Wolves, the closest living relative of the domestic dog, barely bark at all. Researchers who study wolves generally describe barking as a relatively uncommon part of adult wolf communication.…
There is something unusually quiet about a dog placing his head on you. He walks over while you are sitting on the couch, lowers his chin across your thigh, and stops.…
A dog doesn’t have to touch you to choose you. He can settle on the floor beside your chair, leave several inches between his body and your feet, and stay there while better-padded beds sit unused across the room.…
The room is dark except for the blue-white glow of your phone. You’re halfway through reading something when a cold, damp nose presses into the back of your hand.…
Your dog did something today that made you stop and wonder. Maybe they followed you into the bathroom again. Then they started pacing for no obvious reason or dropped a toy at your feet for the fourth time in an hour.…
Your dog looks at you, glances toward the leash hanging by the door, then looks back. A moment later, he paws your leg.
Which part was the message?
The useful answer may be the whole sequence.…
A dog props his back against the couch, lets his hind legs slide forward, and sits with his torso upright. From across the room, the resemblance can be startling.…
You’re sitting on the couch when another dog starts walking toward you. Yours has been lying quietly at your side, but something changes as the distance closes. She lifts her head, gets up, and steps into the narrow space between you and the approaching dog.…
Here’s the experiment: put a dog in a room with a person. Have the person yawn several times. Then repeat the setup with similar mouth movements that aren’t yawns.…
Long before dogs slept on couches or waited by front doors, their wolf ancestors were already fluent in a language that had nothing to do with words. Posture did the talking.…