Dogs’ facial expressions and body language differ significantly from those of their human friends. So while your dog may not have the same complex expressions as you, it has another communication method.
Animal behaviorists and trainers have discovered the various reasons dogs’ ears are pushed back, and studying ear placement is helpful to owners.
Dog ears are more difficult to comprehend and must normally be analyzed in combination with other visual cues to provide a relevant interpretation. This is particularly true when the dog’s ears are pushed back or held tight to the head.
Your dog may be pushing its ears back for a variety of reasons. However, before we go into some of those reasons, let’s take a look at how a dog speaks with their ears overall.
Dogs Ears Back – What Would It Mean?
Dogs pull their ears back for various reasons, just as they frequently wag their tail for multiple reasons. For thousands of years, canines and their wolf ancestors have used ear positions to express emotions and meaning.
While these signals are known within their species, puppies also use them to communicate with us.
Whenever a dog’s ears are pulled back, it can indicate a variety of emotions. Most significantly, the dog is most likely aggressive if the dog exhibits additional body language indicators such as barking, displaying teeth, posturing, rigidity, or whisker twitching.
Though it may be difficult to see from drooping and cropped ears, most dogs can perk, swivel, and flatten their ears to a certain extent.
Three Types of Usual Ear Positioning
A calm and to-the-side stance is characteristic of a dog at ease in its surroundings. The ear should be relaxed and not cocked in any way. Any form of tightness in the ear base indicates a mood.
Ears Back and Relaxed
If the dog’s ears are pulled back yet relaxed, it usually indicates that the canine is happy. This ear posture is sometimes observed when the dog receives head pats or licks. If your dog’s ears are relaxed, there’s no reason to be concerned about his attitude.
Ears Back and Tensed
When canines pull their ears back and flatten them towards their heads, it may indicate that they are submissive, frightened, or fearful. Dogs use the flattened stance to defend themselves, and the more it presses their ears down towards their head, the more frightened it is.
When your dog sets its ears back, it’s a good place to begin analyzing what triggers this behavior. For example, when a dog is terrified or feels defensive, they may respond aggressively to protect themselves. Are they afraid of new people? Do the other canines make them uncomfortable?
If your dog is scared around other people and animals, it’s recommended to start walking them in more private locations where they won’t feel threatened or uncomfortable.
Ears Tensed and Forward
This is a bad indicator when your dog’s ears go from coiled and back to pulled and forward. On the other hand, when the dog’s ears stiffen and move forward, it indicates that the dog is prepared to respond to certain stimuli.
If they go from tucking their ears back into the forward yet tight position, it signals your dog is ready to make space among themselves and anything they perceive to be a threat.
It is critical to read your dog’s body language to prevent your dog from responding aggressively to a potential threat.
The Emotional Signs Your Dog’s Ears Are Showing You
We’ll talk about ear flattening in connection to various emotional phases your dog can be going through but consider that not all dogs show these emotions in the same manner. Their genetics and operations determine the natural posture; therefore, you must apply every one of these emotional reactions to your puppy.
Listening
Unlike humans, our canine companions can sharpen their hearing without moving their heads. Rather, they swivel their ears towards the sound, which may look pushed back or flattened if it is behind them. This posture is usually associated with an alert attitude, although the dog doesn’t look tense. Instead, their tail will usually hang, and they may stand still to concentrate on whatever they are listening to. Puppies can also listen with their ears forward, depending on the position of the sound.
Sadness
Sadness in puppies is usually followed by sagging body language. They appear to avoid eye contact because their ears are flattened against their heads, their tail is virtually limp, and they have flattened their ears against their heads. This body language is frequently observed in puppies who are in trouble or in “time-out” for inappropriate behavior and when a beloved person departs.
Fear and Nervousness
Fear and nervousness manifest differently in each dog, but these feelings evoke comparable actions in the ears and eyes. For example, Whale eyes, which refer to wide eyes with dilated pupils, are frequently accompanied by flat ears, a tail tucked between the knees, and body stiffness when dogs feel scared.
Scared dogs are far more likely to snap and bite if they sense they have no option but rather to attack.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a more severe and protracted kind of stress. Owners are most likely to hear about separation anxiety, although puppies can be worried for a variety of reasons. Anxiety is characterized by flattened ears, increased awareness, a tucked tail, or even efforts to escape a situation.
This is a frequent habit in dogs that need to be in the car but dread road trips or in dogs that are frightened by many children at once. You could also see your dog doing it when you pet them, which suggests they aren’t having some fun.
Appeasement
When a dog’s ears are in their natural resting posture, it usually means the dog feels at ease in the situation. When a dog meets other dogs, it is usual to observe one dog keep its natural ear position, showing that they are at peace, while another dog pulls back their ears, signaling the opposite. In this circumstance, pulling the ears back could be an appeasing gesture.
Danger
Canines are highly observant of their surroundings, enabling them the first to detect dangers. Dogs frequently flatten their ears in reaction to threats, whether genuine or imagined by the veterinarian. This is due to associated emotions of dread or protective anger, which might begin as a warning. When it is about to bite, it will typically flatten its ears, aim hard looks towards the presumed threat, and make vicious sounds that show its jaws and teeth. If your dog exhibits these warning signs during inconvenient times, it is important to consult with a professional dog coach.
Diseases and Injuries
A puppy will limp on a damaged paw and cater to a sore ear. Likewise, when a dog has a painful injury or an infection, it may pull them back. These illnesses can be highly painful; thus, they may be clutching their ear back to avoid getting touched.
Why Is It Important To Understand Your Dog’s Ear Position?
Understanding dog body language is vital for a pet’s emotional and physical health and the owners’. Unfortunately, people unfamiliar with dogs sometimes misinterpret their body language and confront them with damaging consequences. Even when the human misreads the dog’s signaling, the dog usually bears the burden of the reaction.
The ears are usually interpreted in conjunction with other visual cues like wagging tail, butt up and laying chest down, rolling on their backs, and so on.
A dog’s ears can generally detect its involvement during moments of rage, arousal, fear, happiness, and aggression. Learning a dog’s messages and positions through its ears can help people and pets improve their health and relationships.
When Should You Be Careful?
Never approach an unknown dog. These are guesses for what a dog could be thinking based on ear position and posture. Regrettably, situations do not always line up with this list. Animals have their minds and, if provoked, will become very aggressive and potentially harmful.
Canine body language is more than a wagging tail and a moist tongue jumping about. While they are excellent emotional signs, a dog owner must also be mindful of other emotional cues. For example, the dog’s body language shows attentiveness, anxiety, aggression, boredom, relief, playfulness, and sensitivity.
Danger, fear, courtship, anxiousness, and grief are canine ear emotional cues. But, again, each dog has a unique set of ears for nonverbal communication, so owners must be aware of their dog’s signals.
FAQ
Final Thoughts
Understanding your dog’s body language may appear to be a challenging feat, but the benefits are important to any dog owner. It is critical to understand dog body language to appropriately analyze your dog’s mood and avoid problems while engaging with them.
Related topic: What can I put on my dog to relieve itching?
*photo by FotoParaTi – depositphotos
