Dog Communication
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Your dog probably understands a lot of what you say, but have you ever wished your dog could talk back to you? You and your dog will never have a conversation in human language. However, scientists who study animal behavior tell us that dogs do use sounds, their faces, and their bodies to communicate with other dogs and with humans.
Researchers around the world, trying to separate fact from speculation, are finding that dogs almost always bark for a reason, even if that reason isn't apparent to humans. Each sound a dog makes means something different. Usually, a dog’s bark is like a burglar alarm. It means, “There’s a stranger around!” Snarling and growling mean that a dog is angry. Dogs also whimper or whine sometimes if they are unhappy or feeling sick. Some dogs howl when they hear a fire siren or someone practicing a trumpet or violin. When a dog howls, it is acting like a wolf. Wolves howl to one another to keep the wolf pack together. A howling dog probably thinks it is answering the call of its pack (Ryan, C-18). Like people, dogs use their faces to communicate. Their eyes, ears, and mouths can tell a lot about how they feel. If a dog looks you in the eye, it probably trusts you, but if it really stares at you hard, the dog might want to attack you. Ears held back mean that a dog is angry. Another way a dog shows anger is by showing its teeth. A dog that is staring at you, showing its teeth, growling or snarling, and holding its ears back is really angry. But dogs show happiness with their faces, too. They sometimes show they are happy and content by pulling their lips back and opening their mouths a little without showing their teeth. This expression is similar to a human smile (Morris, 68).
A cording to my survey about dogs, most Filipino tell what their dogs what to tell them by knowing a lot about how dog is feeling by its body. For example, if a dog’s tail is up, the dog is happy, but if the
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Your dog probably understands a lot of what you say, but have you ever wished your dog could talk back to you? You and your dog will never have a conversation in human language. However, scientists who study animal behavior tell us that dogs do use sounds, their faces, and their bodies to communicate with other dogs and with humans.
Researchers around the world, trying to separate fact from speculation, are finding that dogs almost always bark for a reason, even if that reason isn't apparent to humans. Each sound a dog makes means something different. Usually, a dog’s bark is like a burglar alarm. It means, “There’s a stranger around!” Snarling and growling mean that a dog is angry. Dogs also whimper or whine sometimes if they are unhappy or feeling sick. Some dogs howl when they hear a fire siren or someone practicing a trumpet or violin. When a dog howls, it is acting like a wolf. Wolves howl to one another to keep the wolf pack together. A howling dog probably thinks it is answering the call of its pack (Ryan, C-18). Like people, dogs use their faces to communicate. Their eyes, ears, and mouths can tell a lot about how they feel. If a dog looks you in the eye, it probably trusts you, but if it really stares at you hard, the dog might want to attack you. Ears held back mean that a dog is angry. Another way a dog shows anger is by showing its teeth. A dog that is staring at you, showing its teeth, growling or snarling, and holding its ears back is really angry. But dogs show happiness with their faces, too. They sometimes show they are happy and content by pulling their lips back and opening their mouths a little without showing their teeth. This expression is similar to a human smile (Morris, 68).
A cording to my survey about dogs, most Filipino tell what their dogs what to tell them by knowing a lot about how dog is feeling by its body. For example, if a dog’s tail is up, the dog is happy, but if the