http://blog.smartanimaltraining.

com/2014/06/02/is-your-body-language-helping-or-confusing-your-animal/
Is your body language helping or confusing your animal?
Posted on June 2, 2014 by Jennifer Cattet Ph.D.

Humans and their pets understand one another on many basic levels. We can even extend this statement
and recognize that we are capable of a certain level of interpretation of the intentions of wild species. We can
identify most expressions of joy, fear or anger in others, which from an evolutionary standpoint has
contributed to keeping us alive when we crossed path with other beings. If we can read their intentions, we
can better chose what to do to stay safe. As pet owners, we quickly respond when our dog sits and whines in
front of the door. As animal trainers we also learn to pay attention to factors that will affect our animals
behavior. In training however, our ability to empathize and relate with others, is often overshadowed by our
desire to achieve our goal. Through applied behavior analysis, weve become very good at using a series of
tools to effectively train or influence specific behaviors. We focus on what the dog does or does not do. We
pay attention to our timing and our treat delivery. With our focus mostly on behavior, we sometimes lose
touch with the emotional component of the relationship. We use technology but have lost the habit of using
ourselves says Roger Abrantes. By combining principles of ethology along with those of behaviorism, we can
learn how to pay close attention to how our own body language will influence the animals ability to respond.
Subtle shifts in our body, how fast and in what direction we move, how we lean, how tall we stand, where we
look, the tone, the volume and the pitch of our voice are all factors that can either help or confuse the animal
were working with. When every detail makes a difference, increasing awareness and control of our body can
significantly improve how we communicate and how they respond.

We put on our shoes and when we look up, our dog is already at the door. We walk in direction of the kitchen
and Fido leads the way to the fridge. No matter the species, once theyve lived around us for a while, our
animals become experts at reading our intentions. Whether an animal is solitary or social, the ability to
predict anothers intentions is critical for social interactions and ultimately for survival. Even when its not a
matter of life or death, if the animal cant foresee anothers intention to move in her direction, she wont have
the chance to step out of the way and avoid a painful collision. When living in groups, they also need to
coordinate their efforts in activities such as hunting or protection of the group. The capacity to predict where
another animal is heading or to anticipate our actions may not seem like any special accomplishment, but
they reveal how much they focus on movements and gestures to gather information and prepare for what is
likely to happen next.

Research has confirmed what seems quite obvious for most of us. Dogs, even at a very early age, are
capable of using information from our body movement to figure out where the food is hidden. They pay
attention to where we point with our finger. They can even use more subtle cues such as a head tilt or even
just an eye movement in direction of the baited container. This ability is not limited to body language alone.
A recent study showed that dogs, as young as 8-14 weeks, were also capable of locating food hidden under a
box by deducting the direction of the box from a persons voice. From behind a barrier, a person would
express excitement towards a baited box, placed either to his right or left side. Even though the person was
sitting closer to the empty box, the puppies consistently went to the correct one (with the possibility to use
all other cues being excluded of course) (Rossano & al., 2014). Not all species can understand human
pointing gestures or deduct food location based on a persons gaze (Miklsi & al., 2006). With sufficient
experience of people, horses have also been found to be very sensitive to human body cues and determine if
the person is attentive to them (Proops & al., 2013).

So what does this have to do with training? Much research is still needed to fully understand how animals can
gather information from how we move, where we look and how we talk, but through our own observation, we
can learn how to interact with an animal in a more effective way. Animals are very emotional and provide us
with continuous feedback on how they feel about a situation. Above anything else, animals need to feel safe
before they can focus on a task and learn. So if we move too fast or talk too loud for instance, the animal
might be anxious, inhibit his/her movements or take off running. On the other hand, depending on the
species, if we move towards them too slowly, we might look like a predator and theyll be suspicious of our
intentions and stay away from us. This is especially true for prey animals like horses. Generally, rhythmic
sounds or movements tend to generate action. Think of how you might clap your hands or give a succession
of rapid whistles to call your dog. On the other hand, single and long extended sounds tend to slow down
movement, like the long and low whoooooa of a rider to stop his horse or staaaaay to get a dog to
maintain a position.

There are many times when we might ask an animal to perform an action when our own body movements
are sending incompatible information. Facing a horses hindquarters for instance, will make him move faster.
Facing his head will get him to slow down. Small shifts of our body can make a big difference to the animal to
the point that we can stop an animal in its tracks. The other day, my husband Jack found himself having to
shift his body when asking a dog to go into a crate. He went to the crate, opened the door and gave Barnaby
the signal to go in. The dog stood a few feet from the crate but just looked at him, not willing to go in. Once
Jack realized that his body was facing the dog, he shifted his body to face the crate, and the dog immediately
ran in without hesitation. Because this dog didnt have much experience with going in the crate to a verbal
signal, his original body position was enough to create hesitation and confusion. Many people also ask their
dog to respond to a verbal signal while their hand is on the dog. They affectionately pet their dog while
saying sit and wonder why their dog doesnt respond. When touched, the dog is likely to be focused on the
physical sensation and ignore the sounds that come out of the persons mouth.

As Abrantes pointed out in his latest guinea pig scent detection training camp at Wolf Park, the relationship
we have with our dog can get in the way of objectivity in training. Animals that dont have such a close
relationship with humans are far less forgiving so it is a high priority to be precise, to plan your training, to
develop your observation skills and to have a plan B available. If you talk too loud or move too fast, the
guinea pig may freeze and bring the training session to an end. With only a few vegetables and ourselves to
induce and reward the desired behavior, were forced to reflect on our own behavior and on how we affect
the animal. At times the little creature will prefer social contact over food and cuddling may become a better
reward than carrot. If we give the food too fast, he might get scared and take off in the other direction. If
were too slow, we can miss the behavior were trying to reward. Consistency, controlled movements,
modulated tone of voice and frequent breaks become the necessary elements for even the smallest of
results.

