Thought Bubbles

Reading Daphne 1.2 – What is She Communicating?

In Reading Daphne 1.2 , I applied the research to my complicated and confusing dog Daphne, by observing two scenarios where I’m curious about her behavior.

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THE DOOR – EXAMPLE #1:

 

Date: 10/3/17

Time:4:40 pm

Location: Our House, Woodside, CA

 

Situation:

Daphne wants to go outside, so she rings the bell (we taught her to lets us know that she wants to go outside). We are acting “busy” and secretly taking a video of her behavior when we don’t let her outside right away.

After a few seconds, she rings the bell again and looks at us. When we don’t let her out, she starts licking her lips. After 45 seconds to a minute go by, she starts softly panting and then she yawns. Daphne is stressed/anxious when we don’t let her outside at the minute she wants us to.

I know she is not exhibiting stress because of the bell or, that she needs to go outside to go to the bathroom. Something else is clearly upsetting her, but I don’t know what it is!  

 

 

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THE BELLY RUB? – EXAMPLE #2

 

Date: 10/4/17

Time: 7:22 pm

Location: The family room floor

 

Situation:

I  watch Daphne sleep calmly, pondering her emotions/body language. She hears me and looks my way. So, I say “Hi Daphne” and she thumps her tail. I come over to Daphne and she lifts her paw up. We found out awhile ago if we pet her when she does this, she’ll stop pawing.

Before I even sit down, she starts showing signs of stress and anxiety. If I don’t do anything and just say hi, Daphne will still do the same thing. If I walk by, she’ll stand up and  look at me with a question on her face.

I don’t know what she’s trying to say! Whatever I seem to do she has the same reaction. Am I reading her wrong? What is the real message she’s trying to convey? This is going to really bother me until I find the answer!

 



From my observations, I can see that Daphne is often displaying signs of feeling stress and anxiety in situations that shouldn’t make her feel that way. I’m unsure if  I am misunderstanding what’s she’s saying or the situation. Or, if Daphne is misunderstanding the situation as a cause for stress.

 

My next blog post will focus on trying to find out why Daphne is exhibiting these behaviors.

 How do you communicate with your pet(s)? Post your answer in the comments below!

 

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4 Comments

  1. donna October 17, 2017

    Hi Anna,

    I am looking forward to what you find out here. And, I’m definitely willing to change how I interact with Daph if it will make her feel more relaxed. It is VERY perplexing that she shows signs of anxiety/stress at the same time she seems to want belly rubs and pets. Would she rather just be left alone to sleep peacefully? Or is there some way we can change our approach to make her feel more secure during these interactions? Can’t wait to read what you find out.

  2. natalie dente October 23, 2017

    hi Anna, maybe she’s feeling stressed sometimes because she feels you are stressed and worried about her. animals can feel our moods too. try not to worry too much. she too will feel better, love grandma n

  3. Debbie October 27, 2017

    Hi Anna,
    Your observations are very detailed and I too am curious to see what you learn. Miss Daph is certainly a challenging subject. Grandma has some good insights – all of my pets respond to my level of anxiety. Rusty in particular always knew when I was upset and/or stressed; no words were ever necessary. He just knew. Maybe animals read human body language better than people do. Looking forward to your next post.
    xo Aunt D
    ps – after you figure out Daph, can you please study Super Mario? He needs help too. haha

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