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What Lip Licking and Yawning Really Mean: Understanding Canine Calming Signals

April 18, 2025

What Are Calming Signals?

First introduced by canine behavior expert Turid Rugaas, calming signals are the body language cues dogs use to defuse tension—either within themselves or between others. These signals include:

  • Lip licking

  • Yawning

  • Turning the head away

  • Sniffing the ground

  • Slow movements

  • Sitting or lying down suddenly

Each one can be a dog’s way of saying: “I’m feeling uneasy. Please give me space or reassurance.”

🐾 Recommended Reading: On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas — This 73-page book is a must-read for any dog parent serious about understanding their pup’s inner world.


Why Learning Calming Signals Matters

For decades, dog training was mostly a one-way street: “I give the commands, and you follow.”

But dogs aren’t robots—they’re emotional beings with needs, preferences, and communication styles. Learning to interpret calming signals can:

  • Deepen your bond with your dog

  • Make training easier and more effective

  • Reduce problem behaviors linked to stress

  • Help prevent bites or fear-based reactions

A dog who feels heard and understood becomes more confident, less anxious, and more connected to their human.


Start Watching for These Signals Today

Next time you’re out on a walk or welcoming guests into your home, watch your dog closely. Are they:

  • Licking their lips?

  • Yawning when they’re clearly not tired?

  • Turning away from people or other dogs?

Each signal is a piece of a puzzle—and when you start putting the pieces together, you’ll discover what your dog has been trying to tell you all along.


Final Thoughts

Understanding calming signals is more than a training tool—it’s a relationship tool. When you start responding to your dog’s emotional cues, you’ll unlock a new level of connection based on empathy, respect, and trust.


Internal Links to Add

Why Socialization Is Essential for Your Dog’s Well-Being

April 16, 2025

🐾 Why Socialization Matters More Than You Think

Socialization is one of the most important things you can do for your dog—especially during the early months of life. It’s more than just exposure to new things. Done right, socialization helps your pup understand that the world is safe, manageable, and full of positive possibilities.

From people and dogs to surfaces, sounds, and environments, early exposure builds emotional resilience and reduces the risk of behavior problems later on.

Understand how your dog communicates fear or anxiety with its body so you can retreat and give it space. Never force an approach. Your dog needs to make the approach on its own, out of curiosity. Here’s a link to Dr. Sophia Yin’s Fear Posture Poster.


🧠 The Critical Socialization Window: 3 to 16 Weeks

The ideal window for puppy socialization is between 3 and 16 weeks of age. During this period, your puppy’s brain is wired to absorb new experiences without fear. Puppies who are socialized during this stage are much more likely to become confident, relaxed adult dogs. Puppies are typically adopted out at 8 weeks. Earlier means they miss critical learning and socialization from their mother and liter. This means you only have 8 weeks to expose your puppy to the world around you.

Dogs who miss out on early socialization may develop lasting fear or reactivity—barking at strangers, panicking in crowds, or showing stress in new situations.


📷 Real-Life Example: Respectful Kid-Dog Interaction

In the photo above, two young girls did something rare—and ideal:

  • They asked for permission before approaching my client’s dog

  • They followed my cue to bend down and avoid hovering over the dog

  • They gently petted under his chin, which is far less threatening than reaching over the head

This is exactly how we want kids to interact with dogs. With respectful guidance, kids and dogs can learn to read each other and build safe, trust-based relationships.


✅ Key Takeaways About Dog Socialization

  • Start early: The earlier you begin socialization, the better. Start as soon as your pup is home. If your vet tells you to avoid contact with dogs and known dog environments, ask them to explain their  diversion from the Position Statement on Socialization by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. Express your concern about missed socialization during this critcal period.

  • It’s not about being friendly: It’s about helping your dog feel safe and capable in a wide range of situations.

  • Socialization prevents future issues: It builds emotional strength and reduces fear-based behaviors.

  • Well-socialized dogs live fuller lives: They’re able to accompany you in daily life without anxiety or reactivity.

And yes—adult dogs can still be socialized! It just requires slower, more structured exposure and often the support of a behavior professional.

Looking for safe ways to meet other dogs? Check out the K9 Playtime service on my website , where you can find dogs with important characteristics that match your dog’s, like age, size and playstyle for a more controlled on-on-one playdate. Dogs often play best on-on-one.


📥 Download Your Free Dog Socialization Checklist

Want to make sure you’re covering all the bases?
👉 Download my free Socialization Checklist (PDF) to guide your pup’s journey into the world.

