This is another common issue when we're working with our dogs.
Feedback is anything the dog does to tell us that what we're doing is or isn't working. It's success or failure in the task we're working on.
But that's not all.
It's also all the other stuff.
It's lip and nose licking. It's ears and tail dropping lower or lifting higher. It's hesitations. It's enthusiasm. It's off task behaviour. It's willingness to try again. It's long spells of eye contact with nothing happening. It's a glance in our direction. It's jumping on us. It's jumping on others. It's barking at us. It's mouthing our hands. It's running off with the toy. It's rushing back to us with the toy. It's staring at something in the distance. It's sniffing the ground. It's yawning. The list is endless...
These are behaviours which indicate emotional states.
For all of them, context matters. Sometimes yawning is just because a dog is tired, or has just woken up. Sometimes it's a sign of stress. Jumping up happens for all sorts of reasons. Our job is to observe, (not evaluate) look for patterns and work out what our individual dog is telling us in THIS situation. Emotions are always present. Learn to see them and identify them.
Be aware that if you don't understand your dog's whispers (small signals of emotional state changes), they may shout (show BIG changes in emotional states.)
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