--- title: Reading a dog's body language — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Reading a dog's body language», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Dogs cannot talk, but they tell us how they feel all the time with their tail, ears, mouth, eyes and whole body. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/) / Reading a dog's body language # Reading a dog's body language Lesson 21 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 19 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/0/) — Dogs cannot talk, but they tell us how they feel all the time with their tail, ears, mouth, eyes and whole body. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/1/) — A relaxed, friendly dog has a loose, wiggly body, a soft open mouth and a tail that wags in wide, easy sweeps. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/2/) — A frightened or angry dog goes stiff and still: its tail may be tucked low or held high and rigid, its ears flat back or stiffly forward, and it may show the whites of its eyes, curl its lip or growl. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/3/) — A wagging tail does not always mean a happy dog; a stiff, high tail that flicks fast can mean the dog is tense and ready to act. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/5/) — For example, a dog lying under a table with its ears back, licking its lips and showing the whites of its eyes is telling you: «Leave me alone.» - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/6/) — A family dog in Ohio had been gentle for years; when a toddler grabbed its tail it bit her face and she needed stitches. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/7/) — A boy in Texas kept patting a dog that had gone stiff, licked its lips and showed the whites of its eyes; it snapped and bit his hand. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/8/) — Dogs show their feelings with their whole body, not only with their tail. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/9/) — A loose, wiggly body and a soft, open mouth usually mean a relaxed, friendly dog. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/11/) — A tail tucked between the back legs usually means the dog is frightened. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/12/) — A tail held high and stiff, even if it wags, can mean the dog is tense or excited, not friendly. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/13/) — Ears pinned flat back often mean fear; ears pushed stiffly forward can mean the dog is on alert. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/14/) — Showing the whites of the eyes, lip licking and yawning when not tired are signs of a worried dog. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/15/) — A growl, a curled lip or bared teeth are warnings that mean «back off». - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/16/) — Hair standing up along a dog's back means it is upset, scared or very excited. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/17/) — A play bow, with the front legs down and the bottom up, is a dog's invitation to play. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/18/) — Most dog bites happen with dogs the child already knows, often their own family dog; even a friendly dog may bite when it is scared, hurt or annoyed. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/19/) — Dog bites send thousands of children to hospital every year, and children are often bitten on the face. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/20/) — Most dogs that bite children are dogs they know, at home or at a friend's house. - ← previous: [Thinking about noticing](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/20-noticing-like-a-cat/) - next →: [Meeting a dog safely](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/22-meeting-a-dog-safely/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)