Yawning usually feels easy to explain. Your dog curls up after a long afternoon, blinks slowly, stretches his jaw wide, and yawns. He’s tired. Nothing mysterious there.
Then you check into a hotel after a quiet drive.…
A tucked tail means a scared dog. That’s one of the first pieces of canine body language most people learn, and plenty of the time it works. A stranger reaches toward your dog too quickly, his body drops, and the tail disappears between his legs.…
Watch the same dog at two points in one day. At breakfast, the kibble scoop comes out and his tongue slips across his lips before the bowl even reaches the floor.…
You find your dog in the bedroom closet with her back against a row of shoes and her nose pointed toward the doorway. Down the hall, the family gathering is still going strong.…
When a dog’s body senses danger, it stops treating digestion as a priority. Blood shifts toward muscles that might need to run or fight, saliva production changes, and the digestive tract slows down.…
Your dog is perfectly happy in the basement as long as you’re there. She comes down behind you, circles twice on the rug, and drops with a sigh near the sofa.…
Why would a dog deliberately put his face somewhere he can see less?
He may press his nose into your side during a crowded gathering, bury his face against a blanket on the couch, tuck his muzzle between his paws, or wedge his head against the edge of a cushion.…
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.…
From a dog’s point of view, the space under a bed has a surprisingly specific set of features. The ceiling is low. Three sides may be partly blocked by walls, boxes, or furniture.…
The rain hasn’t started yet. Thunder is still somewhere in the distance, and from inside the house, the afternoon seems merely dark. Your dog has already left the living room.…