What Panting Means (Not All Panting is the Same)

By Guest Blogger Lore Haug DVM MS DACVB

We all know dogs pant for thermoregulation. But panting can provide information about the dog’s emotional state as well. Dogs pant when under heat or physical stress or psychological stress. Panting also can appear associated with any type of arousal or exertion (e.g. excitement, aggression, or anxiety).

Figure 1: This is a relatively neutral, temperature related pant. The dog’s facial expression is alert but relaxed. While there is some caudal retraction of the commissures of the lips, the lips themselves have a downward relaxed droop. Additionally, the span of the tongue and protrusion of the mouth are commensurate with the amount of lip retraction.

Figure 2: This dog also shows a relaxed pant. Again, the ears and facial expression are relaxed. The eyes are soft and there is no excessive wrinkling or tension of the skin and muscles on the face. The dog’s lips have a pronounced downward droop and there is no extension of the tongue out of the mouth.

Figures 3 and 4: This is a relaxed pant related to heat and exertion. There is marked protrusion of the tongue with expansion of the tip into the “spoon” appearance. While there is notable caudal retraction of the lips, there is again a lot of downward droop. In the second photo, this downward droop makes a pucker at the commissure as the retraction of the commissure causes the lip to slightly fold over or bulge outward. Again, otherwise the skin and muscles are relatively smooth and the eyes are soft – no exposure of the sclera . This dog would exhibit normal frequent and “full” blinking of the eyes.

Figure 5: Compare this photo to Figure 1. In this photo, the dog is showing more anxiety compared to Figure 1. The tongue is extended about the same amount; however, there is more caudal lip retraction and more “upward” lift of the lips themselves. There is more tension and wrinkling of the skin and muscles along the muzzle and particularly under the eyes. Additionally, the ears are slightly dropped at the base.

Figure 6: This is another dog with an anxious element to the pant. The level of retraction of the commissures of the lips is excessive as compared to the amount of tongue extension. The dog’s mouth is open relatively wide, yet there is very little “spooning” or expansion of the tip of the tongue as would be expected for more effective heat dissipation.

Figure 7: This photo shows an almost pure anxiety/fear related pant. There is marked lip retraction with no protrusion of the tongue. The lips are vertically elevated (no downward droop) to the point that almost all of the dog’s teeth are visible. (Compare this to all the other photos where there is NO exposure of the upper canine teeth.) The scleras are visible (“whale eye”) and the ears are rolled back in a high stress position. This dog would likely show little and/or abbreviated blinking.

Dr. Lore Haug is a veterinary behaviorist in Houston, TX

Puppy Classes: Fun and Important

Michael Baugh CDBC, CPDT-KSA

There are lots of good reasons to take a group puppy class with your new dog. There are so many reasons, in fact, that I’m actually shocked more people don’t do it. (Can you believe fewer than 5% of new puppy owners engage in any training at all?). That’s crazy. Why? Well, for one puppy classes are so much fun. Add to that, they’re incredibly important.

Puppy classes are “brain changers.” Really good puppy classes are specially designed for dogs between 8 and 18 weeks of age, youngsters. At that stage of their development, our puppies’ brains are still growing, making connections, and creating receptacles for important brain chemicals. Puppy classes that include interesting and enriching activities like play, exposure to novel sights and sounds, as well as fun interactions with other humans can help our young dogs’ brains grow stronger (and measurably bigger, too).

Puppy classes prevent fear and aggression. Young puppies are adventurous sorts, always walking a fine line between bravery and fear. They’re figuring out what is safe in the world and what may not be so safe for them. A well-designed and properly supervised puppy class helps our young dogs learn that the world is full of wonder, with other dogs, new people, and new sights, sounds and smells. Better yet, they learn that all those new experiences come with a variety of smiles, praise and treats. Our dogs grow up learning that life is good, and the world is safe for them. They aren’t fearful, and they don’t grow up to be aggressive dogs.

Good manners start at puppy class. Our young puppies are clean slates. They haven’t learned any bad habits yet. Smart puppy classes fill their brains early on with lots of good habits, simple tasks that even very young dogs can learn. It’s amazing to see how much and how fast a very young dog can learn. They are ready, and oh so willing.

Puppy classes are good for humans. Humans who engage in early training with their young dogs bond more strongly with their dogs. We learn how to communicate with our dogs at a level other dog owners don’t. Plus, we learn skills for training our dogs even more useful and complicated tasks as they mature. So yeah, we learn stuff too.

Don’t forget reason number one: Puppy classes are fun! Seriously, they are big fun. The best puppy classes include lots of off-leash play and games for humans and their dogs. It’s low stress learning for everyone. And, c’mon, you’re in a room with lots of really cute puppies. How could it not be fun.

