By Amber Jackson, Preston’s trainer
What are calming signals? Calming signals are a way that dogs communicate with each other through their body language. They offer the signals as a way to let the other dog know “I’m okay, Your okay I am not a threat” etc. If you have a better understanding of these signals then you will have a better insight into how your dog is thinking and feeling. The difficult part is beginning to recognize the signals in your pet. I will be covering a few of the most common facial calming signals here that your dog or other dogs may offer. Dogs assume that we know what a calming signal is so they will offer them to us in times of stress. They think that they are being quite obvious about these cues. Often this is the reason that adults and children alike are bitten by a dog, even a familiar one when its seems unprovoked. However if you are not specifically looking for these signals you probably have never noticed them or assumed they meant something completely different. Some great examples of the facial calming signals you can offer are yawning, soft and slow eye blinks, looking away, sighing, and lip licking. When I meet dogs for the first time especially if they seem a bit nervous I will make sure to offer these signals to the dog. He doesn’t know if I am a threat or not and that is what I am communicating to him. By yawning, looking away from him or licking my lips I am letting him know that I am not a threat to him and that everything is okay. When you are in a situation where you want you dog more relaxed try offering him a calming signal instead of telling him it is okay when he is nervous or scared. This is a great way to let him know in his own language that you are not nervous or stressed so he shouldn’t be either. Never get in a dogs face to offer these signals as this can seen as a threat to the dog. When he does offer you a signal you can always offer on back. Please do not pester your dog into offering these either as it is a good way to cause even more stress to them. These are a few of the facial calming signals that many dogs offer. Watch your dog communicating with a group of dogs or your family and see if you can pin point the ones mentioned and maybe a few others!
