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<\/figure>\nQuiet requests for more distance<\/h2>\n
When a situation is uncomfortable, a dog usually tries first to soften it. He may turn his head away, avoid direct eye contact, slow down, crouch, lift a front paw, lick his lips, yawn, shake himself off, or start sniffing the ground as though he had suddenly found an extraordinarily important smell.<\/p>\n
These signals do not always mean great fear. Sometimes they say only: \u201cI need more time\u201d or \u201cPlease, do not come straight at me.\u201d<\/p>\n
If a person stops, turns side-on or allows the dog to withdraw, he no longer needs to speak more loudly. If the hand still reaches over his head, a child hugs him and the lead prevents him leaving, you may see freezing, a hard stare, growling, bared teeth or a sudden snap.<\/p>\n
So one of the most important lessons in body language is not the names of the signals. What matters more is learning to answer them.<\/p>\n
Freezing \u2014 the moment you must not miss<\/h2>\n
Barking looks dramatic. Freezing is almost unnoticeable. Yet a suddenly motionless body can be one of the most important warnings.<\/p>\n
A dog who was moving a second ago closes his mouth and freezes. His gaze hardens. His weight shifts forward or, on the contrary, he seems to shrink and prepare to retreat. That is not the moment to test \u201cwhether he would really bite\u201d by leaning in further, touching him or taking an object away.<\/p>\n
Stop the activity, increase the distance and consider the cause. If it happens repeatedly around food, toys, the bed, when the dog is touched or near children, you need a considered plan, not another attempt to prove that a person can do as they please.<\/p>\n
Growling is not disobedience<\/h2>\n
Growling can be frightening, especially when a dog growls at a family member. The natural reaction is to forbid the sound. But punishing the signal does not necessarily remove its cause.<\/p>\n
A dog can learn not to growl and still feel just as unsafe. Next time the intermediate warning will be shorter, or there will be none at all.<\/p>\n
A growl is information: too close, too fast, it hurts, I am afraid, I do not want to lose this object, I have nowhere left to go. That does not mean we leave the situation uncontrolled. You end it safely and start addressing the cause \u2014 sometimes with a vet, sometimes with a qualified behaviourist.<\/p>\n
The \u201cguilty look\u201d usually speaks about the present<\/h2>\n
You come home and find the bin tipped over. The dog lowers his head, turns away and quietly withdraws. It looks as though he understands exactly what he did.<\/p>\n
Often the dog is responding not to a moral decision taken an hour ago, but to what he sees now: your frozen body, your changed voice, your direct stare and his previous experience of such situations. He is trying to reduce the tension.<\/p>\n
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