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Silver_Meteor
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11 Nov 2007, 12:52 am

Here's the question: Can you read the body language of animals better than the body language of people?


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11 Nov 2007, 12:59 am

Yes I can.
I have several pets at home and I find that I understand them more than I do humans in real life.


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11 Nov 2007, 1:04 am

I couldn't.

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woodsman25
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11 Nov 2007, 4:10 am

I have 2 cockateels and an african grey parrot at home and absolutly understand their body language anytime I go to my parents house and play with them, and I really wish people would have body language that I can read that easy.

Of course it takes a little resherch and observation to determine what their different kinds of body language mean, unfortunatly their physical expressions are farrrrrr less complex then peoples and so as long as I live I doubt I will master reading people like I do my birdies!! :D


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11 Nov 2007, 6:14 am

I'm conversant in House Cat. With people, I have to have known them for some time before I can "read" them with any accuracy.



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11 Nov 2007, 9:57 am

Body language of animals is very limited in comparision with people's. It's easy to learn a set of rules concerning it and you already know what an animal is communicating in the very moment.



sparkman
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11 Nov 2007, 10:04 am

yes like tail between legs = scared

dog eating grass = dog feeling unwell

dog growling = warning keep away

Humans use body language with words and that can change the meaning of a sentence



edal
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11 Nov 2007, 10:13 am

Yes, animals have body language (and expressions) and they are easy to read. Live with three cats then hold one of them in your arms, the looks on the faces of the other two are priceless.

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11 Nov 2007, 11:25 am

Dog facial expressions vary quite a bit.
They do smile. The corners of the mouth are pulled upwards like a human smile. I see my pit bull do this all the time when she's obviously happy. It's more noticable when looking at the side of the face or at an angle. The face, especially the corners of the mouth, droop when they are in a neutral or unhappy/sad mood. Of course there is the snarled look with the teeth bared when they are angry enough to fight.
The eyes can change with mental state as well. They can appear bigger brighter when happy or eager. The skin above the eyes will apear wrinkled when they are studying something, are concerned, or worried.
They cant their heads sideways when they are pondering something.
Ears are indicators, too. They will be held aft against the head when they are intimidated/afraid or ready to fight. Perked up when eager or happy, neutral when content.

The few times my pit has gotten into a fight (before it could be stopped) she went from an almost angelic face (for a dog) into a demonic looking beast.

There's also other body indicators like stance, body movement, and tail position/movement.

Dogs are more complex than some give them credit for.



Last edited by Raptor on 11 Nov 2007, 2:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

dawndeleon
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11 Nov 2007, 11:30 am

cat is much easier to read than human is for sure. Each cat has a meow for each occasion. Each cat has a physical cue that tells you what they want if you can tune in to them. People are a little more complex than kitties. they are not as easy to predict.



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11 Nov 2007, 12:08 pm

I can read animals' body language a lot easier than I can humans, yes. But I'm not sure it's true that animals have body language that is simpler than ours - precisely because they don't have spoken language, their body language contains innumerable subtleties and nuances that communicate things they can't use words to say.



pbcoll
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11 Nov 2007, 12:14 pm

I used to have a cat, and could read him fairly well.


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MarchViolets
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11 Nov 2007, 1:18 pm

I'm not sure it's "body language" that I pick up on as I'm so bad with visual cues, but I think I have a 'feel' for animals in general (people tend to tell me that I do from observation).

In particular, I tend to get a strong feeling that there are certain places on an animal’s body that they don't like to be touched. This tends to mean I'm more successful at picking up/holding (fairly wild) animals than other people sometimes are.



EvilKimEvil
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11 Nov 2007, 6:55 pm

Yes. I remember when I couldn't read the body language of either. I quickly learned to understand animal body language, but I'm not very good with human body language, compared to most people.

A lot of people I know are scared of unfamiliar animals, but I go by their body language instead. Maybe there is also something about my body language that appeals to animals--they seem to gravitate towards me.



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11 Nov 2007, 7:29 pm

edal wrote:
Yes, animals have body language (and expressions) and they are easy to read. Live with three cats then hold one of them in your arms, the looks on the faces of the other two are priceless.

Ed Almos


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