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Understanding Your Dog

What a dog owner would do to capture a glimpse into our canine’s mind’s complexities and inner workings is insurmountable. From a steady paw on your knee to your dog’s nibbling ways, your bubbly barking buddy’s behavior can sometimes leave you stumped.

Understanding your pawed partner is a great way to engage in a non-verbal conversation with your pets by placing meaning behind their silly or unique actions. This relates to both positive and negative behavioral cues from your pup.

When your furry friend is suffering in any way, placing the weight of their pain and discomfort on your own shoulders almost always happens. This is why monitoring your pet can be good practice for pinpointing any abnormalities in their behavior.

So, how can you get to know and understand our dog better? By gaining a deeper understanding of certain dog behaviors and signs, you’ll have a well-equipped toolbox to shed some light on identifying and potentially diagnosing their condition.

Dog Behaviors Explained | Things to Look Out for

Whether it is your dog rolling on its back or more concerning practices such as chewing on its feet to indicate an injury, pet behavior can often seem incomprehensible to the human eye. Here, you’ll find a quick and easy cheat sheet of common dog behaviors and the possible meanings behind each action.

Common Behavior

Dogs can have a tendency to possess a few quirky traits that’ll have you scratching your head. While strange behavior has the potential of being something more, other unique behavioral quirks are simply how they’re built.

A variety of dog breeds are deeply fascinated by the surrounding smells and tastes in their vicinity. Your adventurous pups tend to be explorers of their senses in many ways. This sought-after tasting platter includes licking a human’s face or licking the ear to sample it. 

In the same way, there are some smells dogs hate. If you ever come across your dog rolling in the grass after a bath, this could be a potential identifier that your canine favors the scent of the wild in his fur.

Interesting Fact: While tail wagging is often seen as a cute way for dogs to show affection, this is also a method of spreading their scent around for other canines to sniff and enjoy. So dogs have tails for more reasons than you may think.

Affection

As all newbies and veteran dog owners know, sometimes it can feel like your pet doesn’t like you. This could be due to banishing the ratty remains of toys or simply uttering the word ‘bath’; dogs have a way of making you feel like you’ve done them a great injustice.

While many might feel like their relationship with their barking buddies is tarnished, there are a variety of behavioral cues to look out for that could show the spark of forgiveness. A playful dog wink or even a tentative doggy hand lick can often be seen as a clear indication that your dog cares for you.

Other typical dog traits and behaviors have a way of tugging at our heartstrings and for good reason. Dogs have a unique way of expressing their love and affection to their human counterparts. 

If your dog seems to enjoy your company (sometimes beyond your own degree of comfort), this can be seen as a sign of true companionship and love. From following you into the bathroom to crushing your organs by laying on your body, their affection can hurt in the most wonderful ways.

Anxiety

One surefire way to activate your maternal instinct is by noticing your pet is feeling stressed or suffering from anxiety. While you can try and comfort your petrified pup as best you can, it’s essential to take note of their behavioral changes to alleviate the cause in any way.

From seemingly barking at nothing or a simple insistence on licking their paws, there are a wide variety of tell-tale signs to provide insight into their anxiety levels. Some anxiety symptoms, which include behaviors such as licking their noses, are harder to pinpoint.

While your pet choosing to lie on your feet can be identified as a sign of affection, it could also be a behavioral change that indicates anxiety. This theory can also be attributed to when your dog follows you everywhere.

So, how would you know when your dog’s behavior becomes a red flag? Firstly, you know your dog, which makes you the best person to indicate whether it’s a rapid change from their normal behavior. If you’re concerned, you can always make a trip to your local veterinarian for a second opinion.

Health Issues

While little things, such as your dog rubbing its face on the ground, could be seen as a temporary pesky itch, it could be indicative of something bigger. Whether it’s an allergic reaction to teething problems, a considerable variance of seemingly ‘common behavior’ has the potential of being a warning sign for health problems.

If you’ve experienced a number of changes in your canine’s behavior, it’s advisable to consult a professional in case of emergencies. These ongoing symptoms can potentially include seemingly harmless behavior such as licking their lips or sticking their tongue out.

These behaviors are usually caused by common occurrences, such as dehydration or nausea, but a vet visit can express a better insight into your dog’s well-being.

The Mystery of Dogs Explained

With four paws, a wagging tail, and a keen eye for causing chaos – dogs can often be hard to understand and grasp. From your dog’s undying love for sticks to their fear of vacuum cleaners, these energetic enigmas can be portrayed as aliens in cute furry suits.

Much like snowflakes, every furry friend is different and special in its own way. This, however, can be difficult to navigate in new and unknown scenarios your pups haven’t experienced before. From traveling with your dog to introducing your dog to a Maine Coon, perusing a few pointers is the perfect way to ensure a safe and comfortable transition period.

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