I have recently purchased a book about dog body language as I find my rott boy much harder to read than my staffy bitch.  This may be due to my staffy being older and having had much more time to tune into her but I wanted to brush up on some of the signals he gives out that I may be interpreting wrong.

One of these is a tongue flick where he sticks the tip of his tongue out when he is being petted - usually most noticeable when I pet him on the head.  I had always assumed that this meant he liked it as he comes across to me to be petted although prefers to have under his chin and his throat petted.  the book I purchased is a photographic guide to body language by Brenda Aloff and she states that this is done towards something that concerns them and when the dogs personal space is violated.  she describes it as an early warning or indicating stress.

This is something that I have never been aware of and am wondering now if I should stop petting him on the head or should continue doing it to get him used to it as it is the place most people touch when approaching a dog to pet it.  I hope he wouldn't snap at a stranger who does it but am confused  now about whether to stop or continue.  Clearly I have far too much time on my hands at the moment with the amount of reading I have been doing but would appreciate other peoples thoughts on this. lol.

Sorry, dont know the answer but could this be a Rottie thing? My other dogs don't do it but my (rescue) Rottie does exactly this! I've never thought it may be stress. You're right that Rotts are harder to read & compared to other breeds I've owned he's not really up for a big cuddle - the personal space issue? Maybe someone who has more experience with the breed will know.

My dog prefers to have his throat & chest scratched & I know a lot of dogs dont like being petted on the head so I tend not to do it with him or other dogs & when I take puppies out I always ask people to stroke them under the chin. He doesnt mind his ears being stroked, will occasionally roll over for a belly rub & is generally very docile but doesn't really settle in the car - insists on standing up for journeys & has been known to create at cars behind me. I should've taken him with me today when the idiot was tailgating me in icy conditions.

I always took it that petting a dog on the head was showing your dominance, and would certainly only ever approach an unknown dog by petting under the chin or on the chest.

Perhaps it unnerves him?

Hiya,

A lot of dogs don't like being stroked on their head and in that situation I see the toungue flick quite a bit, oten with them averting their eyes slightly or then lip licking.   Personally I always tend to stroke dogs on their chests or mine love having their ears stroked.  It can be quite disconcerting for dogs to be approached front on and have our hands go over their head, even when they know us and trust us it often isn't thier favourite.  I would listen to what he is telling you :-)  Either that or if you want him to b more comfortable with being touched on his head, start doing it when you feed him some yummy goodies and build up a really good positive association with it so he starts to see it as a good thing :-)

> Sorry, dont know the answer but could this be a Rottie thing?

They are definitely more tongue oriented than any other dogs I have met.  He licks the patio doors to get in and licks the bars of the stair gate too.  he is definitely more comfortable being stroked on the throat and chest so I should probably stick with that although I do see the value in conditioning him to getting patted on the head.  He is definitely less huggy than my staffy but is also keener than her to be beside me and have a part of him touching me e.g. sits on my feet when I am washing the dishes!  My staffy wouldn't give up her place beside the radiator for that. lol

If anyone is wanting an eye opener about interpreting body language that book is really interesting and it does differentiate between types of dogs although many of the behaviours are universal.

The key with dog signals like this is to take it in context, but I agree it sounds as if he may be a tad uncomfortable with this :) Most dogs learn to tolerate head patting/stroking, but do not always learn to really like it.

I've got/read a different book on dogs' body language [Turrid Rugrass sp] that says the same about tongue licking/flicking ie it's a sign that a dog is uncomfortable/stressed. 
Another point is that black dogs' body language is apparently difficult to read by other dogs.  I know Rotties aren't all black but they are very dark, also they don't have tails to help signal intentions to others.
Re head petting, maybe you could clicker train, he obviously is trying to be good about it but perhaps doesn't like it - using such greater reward based training could reassure you when it comes to being greeted by not so knowledgeable [ie not chin or chest scratching/stroking] people.

PS Keep up the reading - keeps us all informed.

Hi Heidi2006, I've also got the Turid Rugaas on talking terms with dogs book and that inspired me to look further.  Turid talks about an extended tongue flick/lick but this involves the tongue barely coming out but appears to mean something similar.  The more I read the more intrigued I get.

I should put a body language quiz on here and see what people interpret their dogs to mean with each thing they do.  That would make interesting reading as there is such a variety of breeds on here.

CheekyChow

> I should put a body language quiz on here and see what people interpret their dogs to mean with each thing they do.  That would make interesting reading as there is such a variety of breeds on here.

Great idea.  Might look for the book you mentioned too.

On a personal note one thing I particularly liked about Turid Rugaas' book was she used her Elkhound as a trainer for other dogs cos she was so calm - my Heidi is an Elkhound too!