Awareness of Puppy Body Language: Owner & Expert – Multimedia Presentation, Canine Science Symposium 2023

Owners

Operational definitions of behaviors displayed to survey participants in the intervention section.

BehaviorDefinition
Dilated pupils The pupils are larger than they typically are. This also make the irises appear smaller than normal.
Ears flattened Puppy’s ears are pulled back against the side or back of their head
Whale eye Whites of the puppy’s eyes are shown, their eyes may appear bigger than normal. 
Lip licking The puppy quickly sticks their tongue out of their mouth and licks their lips. They may do this several times in a row, or just once. It might be a small portion of the tongue or the entire tongue. Lip licks can be fast and take some practice to learn to recognize. 
YawningPuppy opens their mouth widely and inhales without showing teeth. Their tongue may curl and protrude, eyes are usually closed, and ears may move backwards.  
Lifted front pawPuppy picks up one of their front paws, leans back, and stands on three paws. 
Avoidance Puppy turns their body to the side or the back, holds their head or body away from it, or may turn their head or eyes to the side. Sometimes this behavior can be subtle and harder to see. 
HidingPuppy puts themselves behind or under an object in the area, such as a person’s legs or a piece of furniture. 
Low or tucked tailThe tip of the puppy’s tail is held below their spine.  It can be straight down or curled under their body. Often, their back end also shrinks in tandem. 
PantingQuick, shallow breaths through an open mouth while the puppy’s tongue is hanging out. Typically, panting can be heard, the way that heavy breathing in a person is audible.
Immobile or freezing in placePuppy stops all movement. They can be either standing, sitting, or lying still. They may be oriented towards or away from the stimulus.

Intervention Pictures 

Original Annotated

Intervention Videos

Avoidance

Dilated Pupils

Ears Flattened

Hiding

Immobile of Freezing in Place

Lifted front Paw

Lip Licking

Low Tail

Panting

Whale Eye

Yawning

Pre- & Post-Assessment Videos

Video 1
Video 5
Video 12

Experts

Operationalized definitions of behaviors displayed to survey participants in the intervention section.

BehaviorDefinition
Dilated pupils The pupils are larger than they typically are. This also make the irises appear smaller than normal.
Ears flattened Puppy’s ears are pulled back against the side or back of their head
Whale eye Whites of the puppy’s eyes are shown, their eyes may appear bigger than normal. 
Lip licking The puppy quickly sticks their tongue out of their mouth and licks their lips. They may do this several times in a row, or just once. It might be a small portion of the tongue or the entire tongue. Lip licks can be fast and take some practice to learn to recognize. 
YawningPuppy opens their mouth widely and inhales without showing teeth. Their tongue may curl and protrude, eyes are usually closed, and ears may move backwards.  
Lifted front pawPuppy picks up one of their front paws, leans back, and stands on three paws. 
Avoidance Puppy turns their body to the side or the back, holds their head or body away from it, or may turn their head or eyes to the side. Sometimes this behavior can be subtle and harder to see. 
HidingPuppy puts themselves behind or under an object in the area, such as a person’s legs or a piece of furniture. 
Low or tucked tailThe tip of the puppy’s tail is held below their spine.  It can be straight down or curled under their body. Often, their back end also shrinks in tandem. 
PantingQuick, shallow breaths through an open mouth while the puppy’s tongue is hanging out. Typically, panting can be heard, the way that heavy breathing in a person is audible.
Immobile or freezing in placePuppy stops all movement. They can be either standing, sitting, or lying still. They may be oriented towards or away from the stimulus.

Videos displayed to experts


Dog Multimedia Demographics – Owner

Dogs Represented in Intervention Pictures 

BehaviorBreedOwn StatusSex
AvoidancePomskyOwnedM
Dilated PupilsFrench BulldogOwnedM
Ears FlattenedGolden RetrieverOwnedM
HidingMixedOwnedM
Immobile or freezing in placeBernedoodleOwnedM
Lifted front pawMixedUnownedF
Lip lickingMixedOwnedM
Low TailCorgiOwnedF
PantingGSDOwnedF
Whale eyeMixUnownedF
YawningMixUnownedF

Dogs Represented in Intervention Videos 

BehaviorBreedOwn StatusSex
AvoidanceGDSOwnedF
Dilated PupilsMixOwnedF
Ears FlattenedMixUnownedF
HidingDachshundOwnedM
Immobile or freezing in placeBoxerOwnedF
Lifted front pawCorgiOwnedF
Lip lickingGSDOwnedF
Low TailCorgiOwnedF
PantingGSDOwnedF
Whale eyeMixUnownedF
YawningMixUnownedF

Pre- & Post-Assessment Videos 

VideoBreedOwn StatusAgeAcquisitionSex
1MixUnowned4 MonthsN/AM
5MixOwned3 monthsRescue GroupM
12BoxerOwned4 monthsBreederF

Indicates the behavior that experts agreed upon at 80% or higher inter-observer reliability. P stands for present, meaning they agreed they DID see the dog perform the behavior, and A stands for absent, meaning they agreed they DID NOT see the dog perform the behavior. 

Coding AgreementP/A
AvoidanceP
FreezingA
Lifted front pawA
Lip lickingP
PantingA
Whale eyeA
YawningA

Video 5 Final Behaviors

Indicates the behavior that experts agreed upon at 80% or higher inter-observer reliability. P stands for present, meaning they agreed they DID see the dog perform the behavior, and A stands for absent, meaning they agreed they DID NOT see the dog perform the behavior. 

Coding AgreementP/A
Ears flattenedP
HidingA
FreezingA
Lifted front pawA
Lip lickingP
Low or tucked tailA
PantingA
Whale eyeP
YawningA

Video 12 Final Behaviors

Indicates the behavior that experts agreed upon at 80% or higher inter-observer reliability. P stands for present, meaning they agreed they DID see the dog perform the behavior, and A stands for absent, meaning they agreed they DID NOT see the dog perform the behavior. 

Coding AgreementP/A
Ears flattenedP
HidingA
FreezingA
Lifted front pawA
Lip lickingA
PantingP
YawningA

Dog Multimedia Demographics – Expert

VideoDogBreedOwn StatusAgeAcquisitionSex
1PeachesMixUnowned4 MonthsN/AM
21JuniperMixOwned5 monthsRescue GroupF
31ArgusCardigan CorgiOwned4 monthsBreederF
4KongoMixUnowned5 monthsN/AM
5AxelMixOwned3 monthsRescue GroupM
6DukeGSPOwned5 monthsBreederM
7RemiMixOwned3 monthsRescue GroupF
8AinsleyCavapooOwned5 monthsBreederF
9KoaDachshundOwned5 monthsBreederM
10PicassoMixUnowned5 monthsN/AM
11RaniGSDOwned3 monthsBreederF
12HarleyBoxerOwned4 monthsBreederF

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