Dog Behavior Explained 
Panting is first and foremost a cooling system. Dogs rely heavily on rapid breathing and evaporation from the respiratory tract to shed excess heat, so panting after exercise or on a warm day usually needs no emotional explanation.…
It’s breakfast time, and the bowl goes down the same way it always does. But this morning, the dog who has never once left food behind sniffs it, looks up at you, and walks away.…
One stressed dog may pace from room to room. Another pants even though the house is cool. A third begins drooling, turns their face away, or goes unexpectedly quiet.…
Your dog comes in from the rain, shakes his head twice, and carries on. Later, someone briefly handles his ears, he pulls away, gives one quick shake, and walks off.…
Excessive paw licking is surprisingly hard to sort out because physical and behavioral causes can overlap. A paw may itch, hurt, feel irritated, or have something caught between the toes.…
One trip across the living room doesn’t tell you much. Neither does a second. But by the sixth pass, a pattern has appeared: couch to doorway, doorway to window, window back to couch.…
Leash in hand, you open the back door, and your dog stops two feet short of the frame. Her ears swivel toward the fence line before she’ll even look at the yard.…
Your dog cruises happily around the block every morning, tail up, nose working overtime. Then you take her to a new trail and she plants her feet at the trailhead like the ground itself is suspicious.…
One second, your dog is moving normally toward a visitor. The person bends down, reaches toward his head, and the movement stops. His feet stay planted. His mouth closes.…
What exactly is your dog worried about when another dog appears? Is it the approach itself? How close the other dog gets? The speed of the greeting? A history of rough encounters?…