Photo/video Challenge

[corvus]

This is meant to be fun and enlightening. In the past I've found it a fascinating exercise to capture some subtle body language and see what other people see in it.

I would post one, but Photobucket isn't speaking to me. I'll see what I can find tomorrow.

[corvus]

Here's something I already had online:

I guess I would call it fear. This was late in Penny's life and she was quite sore and a little afraid of Kivi bumping into her.

ETA maybe not quite fear.

Edited July 21, 2009 by corvus

[Dogs4Fun]

The first sign I see / feel in my dog is a tightening of his feet so his nails extend slightly (I can hear a change in his footfall). No way I could get a meaningful image of this. But it sure lets me know when he is getting uncomfortable in a situation.

[Vickie]

I think it is almost impossible to accurately diagnose fear in an image.

Is this dog showing fear?

[Staranais]

That's an interesting challenge!

I think it's kind of hard too, since communication between a dog and handler is always so individual. Your dog might be clearly signalling to you that she's uncomfortable and I might not see anything, and vice versa with you and my dog, since we're so used to our own dog's particular communication nuances.

Will be interested to see what people come up with though. One of the subtle signs I used to miss and I now find blindingly obvious when watching videos on dog training is when a dog licks his lips because he's stressed.

[Kavik]

That is an amazing shot Vickie!

[laffi]

The first sign I see / feel in my dog is a tightening of his feet so his nails extend slightly (I can hear a change in his footfall). No way I could get a meaningful image of this. But it sure lets me know when he is getting uncomfortable in a situation.

I think you are talking about Kivi (the mostly black dog), whereas corvus is talking about her other dog (the one in the water) being fearful.

[~*Shell*~]

I agree it's very difficult to capture fear in a photo - I have quite a few of Zero in moments like the dog in Vickie's photo where the look on his face would suggest terror but it's taken while he's been playing with his duckie toy and spun around so fast that the photo has captured the whites of his eyes or when he's been out on the boat (which he loves) and the wind has pulled his face into a strange expression. Neither moment is while he's fearful but he certainly looks it in the photo.

I wouldn't call the look Penny is giving in that photo fear necessarily, but more wariness that Kivi is close to her - it could be the first sign of fear Penny gave though - individual dogs have different signs. He does have the potential to bump into her but having the ears down can be a sign of curiosity, or one of submission among other things.

Jude has that look quite a lot - she is by no means fearful of other dogs (quite the opposite infact) but when she's got another unknown dog near her who is bouncing around her, her first reaction is to be submissive. When she's around Zero, who is a naturally dominant dog, she will come bounding up to him and stop just short of him with her ears and tail down - she's not fearful of him (in fact, she wags her tail and tries to get to him whenever she sees him) and he's not about to attack her but she definitely shows him that he's in charge.

[Tatelina]

Is this dog showing fear?

Great photo!!

[haven]

[corvus]

I think it's kind of hard too, since communication between a dog and handler is always so individual. Your dog might be clearly signalling to you that she's uncomfortable and I might not see anything, and vice versa with you and my dog, since we're so used to our own dog's particular communication nuances.

That's exactly why it's fun! When my dog's afraid the last thing I'm going to do is reach for the camera, but sometimes I snap a really interesting photo with subtle communication in it. It's really enlightening to see how you would interpret a photo from knowing nothing about the situation or the dog, and how the owner would interpret it with far more information.

Nice photos, everyone.

[poodlefan]

Trisven's photo of Prince says "uncertainty" to me, perhaps with some fear.

[ILK]

Here's something I already had online:

I guess I would call it fear. This was late in Penny's life and she was quite sore and a little afraid of Kivi bumping into her.

ETA maybe not quite fear.

This is an interesting concept and will cause me to look at my pooch photo's in more detail.

Penny looks hesitant to me not so much fearful. She is looking directly at Kivi ears half down as if to say back off so I can come out of the water. This should bring up some great kodak moments.