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Behavioral Medicine > Canine Communication & Body Language > Flashcards

Canine Communication & Body Language Flashcards

1
Q

What is the definition of:

Dominant Animal

A

Higher status. Exercising influence or control over another.

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2
Q

What is the definition of:

To Dominate

A

To control by superior authority.

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3
Q

What is the definition of:

Subordinate

A

Belonging to a lower rank.

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4
Q

What is the definition of:

Submission

A

Yielding to the authority of another.

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5
Q

What is the definition of:

Hierarchy

A
  • Group organized according to rank.

- Used to keep order within the group.

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6
Q

What are the “Determinants of Dominance”?

A
  1. Size: bigger dog has higher status.
  2. Breed Temperament
  3. Individual Personality
  4. Sex: males have higher status.
  5. Territory: one in a home has more territory. New pet.
  6. Age: at social maturity, may try to move up in status. Very young and very old usually have less status.
  7. Health Status: healthy dog has higher status than a chronically ill dog.
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7
Q

Why do you need to know how to read dog communication signals?

A
  • To evaluate dogs motivation.
  • To communicate effectively.
  • To avoid misinterpretations.
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8
Q

What are the types of communication singles?

A
  • Visual: body language, distance, marking.
  • Olfactory
  • Auditory
  • Tactile
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9
Q

What do you read when looking at body language?

A
  • Body posture.
  • Ear position.
  • Tail position.
  • Facial expressions (mouth, muzzle, forehead, eyes, whiskers)
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10
Q

What indicates submissive / fearful body posture?

A
  • Roll over.
  • Crouched body.
  • Turn away from fearful thing.
  • Trembling
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11
Q

What indicates dominant / confident body posture?

A
  • Weight shifted forward.
  • Standing tail.
  • Body position in relation to others.
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12
Q

What indicates ambivalent body posture?

A
  • Signals conflict.

- Read the biting end.

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13
Q

What indicates arousal in body posture?

A
  • Piloerection.
  • Dilated pupils.
  • Wagging tail.
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14
Q

What does a raised paw indicate?

A
  • Play
  • Appease
  • Fear
  • Pointing
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15
Q

What does mounting indicate?

A
  • Play
  • Dominance
  • Sex
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16
Q

What does a play bow indicate?

A
  • Solicits play

- Implies everything after is in context of play.

17
Q

What ear position indicates submissive / fearful?

A
  • Flattened

- Back

18
Q

What ear position indicates dominant / confident?

A
  • Upright

- Forward

19
Q

What tail position indicates submissive / fearful?

A
  • Lowered tail

- Between legs

20
Q

What tail position indicates dominant / confident?

A
  • Vertical

- Over the back

21
Q

What tail position indicates neutral?

A

Different for each dog.

22
Q

What facial expression indicate submissive / fearful?

A
  • Muzzle smooth
  • Forehead flat
  • Eyes narrow
  • Whiskers folded back
  • Whale eye
  • Averts gaze
  • Eyes small
  • Darting
  • Licking lips
  • Horizontal grin
23
Q

What facial expression indicates dominant / confident?

A
  • Vertical lip retraction
  • Muzzle wrinkled
  • Eyes staring
  • Eyes big
  • Whiskers forward
24
Q

What facial expression indicates neutral?

A
  • Eyes soft
  • Mouth relaxed
  • Muzzle smooth
25
Q

What is a displacement behavior?

A

A normal behavior shown out of context.

26
Q

What are some displacement behaviors?

A
  • Yawning
  • Grooming
  • Sniffing
27
Q

What are the different distances?

A
  • Personal space
  • Flight distance
  • Withdrawal distance
28
Q

What is personal space distance?

A

Space immediately surrounding dog.
-If entered, and dog is comfortable:
~submissive body language

-If entered, and dog is uncomfortable:
~try to move away
~aggression

29
Q

What is flight distance?

A

Distance at which escape behavior occurs.

30
Q

What is withdrawal distance?

A

Distance the dog runs away (how far).

31
Q

Why do dogs mark?

A

Signals sent to someone else, ie: another dog.

32
Q

What are visual signals of marking?

A
  • Scratch ground

- Urine marks

33
Q

What are olfactory signals?

A 
Scent marking.
-Signals intolerance or dominance to another.
-Territory, anxiety.
-Stimuli to mark.
   ~familiar and conspicuous objects
   ~novel objects
34
Q

Why do dogs scent mark with urine?

A
  • Cover previous marks.

- More common in males.

35
Q

Do dogs scent mark with feces, how?

A
  • Uncommon

- Handstand position

36
Q

How do dogs scent mark with scent rubbing?

A
  • Roll on bad smelling substance.

- Rub head and neck on vertical objects.

37
Q

What are pheromones and what are they used for?

A

Chemical substances excreted or secreted. Used for intraspecies communication.

  • found in urine: advertise territory, rank, gender.
  • nursing mothers to calm puppies.

Behavioral Medicine (8 decks)

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