Calming signals is a term brought forth by Norwegian dog trainer Turid Rugaas (2005) to describe behaviors that dogs display when trying to calm down a situation. In animals living in groups, it’s important to have ways of communication that can pacify a potentially tense situation. Ongoing conflicts between the individuals would weaken the pack by increasing the risk for injuries and interfere with potential cooperation. But are calming signals truly signals and are they really calming? Some of these signals, such as lip (or nose) licking, turning away or yawning are also expressions of stress in the dog. So is there a difference between calming signals and stress signals? Are we simply using different ways to describe similar behaviors? New studies on the subjects have attempted to better understand the function of these behaviors (Gazzano & al., 2010; Mariti & al., 2010; Mariti & al., 2014).
As social animals, dogs have evolved complex forms of communication through body language and vocalizations. Some signals are threatening, such as growling, barking, lunging or showing teeth and are intended to keep others away. Other behaviors, like a sort of “language of peace” according to Rugaas, are intended to keep calm between dogs and avoid or cut off conflicts. This second category of behaviors is what she calls “calming signals” and is used during interactions with other dogs or with people.
About 30 behaviors can be defined as calming signals. Here are a few of the main ones:
- Lip (or nose) licking
- Sniffing the ground
- Turning away/turning of the head
- Play bow
- Walking slowly
- Sitting down
- Walking in a curve
- Wagging the tail
Dogs are most likely to use such signals when they’re uncomfortable with a situation and according to Rugaas, when they’re communicating their discomfort. A person bending over a dog, direct and prolonged eye contact, yelling, confusion or feeling trapped will typically trigger one or the other of those behaviors.
Many of the “calming signals” fall in one or the other of the following categories of behaviors also referred to as:
- Displacement behaviors: when animals are conflicted between two drives, for instance if they want to approach an object but are unsure at the same time, they will sometimes engage in a behavior that has nothing to do with the situation. Scratching, sniffing the ground, self-grooming or nail biting are some of the many forms of displacement behaviors. Studies in animals and humans have shown that these behaviors are directly related to the levels of anxiety experienced (Maestripieri & al., 1992; Troisi & al., 2000). In baboons for instance, when an individual is close to a dominant baboon, he/she will increase the amount of self directed behaviors (Castles & al. 1999).
- Appeasement gestures: these behaviors are meant to offset any potential threat by another animal. Submissive behaviors, play bows, looking away and smiling are displayed in an effort to assure the receiver of no harm intended. An obvious example of this type of behavior is when a dog rolls on his back or lowers his head in sign of submission as his owner scolds him for peeing on the carpet. In humans, appeasement gestures are very similar and we’ll appease others with a constricted posture, lower head movement and gaze avoidance (Keltner, 1995).
- Stress signs: Lip (or nose) licking, yawning, shaking off, whale eyes, head movements have been identified as signs of stress. Just like dogs, we too tend to have darting eyes and head swivels when anxious (Perkins, 2012). It’s possible that some of these behaviors help increase the animal’s ability to gather information and assess a situation. Other signs, such as yawning or shaking off are mostly a physical response, a way to decrease the levels of anxiety.
As we can see, the different behaviors, referred to as ‘calming signals’, are not specific to dogs, but are expressed in often very similar ways across the animal kingdom. Since we too have our own form of such behaviors, we can use our own experience to try to understand what happens in the dog’s mind. It seems that at the very least, we should distinguish between behaviors that are mostly reflexes, physiological responses to a stressful situation, and behaviors that are conscious and deliberate attempts to communicate about our internal state and intentions.
In an attempt to assess if calming signals are really signals and are indeed calming, three recent studies from an Italian research team have videotaped the encounters of multiple dogs (Gazzano & al., 2010; Mariti & al., 2010; Mariti & al., 2014). Each dog met 4 other dogs: a familiar female, a familiar male, an unfamiliar female and an unfamiliar male. The encounters happened off-leash in a fenced in area for a duration of 5 minutes. Over 3,000 behaviors were recorded and the team examined 21 signals described by Rugaas: ‘turning head’, ‘looking elsewhere’, half-closing eyes’, ‘turning on other’s side or back’, ‘ licking nose’, ‘freezing’, ‘moving slowly’, ‘play bow’, ‘sitting’, ‘sitting and turning on other’s back’, ‘laying down’, ‘yawning’, ‘sniffing the ground or wall’, ‘approaching the other dog curving’, ‘waving low tail’, ‘cowering’, ‘licking the other dog’s mouth, ‘blinking’, smacking’, ‘raising a forelimb’ and ‘low urination’. Calming signals were significantly more frequent when the dogs were interacting. In the case of aggressive behaviors, such as barking, growling or snapping, the dogs were more likely to display at least one of the analyzed behaviors. When a calming signal was expressed there was a significant decrease in the chances of aggression. The authors concluded that calming signals do indeed play a communicative role and confirmed their calming effects on the receiver.
In biology, the term signal is used to define traits or behaviors that change the behavior of the receiver in ways that will benefit the signaler (Bradbury, 1998). In the case of calming signals, we can say that yes, calming signals do indeed convey information that will calm down the other dog, allowing the situation to relax. But as always, things are never black and white and many if not all signals are also expressions of stress. What we still don’t know at this point is if these signals are truly displayed by the dogs in a conscious attempt to calm down a situation. Some of these behaviors are mostly expressions of automatic functions and even if they influence how dogs interact, we still need more studies to truly understand their role in the dog’s communication repertoire.
Jennifer Cattet Ph.D.
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