a few days ago (last week??) Oprah had a show on dogs sharing tips from her personal dog trainer, introductions to Guinness’ tallest and smallest dog, celebrities with their dogs, and tips on what you should feed your dogs. the most remarkable part of the program was Oprah’s encounter with Gibson, the World’s Tallest Dog.

the link above takes you to a photo gallery on Oprah’s site that shows Gibson with his two paws on Oprah’s shoulders. he is 7’2″ on his hind legs and towers over her with their faces quite close. what’s missing from the photograph are two things:

1) Oprah’s pretty intense nervousness (before the stunt, she had told the owner twice that it might be better for her not to do it), and
2) Gibson’s huge yawn.

yawning is an easily recognizable “calming signal” dogs use in their innate language. from Brenda Aloff’s book “Aggression in Dogs”:

“Calming signals are used as a way to avoid threats and to communicate a wish to prevent confrontation. The dog uses these signals to both calm himself and to communicate to others nearby that he wishes them to remain calm also. These signs indicate that the dog using them has an awareness of personal space infringement (either his own or the other dog’s), and he wishes to communicate his own non-aggressive intent or good will.”

Gibson’s massive yawn in Oprah’s face was his way of saying “yes, i know you’re nervous, but it’s okay”. how amazing!

dogs obviously also yawn when they are tired, but have a look at the situation next time your dog opens his jaws wide and lets the tongue lazily curl out. are you in the middle of a public park with other dogs around? is it in context or maybe an indicator of some sort of external stress?

according to Aloff, other “calming signals” include: sniffing, looking away*, scratching, lip- or nose-licking, paw lift, sitting or lying down, blinking, shaking, sneezing, and slow, careful movements. the neat thing is that YOU can use each and every one of those signals to communicate to your dog. next time you sense he is nervous or anxious, lick your lips or blink slowly. some tension should drain out of his face and his eyes will blink in response. if he is familiar with his “dog” language and really trusts that you are the pack leader, his body should relax and his tail might even start wagging.

and he’ll probably think: “finally! she gets what i’m trying to say!”

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*direct eye contact is HUGE. it may indicate trust in humans, but can mean very much the opposite in dogs.

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