🐶 Why 8 Weeks Is the Perfect Time to Start Puppy Training

April 15, 2025

Puppies begin learning the moment they open their eyes, but by 8 weeks of age, they’ve entered a powerful stage of brain development where learning is especially fast and lasting. This is known as the critical learning period—a brief window where your puppy’s curiosity, memory, and behavioral wiring are wide open.

During this time, your puppy is eager to explore, form associations, and engage with their environment. It’s the ideal time to begin teaching gentle, age-appropriate training skills that will set them up for success.


🧠 What Is the Critical Learning Period in Puppies?

The critical learning period typically spans from 8 to 16 weeks of age, when puppies are developmentally primed to absorb information with minimal fear or hesitation.

Training introduced during this window tends to:

  • Be learned more quickly

  • Stick longer

  • Require less repetition

  • Reduce the risk of problem behaviors later

Waiting too long to begin training can lead to confusion, frustration, and missed opportunities—especially when it comes to everyday life skills. For example, this is the best time to teach your puppy not to jump on you, especially if they’re going to be big.


✅ What to Teach a Puppy at 8 Weeks Old

Early training isn’t about strict obedience or discipline—it’s about building trust and communication. Focus on short, positive sessions that cover:

  • Name recognition – Teach your pup to respond reliably to their name

  • Recall basics – Reinforce that coming to you is always a good thing

  • Crate training – Start slow and make the crate a safe space they will love

  • Handling practice – Gently touch ears, paws, and mouth to prep for vet/groomer

  • Calm attention – Reward eye contact and quiet behavior

  • Loose leash walking – Now is the time to teach a nice walk—not when they’re 40 lb and rambunctious

  • Jumping – It’s much easier to teach your puppy not to jump on people sooner than later

Keep sessions to 3–5 minutes, 2–3 times per day, more if you have the time. Use food rewards and end on a positive note.


⚠️ What Happens If You Wait Too Long to Train?

While dogs can learn at any age, delaying training often means:

  • Slower learning curves

  • More unwanted habits to undo, often requiring hundreds of repetitions

  • Less confidence in new situations means you can’t take your dog everywhere like you thought you could

  • Higher frustration—for you and your dog

Early guidance builds predictability, bonding, and a sense of security in your pup. The longer you wait, the more challenging it may be to establish those core habits.


📥 Two FREE Puppy Training Step-by-Step Guides

These are the two most critical skills I teach every client regardless of the dogs age or the reason they called me.

  • The Name Game: Imagine if someone kept saying your name, but when you turned to look at them, they just gave you a pat on the head or a hug (which dogs don’t instinctively like by the way). They may sometimes speak to you, but in a language you don’t know. You’d eventually learn to ignore them. Download this FREE document on training your dog to be super responsive to its name.
  • Hand Target: The hand target is my favorite skill because it has so many applications, primarily to get your dog to come to you at any time, aka a recall. But you can also use it to get your dog to get down off a couch, come in from the backyard, get away from your plant, give you the TV remote back, etc. Download this FREE document and get started on training this invaluable skill ASAP.

🔗 Science Supports Early Training

Happy National Pet Day! 🐾

April 11, 2025

Happy National Pet Day to all of those celebrating the pets who make our lives brighter, funnier, and full of unconditional love. Whether your pup is a couch cuddler, a fetch fanatic, or a social butterfly, National Pet Day is the perfect day to show them a little extra appreciation.

As a professional dog trainer, I’ve seen firsthand how strong the bond between people and their dogs can be—and how much happier and better-behaved pups are when they’re mentally and physically fulfilled. If you’ve been thinking about training, finding a playmate for your dog, or grabbing a few new toys or treats, now’s a great time to start!

Let’s keep our dogs happy, healthy, and thriving—today and every day. 🐶💛

➡️ Explore training and services
➡️ Find your dog a playmate with K9 Playtime
➡️ Shop toys, treats, and more

🐾 What Is Superstitious Learning in Dogs?

April 10, 2025

🐶 Why We Misread Dog Emotions—And How to Get Better at Reading Them

April 9, 2025

🐶 We Think We Know What Dogs Feel—But We’re Often Wrong

Most people believe they can tell how a dog is feeling just by looking. But research shows we’re far less accurate than we think. In fact, humans commonly confuse signs of fear or stress with happiness or excitement—a misunderstanding that can lead to inappropriate interactions or even dog bites.


