Dogs are social and emotional creatures, much like people. Often times, dogs communicate their feelings quite clearly through their body language, but as non-canines, it takes a bit of translation for us to understand what they’re trying to say.
One point of confusion is that dog body language has to be looked at holistically. One example of this is when dogs pull their ears back. Depending on the rest of their body language, this can mean a variety of emotional states.
Dog ears show quite a bit of emotion. If the ears are up and facing frontward, then that means they’re alert and engaged with what’s going on around them.
If they’re pulled back slightly, it likely means they’re in a friendly state of mind and are feeling playful. Ears pulled all the way back could signal fear or impending aggression. Ears down could mean sadness or relaxation.
Dog ears can signal all sorts of emotions from fear to relaxation to wanting to signal a female dog, all of which we’ll cover in this post.
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Sad
Like we said, dogs are emotional creatures and when they’re sad, they’ll let their ears down. They might do this if their favorite person left the room, if they were denied a toy, and so on. This could be temporary (in the case of a toy) or longer lasting, in the case of a person or dog friend who moved away.
This may be accompanied with lower energy body language overall.
Scared or Anxious
If the dog is fearful of the situation they’re in, they’ll completely pull their ears back. This can be in cohesion to another type of body language that they’re displaying.
They’ll exhibit other fear-related behaviors, such as panting, a low body posture, avoiding eye contact, and pulling the corners of the lips back.
Relaxed
When a dog is feeling relaxed, their ears will be in a neutral location, not pulled back but also not on alert. Along with an open mouth (maybe their tongue sticking out) and overall relaxed posture, this means they’re happy and comfortable.
A dog in this state might want to play next, or might want affection from you. In either case, they’re at ease and their body language reflects that.
In Danger
When your dog feels that they are in danger, they will pin their ears back. This behavior might precede growling, barking or biting, and their body will be stiff, since they’re at full alert to the danger.
Interested in Female Dogs
If your dog is showing attraction towards a nearby lady dog, they’ll also pull their ears back. However, unlike other emotions on this list (which come with stiff or fearful body language), dogs in this state will likely show excitement in the form of a grin with their tongue drooping out of their mouth.
They can also start to jump about, and might also chatter their teeth. If your dog presents a lot of these behavior then you can assume that they are attracted to something.
Summary
In conclusion, dogs’ ears can express a lot of different things! Different dog ear positions mean different things, and since there are many emotions they might be expressing, the behavior needs to be taken in consideration with the rest of their body language.
Paying attention to what your dog is “saying” can be helpful for both of you. You can better address tense emotions before they become an issue, and your dog will be easier to handle and appreciate you taking care of them.
