In this case study you’re going to look at the paw lift. Earlier we pointed out that the paw lift is listed in the yellow and the green traffic signal charts. So take a moment and look at the paw lifts in these photos and determine which traffic signal category you think it belongs.
ANSWER: The dog on the left is eager and waiting. So we would say this is a green paw lift. It’s related to anticipation. You’ll see the rest of the dog is relaxed. The dog on the right is yellow. The lip licking shows more anxiety and worry. So this paw lift is related to stress.
Now look at the yawn in this photo. Take a few moments to look at the photos and write what you think is the differences in the dog’s yawn. How are you determining the traffic signal color differences?
ANSWER: In the dog on the left, his ears are back so you might be thinking yellow. He’s also blinking, he’s doing a full yawn which could be green or yellow, but because of the ears back and the blinking this is probably a stress-related behavior.
In the dog on the right, he has a more relaxed appearance, but his ears are still a little unsure. I would say green because he looks fairly relaxed, but then again with the ears back and the whites of the eyes showing, that might make him yellow.
So as you can see, these identifications become a little tricky. It gets harder to determine what the dog is saying without seeing the entire dog’s body and without putting it in context to the situation. The important thing is to be able to identify the signal and make some justification for your answer.
Now look at the piloerection, (the hair standing up on the dog’s back). Take a few moments to look at these photos and write what you think about the differences in each picture. How are you determining the traffic signal color?
ANSWER: In the dog on the left, you can obviously tell that the rest of the dog’s body language is showing some aggression. The dog is snarling, his tail is up, and his body posture is forward. This is obviously red.
In the dog on the right, those two dogs are greeting, his ears are back a little, his tail is to the side, but his overall body posture is somewhat relaxed and balanced. I would say he’s between green and yellow and it’s a little bit interested in the greeting but unsure.