Gestural Communication & Body Language

Hi everyone! Courtney here!

What’s in a wag? 

The other day my dog Sonder and I were getting in some early morning activity before the heat made it unbearable to be outside. Sonder was doing some off-leash sniffing around the perimeter of a wooded area near our home as a few other people and their dogs began to gather. This particular space is known to our neighborhood as being one frequented by good-natured pups and very mindful and attentive humans. That morning a dog I hadn’t seen before joined the group, still on-leash with his person. As another off-leash dog approached for greeting, the leashed dog’s tail shot straight up and began moving in tight, jerky circles. “Oh look,” said his human, “he’s so happy!” I whistled for Sonder and moved us along as I didn’t feel it was my place to explain to the newcomer that her dog’s wag was definitely NOT a sign of happiness, but, judging by his stance and that fact that he was restrained while the other dog was not, was instead most likely signaling discomfort, anxiety, and perhaps even some territoriality. I didn’t stick around to see if the stiff, flagged tail went down, but was reminded of how much we all need to be better about reading our dog’s body language. 

Some (very brief) notes on gestural communication… 

As much as we pride ourselves on developing language, early humans weren’t just born talking. Before language we, like other animals, relied heavily on gesture (and still do). As our brains and societies grew more complex, spoken and written language became more important to allow for nuance in expression. Still, many agree that language has roots in gestural communication, and gesture arguably remains as critical an element in our repertoire as in other animals’.

In The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, published in 1872, Charles Darwin described the significance of the face in expressing emotion, in particular, and went on to further describe universality in these expressions. Wilhelm Wundt, another theorist of the time, posited that through gesture, the experiences of others could be recognized. And later, nearly 100 years after Darwin, Paul Ekman showed that certain facial expressions did indeed seem to be cross-cultural. He also pioneered research into what we now know about nonverbal communication, identifying three types of gestures: illustrators, manipulators, and emblems. 

Taking all of this theory into account, primatologists began looking to our close genetic relatives for clues into how language may have evolved from gesture (or not), and there is rich debate about gesture and intention among non-human primates.

Is body language really that important? 

Anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell dedicated his life to the study of what he coined, kinesics, or, human movement as a culturally patterned visual communication. Though humans regularly use complex language, our bodies continue to be crucial when it comes to how we consciously and subconsciously communicate. 

Dogs and body language 

Dogs descended from wolves, animals that are highly social and dependent on successfully communicating with their pack. Because of this ancestry, dogs also rely heavily on body language as they move through the world. Dogs use their eyes, ears, tails, posture, and even hair to communicate how they are feeling or what they need or might do. Co-evolving with humans, these innate gestures have also been adapted to new situations and contexts, making dogs uniquely excellent cross-species communicators, even without words. And as we know, they understand both the intentional and unintentional gestural cues we give them very well. To bring it back to the story about the dog with the flagged tail, there’s no doubt that dogs are deliberate in their use and understanding of body language. As dogs’ companions, it’s our job to tap into our own gestural roots, so that we can better understand what they say.

Where buttons fit in

The goal of using buttons to communicate with our dogs and cats is not to replace body language, but rather to expand on those existing channels of communication. Never ignore your dog or cats’ body language for the sake of forcing button usage. However, talking buttons can serve as a tool to expand our furry friends’ communicative repertoire and provide additional channels of communicating. They also—in many instances—provide a medium for more nuanced thoughts, feelings, demands, etc. 

Courtney Sexton is a Postdoctoral research scientist at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and has a PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology and Comparative Animal Behavior from The George Washington University.