Dog communication
Auditory communication can include barks, growls, howls, whines and whimpers, screams, pants and sighs.
Dogs rely on the gestures of humans more than verbal cues, most importantly eye contact.
[13] In 2009, a study compared the responses to a range of pointing gestures by dogs and human infants.
The results also showed that all subjects were able to generalize from their previous experience to respond to relatively novel pointing gestures.
Most people can tell from a bark whether a dog/canine was alone or being approached by a stranger, playing or being aggressive,[15] and able to tell from a growl how big the dog is.
Yawning, accompanied by a head turned away from the aggressor, can defuse a potentially threatening situation.
[1]: 124 Licking can communicate information about dominance, intentions, and state of mind, and, like the yawn, is mainly a pacifying behavior.
Puppies lick themselves and their littermates as part of the cleaning process, and it appears to build bonds.
Later in life, licking ceases to be a cleaning function and forms a ritualized gesture indicating friendliness.
By increasing the size and tension of their bodies and making themselves look larger, they can communicate confidence, alertness, or even threat.
The dog is the most vocal canid and is unique in its tendency to bark in myriad situations.
Subtler signs such as discreet bodily and facial movements, body odors, whines, yelps, and growls are the main sources of actual communication.
[28] Depending on the context, a dog's bark can vary in timing, pitch, and amplitude.
[1]: 89 A yelp for several seconds in length much like a human child, then repeated – anguish or agony, a call to the pack-mates for help, is rarely heard.
Although not an intentional communication, if the dog pants rapidly even though it is not exposed to warm conditions or intense physical activity, then this signals excitement due to stress.
[citation needed] Dogs have an olfactory sense 40 times more sensitive than a human's and they commence their lives operating almost exclusively on smell and touch.
[35] Pheromone signals are received in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) that is included in the olfactory tract.
[37][38] Adult males prefer to mark vertical surfaces with urine, using the raised-leg posture.
[38][39] The raised-leg posture provides increased dispersal of the elevated mark, allowing the wind to carry it further.
[38] Additionally, smaller dogs can use a higher leg raise when urinating to embellish their competitive ability.
[38] Scratching the ground is a common behavior seen after urination or defecation and is another way in which chemical signals are secreted.
The chances of a dog scratching the ground increases when the individual is aggressively aroused.
[35] It is also usually followed by another male counter marking with urine in order to cover the area with their own scent and more prevalent when there is a female in estrus around.
When greeting, dogs tend to be more attentive to the neck, face, inguinal, and peripheral areas.
[40] Dogs gain social information by sniffing particular odors secreted from these areas.
