Stressed Dog?

[nawnim]

:) I love the way she looks !

Thanks, I think she is gorgeous of course.

When I first saw her I thought she was so ugly, but I went home and thought about it and went back for her the next day. I have never regretted it.

[Nekhbet]

I'm not really comfortable with the term "calming signal", either. Sometimes it looks like the dogs are deliberately using these signals, but I personally think it's rare. Which is not to say they don't serve that purpose in some contexts, but maybe more passively than actively. For example if the dog is experiencing some sense of conflict in that they don't quite know what they are going to need to do in response to another dog approaching them, that may come out in their behaviour and be interpreted by the other dog as tension and possible volatility and if that dog wants none of that, they may respond conservatively with more submission or signals of no threat. The first dog wasn't sending a specific signal to the second dog to please be calm, but instead basically wearing their internal state for interpretation by the second dog

I agree with you on that one, I too don't think it's a purposeful expression but a reactive outward expression of conflict, just like a dog going into confusion or pushed too far will start sniffing around etc.

As for the pug, she's a funny creature. I'm thinking part of her licking too comes from her weirdly trying to reach her nose to clean herself (she has a big skin fold above it as she was very overweight when we got her to the point of dragging her front feet until they were scabbed) and it seems to be when she first nestles in for a rest she licks OR when if shes eaten late she'll lick too for what she managed to cover her face in. I know if she's overdue for a bath she'll do it more then wipe her face all over her bath towel too. I find it annoying and if I remind her she's doing it she stops, it's almost like it's only when she's zoned out and not paying attention it comes out. Then when she's tired enough she stops and falls asleep.

[dandybrush]

my dogs notice my stress and that makes them stress. or it could be as simple as a plane going by overhead making her uncomfortable. listen/look at your surroundings also when she is showing these behaviours, it might have nothing to do with you sorry thats the best advice i have it is hard to understand what our pets are trying to tell us all the time :)

[nawnim]

I have also noticed that sometimes when my dog yawns without licking her lips she makes a noise (like an outloud sigh) at the end of it, and then settles down.

Is there a difference in dog yawns? Are some like human yawns expressing fatigue and are the lick lipping ones an expression of conflict?

[The Spotted Devil]

Try this one....with both my cats and dogs I give a big sigh when I want them to relax and snuggle with me. No science but I swear it works :)

ETA: they always follow my sigh with a big sigh of their own, then settle in. It's become a sign that I'm going to stay put for a while I suspect and is most effective when they are undecided. I repeat, NO science :laugh:

Edited July 4, 2013 by The Spotted Devil

[Wobbly]

I repeat, NO science :laugh:

Plenty of anecdotal evidence though, the science will probably catch up in time.

Remember also, that all stress is not neccessarily bad. There are good stressors too. I get a sort of yawn as an expression of pure delight - when she's been asleep and i come home the greeting waggles are accompanied by little yawns as she struggles to make the transition from deep sleep to deep delight.

I wouldn't worry too much about your own anxiety affecting your dogs, it probably does but you also have to take into account that it's you your dog is bonded too, and your dog would be unhappy anywhere else. Nothing in life is perfect for humans or dogs and so long as you look after your animal to the best of your ability and ensure that all his basic needs - health, food, water, exercise, affection, boundaries etc are in place he's doing well and his life is good. A bit of stress here and there is OK, it's a part of life for any living being.

It really is so context specific, so many expressions do double and triple duty. Ultimately the yawning probably stems from homeostatic behaviour of some sort (cooling the brain, extra oxygen intake - noone knows exactly), so I agree it's probably not a premeditated communication, but since it conveys information about the dogs physical and mental state (these being ultimately one and the same - mood is a function of neurobiology) it does communicate useful information.

Just as a reflection of the fact it's not neccessarily bad stress, here's a pic of Miss Jarrah yawning. She's yawning here because I am persisting in circling her with the camera, she's not sure what I am doing and she'd probably really rather i ceased this perplexing behaviour, hence the yawning. She's not undergoing any kind of distress here though, just mildly bothered. Stressis not neccessarily distress. Life is full of pressures, you can't shield your animal from everything, they need to have some ability to cope with not having their every whim and preference indulged at every minute of the day.

So here's Jarrah letting me know exactly what she thinks of my circling around her with the camera. She's not impressed, but it's not a distressed yawn by any stretch.