7 Puppy Behaviors and What They Actually Mean – Dog Owners Must Know

As the most common type of household pets in the world, dogs are smart, cute, lively and enthusiastic, and loyal to their owners. But dogs can’t speak, they express themselves with extraordinarily flexible behaviors. In many cases, the owner can only interpret their thoughts or needs through the dog’s body language. Do you really understand your dogs? Do you know those weird or cute dog behaviors really mean? Here we’ve gathered the top six things that most common underlying meaning and dog-owners’ must know about theirs dog behaviors, keep reading and better understand your dog’s habits.

1. Wag Tails

Tail wagging is the most common action a dog does. Under normal circumstances, as everyone thinks, tail wagging is a dog expressing happiness and excitement. However, it doesn’t always the same. When dogs are wagging their tails, they lift up and swag to the right, which means they are in a happy state; but if they swag to the left quickly, it shows that they are in a state of anxiety and anger. At this time, please stay away immediately!

2. Belly Up

The belly is the most vulnerable part of a dog. The belly will be exposed only after the dog gets familiar with their owner, which proves that it trusts you and is catering to you. If you touch its belly lightly at this time, it will be very happy! However, when arguing with their companions, it is often a sign to beg for mercy, which means - willing to surrender!

3. Tilt Head

It’s irresistibly cute when a dog tilt his head. But why do dogs tilt their heads? Do they know how adorable they look, or is something else going on? Actually they are determine where the sound is coming from. Despite being able to hear an incredible range of frequencies, dogs can’t locate the source of a sound as well as humans can.

4. Sniff Each Other

You may have wondered why do dogs sniff each other's butts? Actually, dogs’ amazing sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans. They also have a special part of their noses called the Jacobson's organ that lets them ignore the smell of poop when they sniff another dog’s rear. They sniff to know about each other. Like if another dog is male or female, how old it is, what it eats, how healthy it is, and even what kind of mood they’re in. The chemicals also help it to know if other dogs are strangers or if they’ve met before. All of this helps dogs decide how they should behave. It's how dogs first get to know each other!

5. Lick

Licking is an instinctive behavior for a dog. When they were puppies their mother groomed them by licking and it provided them comfort. Puppies will also lick each other and their mom. For the most part, the reason why domestic dogs lick you is that they want to show you some love. Sometimes it turns out licking can also mean that our pooches are expressing empathetic concern towards us if we’re stressed out or upset.

6. Chasing Tail

What’s cuter than a dog chasing its tail? This amusing behavior is simply a fun way for your pup to expend her excess energy. Oftentimes, dogs will chase their tails because they are a bit bored; it’s a way for them to have fun and expend some energy.

7. Howling

Wolves howl to send messages to pack members who might be far away. They also emit the loud, low-pitched sound to enforce rank. It makes sense out in the wild, but why do your pups do it? It could just be a behavior passed on from their ancestral cousins, but behaviorists also think that howling is instinctively necessary and rewarding for dogs.