Stress Signals in the Face

Dogs get stressed out too. But do you know when? Whether it's playing, training or just lounging around, it is very important to know the stress signs of dogs. After all, that's how dogs are trying to communicate with you.

When your dog tells you "I'm stressed", you have to know what to do. If we unknowingly push them too far, they may develop a fear or hate depending on what kind of stress or even show aggressiveness.

There are different ways a dog can show us that they're stress, especially in the face.

Nose licking and yawning are signs of low stress and it's their way of calming themselves. Yawning is a little less known as it could mean that they're just tired. But when they start to yawn at random times in the day, it could very well mean that something is causing their stress.

Excessive drooling or hyper salivating is another form of stress. Of course if you're holding a treat and teasing it might be a different story. Most dogs drool to a certain point. But only you can know if he's drooling more than usual so keep that in check. Some dogs may even foam in the mouth so watch out for that too.

The eyes can tell a lot too! Just like how our eyes open wide when we're scared or shocked, the dogs eyes do the same. Once you start to see the whites of their eyes, you know they're feeling a little stressed out. Of course when your dog is on the floor and is looking up at you, you'll naturally see the whites of their eyes. This isn't a stressed out eye so not to worry.

The ears can tell you that their stressed too! In the picture on the right, you can clearly tell that the dog's ears aren't relaxed. When their ears fold back like the one in the picture, it may be a sign of stress.

A dog's face can tell you so many things. We just have to really educate ourselves to see what they're feeling. Never ever force a dog to do anything when they're stressed. Try to remove them from the stressor if at all possible.

Never look at one area of the face but try to look it as a whole and decipher what they're trying to tell you. Looking at one particular area could be easily taken out of context.