A recent study confirms that in dogs, body language indicating a relaxed, interested and content state of
mind during training correlated with better training results. The longer their eyes were kept wide open, their
mouth was closed, their ears were erect and their tail was held high, with or without wagging, the more
successful the training. The authors of this study suggest that when were able to read our dogs body
language we can understand our dogs emotional response to the training session and help them learn better
(Hasegawa & al. 2014).

We sometimes get so goal oriented with animals that weve been around for a long time, like dogs or horses,
that we can be callous to their expressions of confusion or even distress. With all the different tools that
weve developed over the years, we can easily force them to perform as desired, but no goal is worth the
sacrifice of our relationship with our animal. Even when were careful, were not always conscious of our body
language and can sometimes slow down our progress and generate confusion. When working with different
species, especially prey animals, like horses, or even guinea pigs, we can learn a lot about how much our
movements will affect their emotional state and ultimately their ability to learn. Dogs are very forgiving and
have lived with us for so long that they can generally bounce back quickly. This should not keep us from
paying attention to the effect we have on them. We might inadvertently interrupt their intent to move in a
certain direction, give conflicting information or affect their emotional state. Animal training works better
when we can bring together the right combination of good communication, good technique and good tools.


http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1785/20133201.short
Domestic dogs and puppies can use
human voice direction referentially
Federico Rossano
+
, Marie Nitzschner and Michael Tomasello
+Author Affiliations
1. Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
1. e-mail: federico_rossano@eva.mpg.de

Abstract

Domestic dogs are particularly skilled at using human visual signals to locate hidden food. This is, to our
knowledge, the first series of studies that investigates the ability of dogs to use only auditory communicative
acts to locate hidden food. In a first study, from behind a barrier, a human expressed excitement towards a
baited box on either the right or left side, while sitting closer to the unbaited box. Dogs were successful in
following the human's voice direction and locating the food. In the two following control studies, we excluded
the possibility that dogs could locate the box containing food just by relying on smell, and we showed that
they would interpret a human's voice direction in a referential manner only when they could locate a possible
referent (i.e. one of the boxes) in the environment. Finally, in a fourth study, we tested 814-week-old
puppies in the main experimental test and found that those with a reasonable amount of human experience
performed overall even better than the adult dogs. These results suggest that domestic dogs skills in
comprehending human communication are not based on visual cues alone, but are instead multi-modal and
highly flexible. Moreover, the similarity between young and adult dogs performances has important
implications for the domestication hypothesis.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-005-0008-1
A comparative analysis of animals'
understanding of the human pointing gesture
dam Miklsi, Krisztina Soproni

Abstract

We review studies demonstrating the ability of some animals to understand the human pointing gesture. We
present a 3-step analysis of the topic. (1) We compare and evaluate current experimental methods (2) We
compare available experimental results on performance of different species and investigate the interaction of
species differences and other independent variables (3) We evaluate how our present understanding of
pointing comprehension answers questions about function, evolution and mechanisms. Recently, a number of
different hypotheses have been put forward to account for the presence of this ability in some species and for
the lack of such comprehension in others. In our view, there is no convincing evidence for the assumption
that the competitive lifestyles of apes would inhibit the utilization of this human gesture. Similarly,
domestication as a special evolutionary factor in the case of some species falls short in explaining high levels
of pointing comprehension in some non-domestic species. We also disagree with the simplistic view of
describing the phenomenon as a simple form of conditioning. We suggest that a more systematic
comparative research is needed to understand the emerging communicative representational abilities in
animals that provide the background for comprehending the human pointing gesture.

http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/4/1/45
Dogs Body Language Relevant to Learning Achievement
Masashi Hasegawa

, Nobuyo Ohtani * and Mitsuaki Ohta

Simple Summary: For humans and dogs to live together amiably, dog training is required, and a lack of
obedience training is significantly related to the prevalence of certain behavioral problems. To train
efficiently, it is important that the trainer/owner ascertains the learning level of the dog. Understanding the
dogs body language helps humans understand the animals emotions. This study evaluated the posture of
certain dog body parts during operant conditioning. Our findings suggest that certain postures were related
to the dogs learning level during operant conditioning. Being aware of these postures could be helpful to
understand canine emotion during learning.

Abstract: The facial expressions and body postures of dogs can give helpful information about their moods
and emotional states. People can more effectively obedience train their dogs if we can identify the
mannerisms associated with learning in dogs. The aim of this study was to clarify the dogs body language
during operant conditioning to predict achievement in the test that followed by measuring the duration of
behaviors. Forty-six untrained dogs (17 males and 26 females) of various breeds were used. Each session
consisted of 5 minutes of training with a treat reward followed by 3 minutes of rest and finally an operant
conditioning test that consisted of 20 hand motion cues. The operant tests were conducted a total of nine
times over three consecutive days, and the success numbers were counted. The duration of the dogs
behavior, focusing on the dogs eyes, mouth, ears, tail and tail-wagging, was recorded during the operant
conditioning sessions before the test. Particular behaviors, including wide-eyes, closed mouth, erect ears, and
forward and high tail carriage, without wagging or with short and quick wagging, related to high achievement
results. It is concluded that dogs' body language during operant conditioning was related to their success
rate.