Much being said but is anyone watching?

I sat on the leg machine watching.  Between sets I rest; not for long, just enough time to go again.  I was in my zone, listening to my rock'n "The boys are back in town,"  where I don't usually see much of anything because I'm in my workout zone.  But yesterday during my rest, I watched the human behavior unfold before me.  It was right in front of me.  When you remove the sound from an interaction, all you have left is body language. 

The two men were at an arm curl machine.  They were pretty far from me but straight in front.  One of the men was very buff; he obviously worked out a lot.  While the other one, not so much.  What was interesting was that only one wanted to be in the conversation.  Through body language I could see that the buff guy was done talking and wanted to workout.  He even made an attempt at ending the conversation by resting his hand on the other guys shoulder and then turning away.  A period to end it, so to speak.  

Well, the chatty Cathy didn't get it.  He continued to talk while the guy got back to his workout.  Even moving around in front of the guy on the arm machine when he felt as though he wasn't being listened to.  This was a one way conversation, common.  You know the type of people who only speak but never listen?  Even when they are trying to look like they are listening they are just waiting for you to stop talking so that they can speak.  These are not true conversations.  

The gym is a funny place.  So much is said with just body language.  There are those who go for the social aspect; while others (like myself) are there to workout.  Aside from the chatty Cathy's at the gym, much can be heard even in silence.  Body language is fascinating if you turn off the sound of communication; which is what I do as I enter the gym.  I very purposefully turn up my music to drown out the chatter.  I usually put my head down and workout.  I'm in my zone. 

Just last week as I sat doing some tricep dips; an elderly and very out of shape man stood in front of me.  After a minute of ignoring him (as that wasn't working to remove him) I took my ear piece out and said "yes?"  My body language spoke volumes, but he wasn't listening.  He proceeded to tell me what I was doing wrong and how I should be doing my exercise.  Clearly he doesn't read body language because even though I held my tongue I had a lot to say.  Before he finished his speech I calmly put my ear piece in and smiled.  He stood there not getting it.  Geesh. 

The interaction that I watched during my rest yesterday made me realize how much is said when you take away the sound.  Humans tend to use their voice far more than body language.  Our dogs use their body before voice; but if and when it is used, we tend to focus on sound.  Watching is far more important than listening in dogs.  

While the guy on the curl machine continued to workout; the talking man never stopped talking.  He didn't get the signal that the conversation was over; and that he was just spewing for his own need.  He wasn't watching any body language.  If he was he would have seen that the other guy was not interested in further conversation.  

As you all know, I am a watcher.  Yesterday's interaction gave a clear and precise message to me of just how important watching is.  Have we lost the art of visual communication understanding?  Maybe.  

"Oh look, he's wagging."

                                                                               Perfect play tails. 

One of the biggest misconceptions in dogs, is wagging tails.  "Oh look, he's wagging," is taken as a sure fire sign that he's friendly.  It could mean that he is friendly but it could also mean just the opposite.  Dogs wag for all different reasons; if you watch a tail closely you will see that it has many different wags to it.  The way a tail is held, the speed in which it is being wagged, the part of the tail being wagged and of course the rest of body all play roles in understanding the what a wag means.
 



Of course a wagging tail is only as good as the dog or person reading it.  As I said many people misunderstand a wagging tail as friendly and approach when they see it.   Sadly many bites occur because people don't read dog tails correctly.  You need to really watch tails for a while to learn their different communications; that and see what the rest of the dog's body is doing as well. 

Tails signal change insanely quickly; and if you are not watching you might miss what the dog is saying.  Watching a pack of dogs interact is so interesting; their signaling to each other is done with lightening speed and precision.  Watching Elsa, Luke and Penny interact is a great display of tail signaling.  One second Penny has her tail held high and vibrating as she prepares to launch herself at Elsa; the next it is slung very low and speed wagging as she slowly approaches the man of the pack, Luke. 

I really hate when I cannot see tails; they give us so much information.  Some breeds have docked tails which put both the dog and us at a disadvantage as far as reading.  Others have tails that are curled up over their back which are very hard reads.  I find that many of these curled tail dogs tend to be dogs that other non curled tail dogs are wary of.  I know that both Luke and Elsa are very cautious around them and tend to just stay away.  They are a hard read; that tail stays up there on their back and barely moves. 

Elsa has a very fluid tail; obviously I love it.  I get to see things that I have never seen in any of my own dogs before.  As you approach her relaxing on the couch; she squints and slowly wags the 1/2 end of her tail.  Sometimes it's just the last two inches that barely twitch; but there is enough movement to visualize a reaction on approach.  Her tail is almost continually in motion; it is always saying something.  Often it is only her tail that gets my attention as I may be on my computer and hear the thumping of it as she gets goofy trying to draw me from my work.

You must look at the posture of a tail as well as the wag.  The higher a tail is held the more confident a dog is.  The wag or movement will tell the rest of the story.  Luke was commonly under fire in his younger years as he was an extremely confident guy.  He would enter a park with his tail held high charging around; much to the disapproval of other males or dominant females in the park.  He was not dominant, just very confident.  But entering the park so cocky got him into trouble 


Tails have a lot to say; do not let a wagging tail fool you.