< Updated 24OCT22 >
In this blog post from October 20, 2022, Eileen Anderson of eileenanddogs.com and co-author of Puppy Socialization – What It Is and How to Do It discusses a recent walk with her 18-month-old dog Lewis. She describes his first encounter with a new object, a trailer parked in front of the house next door. Eileen also includes photos that illustrate the very subtle body language, whispers as she describes them, that Lewis expressed that indicate his wariness towards the trailer.
I believe it is essential for everyone with a dog to be very familiar with its body language. This is even more important if the dog is not socialized or expresses fear and anxiety. It is not uncommon for rescue dogs to have little or no socialization and to be fearful in new situations. When we react to the whispers before the shouting (growling, barking, lunging) starts, we have saved our dog from unnecessary trauma, which should ALWAYS be our goal.
Read Eileen’s blog post at – https://eileenanddogs.com/blog/2022/10/20/just-a-whisper-the-early-signs-of-fear-in-dog-body-language/