Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Tongue Thing



3 comments:

Winjammin' said...

I see Music has been teaching bad habits again ;o) hehe

Joanna said...

Ella is so SUPER cute!

What you're seeing is a tongue flick--it's one of the things that dogs do to show that they are nonthreatening and to calm everyone down. It's VERY common for them to do it when you take their picture, because you look weird and threatening and you've got a box on your face.

See how they're all showing a little white at the corner of their eyes? That shows that they are a little stressed; the tongue flick is a behavior that (between dogs) lowers tension. Between dog and camera, not so much :).

Turid Rugaas and Brenda Aloff have great books on body language--well worth checking out.

Congrats again on such a beautiful crew!

Kathy and Kim Gibson said...

Joanna,

thanks, yes I have several of Turid Rugaas' books. I likethem very much and have been helpful with better understanding my reactive puppy.

Thanks again!

Kim