Dog language or dog body language?
One of the things people have asked me over the last little while is why I refer to dog language, and if it’s different than body language. So here’s the honest answer:
Eh.
To elaborate… dogs speak using a primarily visual language, with some vocal cues added occasionally. (“But my dog barks all the time,” I hear you cry. “There’s nothing occasional about it.” Compared to how much they’re saying when they’re not barking, trust me, it’s occasional even if your dog is a noisemaker.) It’s a bit like sign language in that it’s primarily visual.
Since dogs don’t have hands they can’t sign, but the tip of an ear combined with the slant of the head, the tension in the spine, and the level of the tail all combine to make a specific statement. It’s conscious communication, just like sign language, it’s just done with their bodies. So… yes, it’s body language.
Human body language isn’t conscious communication: it’s primarily unconscious communication. Yeah, yeah, it’s 80% of how much we communicate or something crazy like that, but it’s still unconscious. I don’t think about how I’ve crossed my legs or tilted my shoulders when I’m talking to someone (except on the rare occasions that I do). When I say “dog body language,” I feel like people default to assuming the same of dogs; that it’s unconscious.
But it’s different. It’s conscious communication, like the way we use words, or Sign.
So I’ve started saying dog language. I think it gets the point across better. Am I wrong? Chime in, and I’ll adapt things to improve my own conscious communication!
(Want to see minor blips and videos? Check out my Facebook, TikTok, and Youtube channels, all @TranslatingDogs
