What is my dog saying?

A wagging tail accompanied by a relaxed demeanor is often a sign that your dog wants to engage with you in some way - play, get pets, get food, etc. Some dogs will also bow down to you to try to initiate play. It's sometimes easier to tell what your dog is trying to communicate in context. For example, is it 7 o'clock and around dinner time? Maybe your dog coming over to you, poking you with his nose, barking or whining a little, and wagging his tail means "c'monnn get up. It's food time and I'm excited!" If he brings you a toy and wags his tail, he wants to play tug, fetch, or chase (aka "keep away"). If he hasn't been out for awhile and he sits by the door, tail wagging while making eye contact with you, he's asking to go outside. One of the cutest things our younger dog does is she will come up to us and "grumble" (it's like a short howl mixed with a growl), poke us with her nose or put her head on our laps, then back up while wagging her tail. This means she is desperate for some play time, which is just about always. :)

I always liked this cartoonish series that teaches about dog body language - http://stories.barkpost.com/dog-body-....

I hope this helps!

Dogs have many different kinds of barks to communicate with you. 1. Continuous rapid barking at a mid-range pitch: “Call the pack! There is a potential problem! Someone is coming into our territory!” 2. Barking in rapid strings with a few pauses at a mid-range pitch: “I suspect that there may be a problem or an intruder near our territory. I think that the leader of the pack should look into it.” 3. Prolonged or incessant barking, with moderate to long intervals between each utterance: “Is there anybody there? I’m lonely and need companionship.” 4. One or two sharp short barks at a mid-range pitch: “Hello there!” 5. Single sharp short bark at a lower mid-range pitch: “Stop that!” 6. Single sharp short bark at a higher mid-range: “What’s this?” or “Huh?” This is a startled or surprised sound. If it's repeated two or three times, its meaning changes to, “Come look at this!” to alert the pack to a new event. 7. Single yelp or very short high-pitched bark: “Ouch!” This is in response to a sudden, unexpected pain. 8. Series of yelps: “I’m hurting!” “I’m really scared” This is in response to severe fear and pain. 9. Stutter-bark at a mid-range pitch: If a dog’s bark were spelled “ruff,” the stutter-bark would be spelled “ar-ruff.” It means “Let’s play!” and is used to initiate playing behavior. 10. Rising bark – almost a yelp, though not quite that high: Used during a rough-and-tough tumble play time, it means “This is fun!”