Now, you have permission to stop reading. Go find a reward-based puppy class in your area (message me for recommendations). Take some cute pictures from your puppy class experience, too. You can email those to me as well and I’ll post them on Instagram and my Facebook page.

Michael Baugh teaches dog training in Houston and Katy, TX. He specializes in behavior related to fear and aggression.

Puppy Adolescence

Michael Baugh CDBC, CPDT-KSA

They grow up so fast. But honestly, some puppies just can’t grow up fast enough. They go from cute to incorrigible in no time. Then they seem to get stuck, for months, or for years.

We call it puppy adolescence, probably because it so horrifically mirrors human adolescence. Our dear sweet puppies who followed us around and learned their manners so quickly, suddenly go wild. A dear client of mine said she hardly recognized her own dog when he suddenly went rogue at the pet store. Atticus was a 5-month-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, and a model puppy. Then in aisle 7 he met a boxer who he absolutely had to play with, right there, right away. Atticus learned in that very moment that he’d grown in size and strength. He pulled hard on his leash to reach the other dog (who was barking and growling, by the way) and gave my client’s shoulder a good hard strain.

Welcome to the next year of your life with an adolescent puppy.

The early months of puppy development are all about teaching him that the world is a safe place. Before they come into our lives, puppies learn to interact with siblings and their mother. We hope they also have healthy interactions with humans in their birth homes (dogs born on the streets and in puppy mills aren’t so lucky). Once they come to us, we introduce them to the various types of people and human activities they will encounter throughout their adult lives. The goal here is to show them that those crazy humans and their weird ways are really quite safe and great fun for puppies. We coo, praise, and offer lots of tasty treats.

By 4 ½ to 5 months, our best efforts have produced calm and confident young dogs. We’ve been to puppy class for some beginner manners. Potty training and puppy biting are both under control. Now we have a developing dog who is growing in size and intelligence. They’ve had a taste of the exciting world, and they are hungry for more.

Atticus already weighs 45 lbs. He’s strong, and he’s sharp. He’s also is a savvy learner. That’s good news because Atticus has an excellent early history figuring out how to respond appropriately to humans, especially his human family. That can be a double-edged sword though, because Atticus is also quick to learn what to do to get his way in general. For example, jumping up on counter tops gets him free snacks (sometimes). And, pulling toward that boxer in the cat toy aisle gets him closer to an impromptu play date. Our adolescent dogs discover that behavior pays. Good behavior or bad, those are our labels. It’s all the same to our dogs. Whatever behavior works is good for them.

Helping your dog through adolescence is similar to getting him through early puppyhood. It’s all about structure, and setting your dog up to succeed. But the specifics are a bit different.

Focus on what you want your dog to do, not what you don’t want him to do. Teach him skills and practice daily. For puppy people who have already been training, much of this will be review. Start thinking about basic manners as solutions to problem behaviors. Sit prevents jumping on people. Down teaches your dog to relax and slow down hyperactivity. Coming when called averts many varieties of mischief away from you. Eye contact while on-leash prevents pulling and lunging. Reinforce the behavior you want and you will get more of it.
Teach impulse control. Stay, leave it, and drop it are all good starts. Just remember point one: focus on what you want your dog to do. Impulse control isn’t about your yelling “no.” Stay means your dog holds his position and focus on you. Reinforce this activity. Leave it means your dog takes is eyes off of trouble and looks at you instead. Clicker training is a great way to teach him to do that reliably when you call “leave it.” Drop it is also an activity. Release the object in your mouth. Yes! Good dog!
Turn play into learning. Our adolescent dogs are eager for activity and play. Integrate playtime and training time. You can reinforce all of the lessons above with tug, fetch, and other types of play. Experiment and see what your dog wants to work for. You can also use treats.

Exercise and a healthy diet are also very important. You might want to ask your vet if your dog’s breed and overall physical development are appropriate for dog sports like beginner agility, fly ball, or dock diving.

Now, pause for a moment. Imagine who you want your adolescent dog to become. Think about walking your dog down the path toward that goal. What will you teach him along the way? How will you let him know when he’s getting it right – smiles, praise, clicker train, play? Choose to let the bad stuff fall to the wayside. You already know that punishing behavior gives it too much of your attention. Watch your dog grow in size and strength, but also in spirit and maturity. Imagine the noble old dog he will someday be.

You will make it through your puppy’s adolescence. I bet you’ll even forget how hard it was. If you’re like me, you’ll wish time had moved more slowly. Darned if the little guy didn’t grow up too fast.

(This blog originally published on Chron.com)