Do you know what this look means?
Most owners get it wrong.
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Four steps for reading any dog
It's the most useful page in the guide, so here it is in full.
Relax yourself first
Dogs read your stress before you read theirs. If you come in tense, you're now part of what they're reacting to.
Eyes, ears, mouth
Scan the face as a whole and take the overall expression. One signal on its own tells you almost nothing.
Marked 2 on Coco — her face.
Assess the body
Tail height and stiffness, posture, and where their weight is sitting. The tail gets the attention but posture tells the real story.
Marked 3 on Coco — her posture.
Decide
Comfortable, or do they need space? That's the whole question, and you're the one standing there.
- 23 signals, one page
- 7 chapters
- Free, no card
Three of hers. Have a go.
Three of Coco's. Tap what you think each one means.
The side-eye
Signal 1 of 3
She turns her head away but keeps her eyes on you, showing the whites.
23 signals, one page
This is the card the guide tells you to stick on the fridge.
The face
- Forward ears
- alert
- Flat ears
- anxious
- Soft eyes
- happy
- Hard stare
- tension
- Whale eye
- stressed
- Open mouth
- content
The body
- High stiff tail
- aroused
- Loose wag
- relaxed
- Tucked tail
- fear
- Weight forward
- confident
- Play bow
- let's play
- Freeze
- step in now
Weird stuff
- Grass
- instinct
- Head tilt
- listening
- Zoomies
- pure joy
- Guilty look
- appeasement
- Digging
- survival wiring
- Licking
- context matters
Calming signals: Yawning · Lip licking · Turning away · Ground sniffing · Slow blinking — the quiet ones, and the easiest to miss.
What's in it
- Face and body basics
- The weird stuff
- Calming signals
- Stress or play?
- When it's not behaviour
- Coco's 7-day body language challenge
- The quick-reference card
Send me the guide
Your name and email. That's it.
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The questions everyone actually asks
Straight answers, taken from the guide. No preamble.
- Why does my dog lick me?
- Usually affection or the salt on your skin — but obsessive licking of one spot is different, and can mean pain or anxiety.
- A few licks on your hand is social. What's worth watching is constant paw licking, lip licking when there's no food around, or returning to one repeated spot. Licking at the air can be nausea.
- Why does my dog eat grass?
- Grass eating is normal and it doesn't mean your dog is sick or trying to make themselves vomit.
- It's ordinary canine behaviour with deep roots — plant material turned up in as much as 74% of wild wolf scat samples, and a study of 12 dogs found the hungrier they were, the more grass they ate. Most dogs don't vomit afterwards. Worry only if they're eating it obsessively, vomiting repeatedly, or the grass has been treated.
- What does it mean when my dog tilts their head?
- The head tilt is your dog listening harder, not being confused.
- They're adjusting their ears to place a sound and moving their head to see past their own muzzle. Long-muzzled dogs tilt more; flat-faced breeds like Coco tend to stare instead. Keep talking — they're actively tuning you in.
- Does a wagging tail mean my dog is happy?
- No — a wag means your dog is feeling something strongly, not that the something is good.
- A loose, mid-height wag is the happy one. A high, stiff, fast wag usually signals arousal or tension, and a low or tucked tail is fear. Read the whole body rather than the tail on its own.
- Does my dog actually feel guilty?
- No — the guilty look is appeasement, not guilt.
- Dogs don't connect a past action to your current reaction. The ears back and averted eyes are them reading your upset body language and trying to calm you down. They're saying “you seem upset, I'm trying to fix it”, not “I regret the shoe”.
- What is whale eye in dogs?
- Whale eye is when the whites of your dog's eyes show as they look away, and it means they're uncomfortable.
- It's a request for space, not guilt. Step back and don't push the interaction — the tension usually drops as soon as they get room.
- Why does my dog get the zoomies?
- Zoomies are a normal energy release, properly called Frenetic Random Activity Periods, and nothing is wrong.
- They're most common after baths, naps, meals, or the moment you pick up the leash. Don't try to stop them — clear the space and let it run out.
- How can I tell if dogs are playing or fighting?
- Watch for pauses: playing dogs stop voluntarily and check in, and stressed dogs don't pause at all.
- Play looks loose, bouncy and exaggerated, with open mouths and soft eyes. Stress looks stiff, with a hard stare, closed mouth or a low sustained growl. If one dog freezes or tries to leave and the other keeps pushing, step in calmly and separate them.
- When is a behaviour change a health problem?
- Ring your vet when a behaviour changes suddenly — especially new aggression, hiding, or obsessive licking of one spot.
- Dogs in pain lash out at handling they normally accept, and a social dog going quiet may be ill rather than moody. House-training regression, loss of interest in food or play, and panting without exercise are all worth a call. This is general guidance, not veterinary advice.