What part of your dog...

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#1
Is their most expressive part? What tells you immediately what they're feeling?

Both Traveler and Ridgie Didgie Doo are extremely expressive with their body (and voices) but in both one thing seems to stand out above all else.

For Traveler it's his ears. Being as giant as they are it's inevitable.


IMG_2519 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr


IMG_3950 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr


IMG_4172 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr

And for Didgie it's her eyes.


IMG_2757 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr

IMG_4826 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr


And Kaylee it's her tail

If it's curled she's happy


IMG_0555 by Traveling Koolie, on Flickr
 

Dizzy

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#2
Hmmmm... Her face lol. You just have to look at her to know what mood she's in. Big dopey grin vs sad glum faces etc
 

MericoX

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#3
Charlie and Lincoln I go by their tails. Lincoln wags his tail more when being naughty. Charlie you can tell her level of happy by her wpm (wags per minute). The others usually just their posture or ears.
 

Finkie_Mom

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#4
For Bubbles, it's her tail, with up and over the back being happy/confident.



For Pen, it's his mouth.



And for Kimma, it's really just her general body posture.


 

Laurelin

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#5
Summer- eyes and grin. And tail. Haha, I am cheating... Her tail goes a million miles an hour when she's happy/excited.


My best Friend by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr


DSC_0113 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Mia... that face! Just all of it. She has the best expressions ever.

I really hate you right now

DSC_1757 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Feelin' ornery

DSC_1509 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Angry

noeyes3 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

HAPPY!


DSC_0148 by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

Both my dogs are the kind that wear their emotion in every fiber of their being. lol It's hard to just pick one, especially for mia.
 

Lyzelle

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#6
I dunno. I kinda want to say his whole body. His face is very expressive, of course, but I can tell a lot by his tail and posture, too...





 
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#9
Liberty's most expressive characteristic is his voice. Whether he's "wrrr"ing in excitement or huffing unhappily he is ALWAYS talking.

Mammoth's is definitely his mouth. He purses his lips when he's upset/confused and absolutely grins when he's happy.

Bailey's is his paws. His emotions cause him to leap or skitter or tilt around the house in a mostly undignified fashion :D
 

Jenne

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#11
Ears and face for Chase. When we are training, he has "aha" moments where his eyes get wide and ears come forward. I know then he understands what I'm asking for, when he's disgruntled he pulls his lip into his mouth. When he's sad or tired his ears droop down, and his eyes even get droopy.
 

Cali Mae

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#12
If I had to pick one, I'd say ears.. but Cali is a pretty expressive dog. If she's super excited, her ears go back, her tail goes a mile a minute and usually a big smile and a few excited barks aren't too far behind. If she's upset or bored, her tail usually just goes right down and her eyes almost look pitiful.
 

*blackrose

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#13
Cooper's tail. Which is kind of funny, because it's docked. But you can tell exactly what he's thinking by the way his tail is moving or positioned.

Gracie, it'd be her eyes. She lets you know what she's feeling by the way her eyes look.

Cynder expresses herself very well with her body language - how she holds herself, which way she leans, how quickly she responds to something, what her head position is, etc.

Chloe, it's her entire face. She has such an expressive face. Mouth, ears, and eyes.
 

Maxy24

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#14
For Tucker is it probably his mouth. I can always tell when he's anxious or restless because he'll pant with the edges of his mouth pulled back as far as they can go. It's not like his relaxed slack open mouth when he's happy or just plain hot. When he's going to be "naughty" he will have his mouth closed but somehow he can show some of his front teeth, like if a person were to make a bunny rabbit face, slightly lifting the very front of the top lip. And he has the classic open mouth grin when he's super happy or exited. His mouth is clamped closed when he's nervous and he puckers when aggressive, classic dog behavior.


But I mean he speaks with his whole body really well. I can always tell if he sees someone he knows out the window because all of sudden his ears will go from as far forward as possible to back and down and the tail will go from high on his back to level with his spine with big loose wags, always at the same time. When he's bored he holds his head low, like he's miserable. And he can have terribly sad looking eyes, but I think the mouth has a lot of affect on the eyes.
 

maxfox426

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#15
Tail. Definitely tail with Morgan.

He has very expressive eyes... but he doesn't always tell the truth with his eyes. :lol-sign: I can always check his tail to find out what he's REALLY thinking.

For example: My husband is in charge of feeding Morgan dinner. Morgan comes to me and gives me the "I'm SOOOOO hungry!" eyes. If the tail is down, he hasn't been fed yet. If the tail is wagging, he is a LIAR trying to get a second dinner out of me. :rofl1:
 

thehoundgirl

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#16
Buster his eyes. He has those pathetic hound puppy dog eyes and it usually means he wants food. He lives to eat I swear. :rofl1:

Rudy, his tail usually. If he has it all the way up and it curls like your Kaylee's he is pretty happy.

For Dixie it's her tail, even though it's docked she wags it so much and she expresses herself through "smiling" also. Also through the way she "talks" to you. She makes you feel special when she roo, roo, roo's at you! She's a happy girl!

For my past dogs:

Rocky, his tail deifinately. It wagged like a propeller when he was really happy. I miss him so much.

Jenny, her tail and her eyes. Gosh she was the most expressive dog ever. I miss my best girl!

Ginger, her ears and eyes. She had big bat ears. I miss her a lot and stroking her ears, they were like velvet. :)
 

Teal

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#18
Ruger - his eyes. I can look at that dog's eyes and know exactly what he's thinking. And he knows what I'm thinking. We're good like that lol

Jolene - her body. She does a lot of over-exaggerated movements that make it easy to tell what she's feeling.

Bukra - His tail. I really need to get a video... when he's relaxed, his tail falls straight.. but say his name (or some other word he knows with excitement), and it pops up into a double curl lol You can tell exactly how he's feeling by looking at his tail.

Zealand - His voice. He's a talker and a grumbler, and is always telling everyone about something!

Peshamba - Her eyes. Though I'm still learning what she's trying to tell me.. we're getting there!
 

Toller_08

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#19
For both of the Dobermans, it's their eyes. And their ears play a pretty big role too, but their eyes are incredibly expressive.

For Dance it's really her whole face. Her mouth, her eyes, her ears. She has so many different facial expressions it's crazy.
 

ihartgonzo

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#20
Definitely their ears. I can tell instantly from afar of behind if they're fixating on something or about to react or super happy. Gonzo's ears are much softer and go back/fourth constantly, while Fozzie's ears only go back if he sees some one or another dog that he absolutely LOVES. If his ears go sideways/slightly back he's nervous. If they're intensely perked forward he's focusing on something.

This is why I wouldn't want a floppy eared dog. ;)
 

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