What’s in a Picture?

The dogs in the first two photos are very similar in breed and type, but even just a quick glance at these photos will tell you how differently those two dogs are feeling. Doesn’t the dog in the photo on the left look mellow and laid back?  His mouth is open in a relaxed way, his tongue is soft, the skin around his muzzle is loose, without wrinkles caused by tension; his eyes are soft, and his ears are hanging loosely

Although the photo doesn’t show much of this dog’s body, the little we can see of looks as relaxed as his face. It’s safe to assume that the rest of his body is equally loose; it just doesn’t happen that a mellow, calm facial expression is paired with a tense, tight body. 

The dog on the right looks very different: his mouth is tightly closed, and the skin on the sides of his muzzle is drawn in with tension, creating wrinkles around the sides of his face. His ears are tense and stiff, causing them to stand out to the side. His eyes are opened wide, perhaps with fear, and he seems to be staring at something. 

While we can’t see his body, we can expect that his whole body expresses the same tension seen in his face. This poor dog appears to be in a state of extreme stress.

Even though dogs don’t have a verbal language the way humans do, they make use of many physical signals to convey how they’re feeling. Once you get used to “reading” a dog’s expressions, you can make a good assumption about what your dog is feeling.

The photos in this article are meant to show you various reactions of dogs around babies. Becoming familiar with how dogs express their feelings can give you valuable information about how your dog is feeling, so that you can take any needed steps to change the situation and help your dog when he needs it. That will lead to a calmer home, increased safety, and a more relaxed you!

RELAXED FAMILY WITH BABY AND DOG

Here’s a nice family portrait. Yes, it’s staged, but remember that while people can pose for a photo, fixing happy expressions on their faces, dogs don’t hide their feelings; if the dog in the photo were nervous or stressed, it would show. But this dog isn’t projecting any tension; his mouth is relaxed and open, his body is loose, his ears are floppy, and his eyes are soft and squinty. He looks very comfortable being close to the baby in the basket. Maybe he’s hot and panting; he has a very heavy coat, and it may be a warm day. But he’s not expressing any tension. 

It’s a good thing that the people in the photo didn’t try to put the dog in between the people; that might be too close for comfort for this big dog. He’s in an ideal position, right there with the family, but with a space of his own. Everyone in the photo looks happy.

MOM SITTING ON THE FLOOR WITH BABY AND DOG

Everyone in this photo is so relaxed that they look half asleep. The dog’s eyes are almost closed, his ears are loose, and his head is resting heavily on the mother’s leg. He looks blissfully calm and comfortable, perhaps about to doze off.

Mom is providing calm, loving care and supervision to both dog and baby, stroking the dog’s head, and holding her baby in her lap, with some space between dog and baby. 

FAMILY PHOTO WITH A BABY AND AN ACTIVE DOG

Here’s another family photo, this one with a dog that’s more active than the dog in the photo just above. Here, both parents are providing good supervision, with mom holding the baby on her lap, and dad in between the dog and baby. This energetic little dog is having fun with dad, licking his face, while mom smiles at him; the parents are encouraging the dog to focus on dad, not the baby. 

Do you think it would be a good idea for this dog to start licking the baby’s face, especially with as much energy as he’s showing with the dad? Dogs can get very excited, especially when they become strongly engaged in an activity; intense, prolonged licking of a baby, especially a baby’s face, can be risky. It’s always a good idea to encourage dogs to be calm around babies.

DAD PLAYING WITH HIS DOG AND BABY

This photo shows a very different situation, with a lot of energy that seems to be fun for the dad and possibly the baby, but not so much for the dog. Dad is putting on quite a show, making faces and probably laughing while keeping the baby entertained. I can’t help wondering what that baby is thinking of his dad’s performance.

But what about the dog? He looks very stressed; he’s hanging on to the dad’s head for dear life, his body is tight and stiff, his head is turned away from the action. His ears are tight, and it’s possible to see a little bit of the white of his left eye as he looks as far in the other direction as he can. (Showing the white of the eye is called “Whale Eye” and is a sign of stress.)

His mouth is closed tightly, and if he didn’t have so much fur around his muzzle, there might be wrinkles around his mouth from tension. 

My take on this photo is that the dad is holding the dog over his head to amuse his son, but at the expense of the dog. That dog is not a happy camper in this photo!

