Body Language Interpretation
The highest form of communication an owner can have with their dog is through the use of body languaging. In fact, we unknowingly communicate with our dogs using our own body language, and we do it all the time just like they do. Most people are unaware that every movement of our body means something to our dog. Dogs read and interpret us just like we do them. The only difference is that they are naturally much better at it than are we!
When an individual is able to communicate back and forth with their dog silently using body language we usually call this "dog whispering." This seems to be a mysterious art but don't worry, it is firmly based in science. With the help of a professional with a trained eye you can learn to reach this state with your dog. This intercommunication begins to look more like a dance between well coordinated partners. This state of understanding is achieved using a series of "mind games" between dog and handler.
There is a chess game of moves and counter-moves that occur. The owner can either win or lose depending on the owner's skill. Often times an unskilled owner will unknowingly lose these chess games many times in a row, thus proving to the dog that the owner has no control and is not paying attention. Every movement of a dog's body communicates something. The position of their ears and tail, the direction in which they look, where they stand or lay, whether their mouth is open or closed, the angle of the fur on their neck, their breathing and heart rate, whether their head is looking up or down, their energy level, what they chew on, where they go to the bathroom. These are just some of the patterns that dogs use to communicate with us.
All of these actions combine to create a behavioral picture. This picture transcends the breed or sex of a dog. We refer to this picture as your dog's "behavior characteristics." Your dog's characteristics are determined by two primary factors – genetics and environment. It's impossible to determine which plays a larger role but MK-9 generally believes that genetics accounts for about 20% and environmental conditioning accounts for about 80%.