Body Language Flashcards
What is an appeasement gesture?
Dogs display appeasement gestures when they are trying to express that they are uncomfortable, diffuse a situation or let someone know that they are not a threat. Examples of appeasement signals are lip licking, yawning, sniffing the ground, turning away their head or body, “smiling” with eyes narrowed, lifting up their front paw, reducing their body size, wagging the tail in a low position, lying down in front of the person or dog, licking the other dog’s mouth, slow movements, pinning back their ears, and crouching down or reducing their body size.
What is the difference between an appeasement gesture and displacement behavior?
Displacement behaviors are unintentional displays of the emotional conflict that an animal is experience, and are often be paired with other restless or indecisive types of body language.
Appeasement signals are used to communicate to another person or animal that they are trying uncomfortable or not a threat, and are usually more decisive movements.
What are displacement behaviors?
Displacement behaviors are behaviors that occur “out of context”, such as yawning when they are not tired, and usually indicates that an animal is emotionally conflicted. Examples of displacement behaviors include yawning, sneezing, lip licking, scratching/itching, and lifting their front paw.