DOG HELD CLOSE TO BABY 

Here’s a dog that looks scared and nervous, even at first glance. He’s pulling his body as far away from the baby as he can, and turning his head away as well. His mouth is closed and tight, and his left eye seems to be nervously looking back to see what the baby is doing. He can’t get away, because mom is holding him close, so he’s likely to feel trapped. 

Because mom is behind the dog, she isn’t picking up on his stress. Or it may be that she just doesn’t recognize stress signals in a dog. In any case, the baby has both hands on the dog, and it’s safe to say that the dog really doesn’t want to be touched right now, certainly not in the way the baby is touching him. 

This photo portrays a risky situation: the dog could become so nervous and feel so trapped that his stress could become more than he can handle, and he could suddenly turn toward the baby and snap or bite. Even if he doesn’t do that, he’s certainly learning that being close to the baby is not a pleasant experience!

Always be careful about putting a dog in a situation where he can’t get away. Dogs should always have an escape route.

A CRAWLING BABY TEASES A SMALL DOG

This photo may appear cute to many people, and I suspect that the photographer thought this interaction between baby and dog was all in fun, since no one intervened to stop it, but there’s a lot of potential for a bite here.

The child is crawling directly toward the dog, staring at the dog, and his face is right at the level of the dog’s face. Because of his open mouth, he may have just made a loud noise at the dog.

The dog doesn’t look like he’s in play mode: his mouth is tightly closed, his ears are standing up stiffly and his tail is held high, which can be a sign of strong arousal. Of course, we don’t know if this dog always carries his tail above his back, as some dogs do, but even so, it looks tight and tense. It also looks like his fur is standing out from his body, which can be an attempt by an animal to look larger when he feels threatened. Cats do this in a very dramatic way! The dog’s general posture is not one of play but of tension; he looks startled by the child’s approach.

A video of this situation would have provided more information, but even though some details may be missing, it should never happen that a child (or anyone else) moves his face directly toward a dog’s face; in the dog world, doing so is perceived as a threat. It’s the way dogs approach each other when they’re about to fight, and it’s not a safe thing for a human to do. It can pose a serious risk for a child.

A TODDLER BOTHERING A PUPPY WHO’S EATING

This photo shows another big NO-NO! Dogs can be very defensive about their food, and this puppy shows strong signs of defensive stress. He’s hunched down over the food bowl, with his head deep in the bowl, and he seems to be eating as fast as he can. The food scattered around the floor shows that someone has disturbed the food dish, and that’s also likely to cause the puppy to eat with more intensity.

The little girl is leaning over the puppy, a posture that often causes stress for dogs, and, as in the photo above, her face is close to the puppy’s face. The fingers of the child’s left hand are curled, indicating that she’s got a grip on the puppy’s fur and skin, which may cause him to feel trapped. If he can’t contain his stress and snaps at the child, she’s likely to get bitten with those needle-sharp puppy teeth.

Interfering with dogs when they’re eating can cause stress that gets stronger and stronger over time. It used to be thought that dogs could be taught not to guard their food by systematically interacting with them when they were eating: putting a hand in the food dish and moving the food around, taking the bowl away and then giving it back, feeding the dog by hand, one piece of food at a time, and petting the dog while he’s eating, as well as other ways of intruding on the dog’s meal. 

These interruptions can be as annoying to a dog as it would be to you if you were hungrily eating your dinner and someone suddenly removed your plate without your permission, put it back, used a fork to take some of your food away, and then tried to feed you one bite at a time. I don’t think it would take most of us very long to get pretty frustrated and angry if we had to go through this process at mealtimes. 

Dogs are no different, and interfering with a dog when he’s eating can cause the dog to develop a tendency to protect and guard food. If the puppy in the photo is frequently subjected to the kind of interference shown in the photo, not only could this toddler get bitten, but there’s a strong likelihood that the pup will grow up to be a dog with a potentially dangerous habit of guarding his food.

Children should never interact with a dog when he’s eating; keeping children and dogs separated during meal times is an important safety measure. Check this out in my article:

Dogs, Babies and Food - Not a Good Threesome!

I hope these photos are helpful in understanding what your dog is communicating. It’s always a good idea to promote calm relaxation in dogs when they’re near babies, and to avoid situations that cause the dog stress.  

For a FREE Checklist that will tell you how your dog is feeling about your baby, go to www.yourdogandbaby.com.