humans over thousands of years and this has led to incredible interspecies communication. While some of this is likely inherited through the domestication process, a lot of it is learned and only flourishes when dogs are properly socialized around humans. For example, making direct eye contact is considered a sign of aggression between dogs, but humans tend to see eye contact as a form of connection. Dogs who are well-socialized to humans learn to associate eye contact with positive outcomes, but dogs who are not raised around humans do not naturally make direct eye contact. Dogs learn to read human behavior in many of the same ways that we must learn to read their behavior. They assess our overall body language, our facial expressions, the tone of our voice, and our words.

We can maximize our ability to communicate with our dogs by using clear and consistent training techniques that help our dogs learn specific cues. We can also help our dogs to communicate more clearly with us by reinforcing behaviors that do that. For example, teaching your dog to scratch at the door, ring a bell, or grab their leash when they need to pee or poop can help your dog communicate their needs to you.   

Related article

Why Do We Want Our Dogs to Talk So Badly?

Tools like speech buttons and translation apps reflect more about our desires for our pets than their desires for themselves.

Common myths about dog communication

It’s important to appreciate that dog communication is complex and nuanced, much like human communication. When we misunderstand a cue or make an assumption that doesn’t fit the situation, we risk missing the message altogether.

Myths about dog communication tend to oversimplify or generalize the rules about dog body language. For example, we now know not to assume a wagging tail is always a sign of a happy dog. We need to probe deeper to look at a dog’s tail position and other clues in their body language to know what kind of a wag they are doing. We also need to be cautious about anthropomorphizing animal behaviors, meaning that a dog’s behavior may not mean the same thing as if a human performed that same behavior. For example, when a dog humps a person, this is not a sexual act, but rather a sign of another intense emotion like excitement or anxiety.

Finally, beware of myths that associate certain behaviors or communication with dominance theories. While dogs do have social hierarchies and sometimes assert dominance over one another when competing for limited resources, this is almost never the explanation for what a dog is communicating to their humans. These myths often miss the message that is actually being conveyed, potentially leading to increased anxiety and frustration for the dog and damaging their trust in humans.   

The bottom line

• Dogs communicate many different messages through their facial expressions and body language.

• It is important to interpret their expressions in the context of what else is going on and to look at all of their body language together in order to accurately assess their emotions.

• Subtle changes in body language can provide a valuable opportunity for you to intervene before unwanted behaviors escalate.

References

• Albuquerque, N, et al. “Dogs functionally respond to and use emotional information from human expressions.” Evolutionary Human Sciences, vol. 5, no. e2, December 2022. 

• Albuquerque, N, et al. “Mouth-licking by dogs as a response to emotional stimuli.” Behavioural Processes, vol. 146, January 2018, pp. 42-45.

• Calder, Christine. “Fear and fear-related aggression in dogs.” Veterinary Partner. 3 November 2020.

• Catalan, A, et al. “Recognition of aggressive and anxious behaviors in canines by a group of Chilean veterinarians. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, vol. 38, August 2020, pp. 8-13.

• Walsh, Elizabeth Ann. “Human-dog communication: How body language and non-verbal cues are key to clarity in dog directed play, petting and hugging behaviour by humans.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science, vol. 272, March 2024.