📊 What the Research Says

In summary, the research says, we’re not very good at reading dog emotions:

  • People misread dog emotions more often than expected

  • Facial expressions are frequently overemphasized

  • Even dog owners were no more accurate than non-owners

  • People with professional dog experience (like trainers or vets) had significantly better accuracy

  • A couple of cited studies:

📖 Human Perception of Fear in Dogs Varies According to Experience with Dogs

📰Humans are bad at reading dogs’ emotions – but we can learn to do better

 


🧠 Why Humans Misread Dogs

We tend to project human-like emotional signals onto dogs—especially in the face. But canine facial expressions don’t carry the same emotional detail as ours.

Dogs rely heavily on body language, including:

  • Tail carriage and movement

  • Body posture (loose vs. stiff)

  • Ear position and motion

  • Lip licking or yawning

  • Turning away or avoiding eye contact

A wagging tail doesn’t always mean a happy dog. Look at the speed, height, and tension of the wag.


👥 Experience Matters—But It’s Learnable

It’s not just instinct. People with hands-on experience—trainers, behaviorists, veterinarians—outperform casual dog owners in emotion recognition. This means that learning to read dogs accurately is a skill, not something we’re born with.


✅ How to Get Better at Reading Dog Emotions

Just review the known signals dogs give us and then spend some time observing dogs:

  • Focus on full-body cues—not just the face

  • Look for clusters of behavior (e.g. stiff body + tucked tail + whale eye)

  • Pause before petting and ask for consent (watch for leaning in or backing away)

  • Watch the context—what just happened before the change in behavior?

  • Practice observation in low-stress settings before testing yourself in busy or dog-dense environments

Review the Stress Escalation Ladder by Turid Rugaas. If we apply the contents of this document to the picture in this post, we can see that this Husky is in the FOCUS stage; he is no longer displaying the lower-level conflict behaviors, has a closed mouth and is in a freeze. This dog ends up scaring this kid with an air snap. He was lucky.

Review the Dog Fear Posture Poster by Dr. Sophia Yin DVM MS. The dog in our post is not showing any signs of fear. What you do see in this poster is a dog that looks similar to the dogs in Internet videos whose owners believe they look guilty for naughty behavior when in reality those dogs are displaying fear in reaction to the owner’s tone of voice.

 

Consistency Is Key: Why Your Dog Doesn’t Always Do as You Ask

April 7, 2025

🔁 Why Your Dog Doesn’t Always Do as You Ask

It seems that our dogs have a selective response. Sometimes they do what we ask, but sometimes they don’t. If your dog isn’t consistently executing skills, chances are it’s not because they’re stubborn—it’s because your messaging isn’t consistent.

Let’s walk through the most common human mistakes that interfere with effective training (and yes, I’ve made them too).


🐕‍🦺 Common Inconsistencies That Sabotage Dog Training

  • 💬 Using English too early
    We’re verbal creatures, but dogs are physical learners. Starting with verbal cues before your dog understands the physical behavior only adds confusion. Use hand signals first—then layer in the word after they reliably perform the behavior.

    Learn how to introduce verbal cues the right way

  • 🗣️ Inconsistent verbal cues
    You taught “Stay,” but sometimes you say “Stay here!” or “Wait!” instead. Dogs don’t know these are all the same thing. Use the exact word you’ve trained—and only that word—every time. Puttin a sentence around it adds confusion.

  • 🍖 Weak or missing rewards
    That pat on the head might feel good to you—but your dog was expecting the treat! Dogs need a clear, immediate reinforcement within 5 seconds of the desired behavior. Keep meat treats on you at all times!

  • 📏 Inconsistent expectations
    If your dog looks at you when you say their name and sometimes gets rewarded, but other times you expect them to come to you instead—you’re blurring the rule by changing the criteria of the skill. Train one specific skill at a time and reinforce it consistently.

  • 🙃 Rewarding bad behavior accidentally
    You’re doing great ignoring jumping—until one day, you push your dog away or say “No!” That reaction is still attention, and it teaches your dog persistence pays off.

  • 🎰 When inconsistency is good
    Once a skill is fully trained, variable reinforcement (only delivering a treat sometimes) becomes powerful. Your dog starts trying harder to earn the reward because the reward doesn’t come every time. This is where their persistence finally pays off—in your favor.


🧠 Training Tips Summary for Staying Consistent

  • Accept that dogs don’t speak English and use the same verbal cue each time.

  • Think before you cue. Slow down and decide what you’re about to ask—and be ready to deliver a treat for reinforcement.

  • Carry high-value treats. Praise and reward within 5 seconds.

  • Reward for each ask.

  • Keep the criteria the same unless your taking baby steps towards an end criteria.

For more great tips, download a FREE copy of my Training Essentials Guide.

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