05/01/2024
Happy Friday! Thanks for your Presence on earth.
I'm having fun learning about calming signals for dogs...how they communicate with each other to indicate with each other that they are interested in a peaceful experience.
A couple of really cool experiences happened recently after one of my least favorite things happened. That is...when Surrey and I walk on sidewalks or in alleys where two or more dogs are in their fenced yard, sometimes the dogs will bark at us, then one dog in the fenced yard will attack the other dog inside the fenced area...their own pack mate...perhaps because they cannot get to us to investigate closer.
I learned from Turid Rugass in her fantastic book "On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals" that sniffing is a calming signal dogs will sometimes give other dogs. (Of course, dogs sniff the ground for other reasons too, but ground sniffing is also one of the signals used by them to diffuse a potentially tense situation.)
So, when one of the dogs attacked its pack mate in the fenced yard, I got on my knees and began sniffing the ground. The attack inside the fence stopped. The more aggressive dog made a few vocalizations, but he/she stopped attacking its pack mate.
Then this morning, I didn't have Surrey with me, and a very big dog behind a fence came to where I was walking by and barked a lot. I talked sweetly with him/her, with no success, so I got down and sniffed the ground. While it continued to bark for a bit, it walked away from the fence. (Side notes: of course, dogs behind fences are often very friendly; they just want to get closer to investigate and lick us with joy. Some may be more protective and territorial. Barking happens for lots of reasons. No reason is good or bad. It's simply communication. And, fences are EXTREMELY handy for us humans and dogs so they can be outside. I'm just using these encounters to practice what I'm learning to, hopefully, help them feel more at ease.) Thanks for everyone over the millenia who have ever quietly watched and listened to animals observing their extraordinary communication.
