The video here shows a very unusual presentation of the PANTING stress signal. WIggles does a very particular TONGUE roll when she pants. I've never noticed another dog do quite this thing-though I'm sure it exists. Wiggles was a bit stressed on this occasion simply from some time outs we performed for scavening. She hadn't previously had to problem solve this type of conundrum and it caused her a little mental anxiety to be removed from us each time she nose-dived at the treats on the countertop.

 

In many of my dog consults where I'm dealing with fear, aggression or anxiety, I make a point of thoroughly explaining about "stress signals". Stress signals, sometimes called "calming" signals, are more subtle signs that a dog is feeling stressed in a particular moment or situation.

As humans and 'laypeople', we may often miss signs of impending aggression because we often only notice stress in a dog when the stress escalates to the point of growling, baring teeth or fleeing. 

Below are a list of some typical signs of stress that are often missed or overlooked. Once these are identified and you know what to look for, it's much easier to diagnose stress in your dog before it reaches a critical tipping point that may result in biting and snapping or fleeing in terror.

TYPICAL SIGNS OF STRESS IN DOGS

1. YAWNING  [in the absence of waking or resting] I often see this one in conjunction with petting or handling by strangers or children. The dog may not turn and leave, but it will potential do an ill-placed yawn that seems out of place given that it isn't resting or getting up from rest. Also can happen during nail clipping, thunderstorms and other noise related stressers.

2. PANTING [in the absence of exercise] Often seen in similar situations as above and also pre-vomiting in car sickness.

3. EYE FLARING A flash of the eyes opening widely for a brief moment so that you see the whites on the sides. Again this one is often noticed during a "touch" style trigger.

4. TONGUE FLICKING/CHOP LICKING  Repetitive licking of the "lips" so to speak, often a precursor or in conjunction with panting [and in the case of motion sickness, ultimately vomiting. The "lizard" tongue is also a short forward poking out of the tongue accompanying some specific stresser, usually physical like a touch or pet.

4. ANOREXIA [refusal to take treats]

 

"Do you like velociraptors, pirates, sharks and boats? Then you will probably like..." THIS BLOG [ from the mission statement.]
 I have blush of new love sweeping across my face. I love this blog about THE SIMPLE DOG called Hyperboleandahalf on blogspot. My friend Patrice sent me this cartoon earlier today. I liked it so much that I googled it to get MORE. Totally awesome awesomeness! Below is a cartoon image from the Blog. Further below is a snippet from a post about car rides with carsick simple dog.

"She actually seemed to like throwing up.  To the simple dog, throwing up was like some magical power that she never knew she possessed - the ability to create infinite food. I was less excited about the discovery because it turned my dog into a horrible, vomit-making perpetual motion machine.  Whenever I heard her retch in the backseat, I had to pull over as quickly as possible to prevent her from reloading her stomach and starting the whole cycle over again.  "

This is good stuff for dog moms and dads. Life with dogs is rewarding, but not ALWAYS pretty..and certainly not sanitary or for the faint of stomach.