I read somewhere, that because a dog is wagging is tail, is not necessarily means he is happy. Where does that leave us to read that dog, I see ears back, playful mood, that is in my dog. But what about how to read an aggressive, or a scared dog that is about to attack your dog? I guess I did a bad example for my pup, while on walk this loose dog keep running up on us, I have been keep going, about the seventh time he had a partner with him, and they came close that my pouch started to run. my adrenaline pump in , I got off the scooter and started chasing them with my Chico. Now Chico has a timid confidence, he barks, but no intention is in it, but what that will be a year from now? I don't want him running from every dick and harry? Just trying to learn. Dan

I have a book called Canine Body Language by Brenda Aloff that I just love to look at (imo). The position and speed of the tail have a lot to do the interpretation from what I remember. I'm not sure it has been all that helpful in real life situations trying to recall what is what, but interesting.

Hi Dan. I will speak to the "reading the dog" part of your post: a dog's tail is but one part of it's body that he/she can use to communicate. Ears, eyes, mouth and posture are others. It can be hard to evaluate any one of those signal points independently (ie, a wagging tail can mean one thing if the rest of the body is relaxed or in a play bow, and quite another if the rest of the body is stiff, upright, and with raised hackles).

You are correct that a wagging tail does not always mean a happy dog, but in order to make the call, you'll want to look at the rest of the dog and factor in as many other signals as you can. Is the strange dog staring down you or your dog? Is it standing tall, ears erect, and "puffing itself up"? Is the tail very upright and wagging slowly? These are all cues by a dog attempting to intimidate another - an aggressive challenge *could* result with no intervention. If the tail is wagging low, the ears are soft, and the body looks relaxed, the dog may only be looking to come investigate. It takes practice, but the more you observe dogs (yours and others) the more you'll start to notice what they're saying with their bodies. I'm sure Leerburg carries some good books on canine behavior as well.

Regarding the rest of your post - getting rushed by off leash dogs - there are many threads here about protecting your dog from other dogs, while on walks. I'm sure others will comment here, but a search on "loose dogs" may turn up a bunch of good threads. Chico may be happy to defer to you now, as a pup, but as he matures he may decide to start taking things into his own hands (which could quickly lead to a fight), so it's critical that you both maintain control over him, and make sure you have a plan for how to keep those off leash dogs at bay in the future - this is an unfortunate problem for many of us.

~Natalya

Thanks Aimee, Cause body language is everything. will look that book up, Dan

Thanks Natalya, very well written and informative, on both part. If dog business is our thing, we should know their language. Dan