WHY ITS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR DOGS EAR POSITION MEANS
Dog body language is important to understand for a pet’s mental and physical health and its owners. Often, people unfamiliar with a dog will wrongly interpret dog body language and approach them with negative consequences. Most of the time the dog takes the brunt of the retaliation even though the human misinterprets their signaling. Usually, the ears are read in conjunction with other visual signals, such as tail wagging, laying chest down and butt up, rolling on their backs, and many more. Generally, a dog’s ears can measure its level of engagement during times of anger, arousal, fear, happiness, and of course, aggression. Learning a dog’s communications and positions through the ears can improve the health and relationships owners and dogs share.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN A DOG’S EARS ARE HELD BACK?
When a dogs ears are held back it can convey a number of different emotions. Most importantly, if the dog is showing additional body language cues like barking, showing teeth, posturing, stiffness, or whisker twitching the dog is most likely in an aggressive mindset. On the other hand, ears pinned back can also show the dog is ill, injured, or stressed. Pinned-backed ears on a dog is a sign that something is off in your pets world and needs immediate attention.
Ears that are pinned in conjunction with barking, growling, stiffness, and teeth are a sign of a dog who is ready to attack or defend.
Ears that move somewhat forward but remain in a relaxed position may signal that the dog, while still friendly, is becoming edgier and alert to something in its immediate environment.
Ears angled far forward can be a sign of play arousal, but they can also indicate aggression arousal, especially if the body is stiff and the mouth is openly showing the teeth. Be weary of an animal showing this posture, giving a person a clear signal not to approach.
When a dog’s ears are up and relaxed, it shows that the dog is calm, friendly, and approachable. Dog owners need to learn what their dog’s ears look like in a neutral position to acknowledge any hinted changes in emotional or physical well-being
Ears tilted back is often a sign of stress or fear and possibly a submissive state. But – caution here – a dog holding its ears back could also become fear aggressive.
| Ear Position | Possible Temperament |
|---|---|
| Up and Relaxed (Neutral) | Calm, friendly, relaxed |
| Slightly Forward, Still Relaxed (Attentive) | Still friendly, becoming edgy about something around them |
| Push Forward and Showing Teeth (Aggressive) | Potential for anger, aggression, and or arousal |
| Tilted Back (Intimidated) | Fear, illness, injury, stress (danger of fear aggression) |
| Pinned Back with Teeth, Barking, Growling, Facial Expressions, and Stiffness | Combined with other signals/fearful and nervous (Ready to attack and or defend) |
Ears Back and Relaxed
If the ears are pinned back but relaxed, this is generally a sign that the dog is happy. This ear position is usually seen when the dog is getting head pats or giving kisses. If the ears are relaxed, there’s no need to worry about your dog’s mood.
Discover 5 Reasons Why Dogs Pull Their Ears Back
Continue reading if you want to really understand why your dogs ears pull back and what it means.
When dogs pull their ears back, they are trying to convey some sort of message. Are you listening to what your dog is trying to say? Well, firstly, consider that interpreting dog body language isnt as easy as you think. You cant just focus on one body part without looking at the whole picture.
In order to decipher your dogs body language, its therefore important considering other factors. For instance, the context in which the ears pulled back happens and the accompanying body language.
Lets face it: Dogs are perhaps one of the most expressive creatures on the planet aside from humans (and our primate relatives). Dogs can use all sorts of body parts to convey emotions and needs, from those heart-melting begging eyes to the excitement in a feverishly wagging tail to those pinned-back ears.
There can be a host of reasons your pup may be pressing their ears back. Before we identify some of those reasons, let’s take a quick look at the overall way a dog communicates with their ears.
Not all dogs have the same shaped ears or ear placement. Some dogs like Siberian Huskies or German Shepherds have erect, pointed ears, while Rottweilers and Beagles have floppier ears. Some dogs even have very small, cropped ears. But no matter the type of ear your pup is sporting (and can we just talk for a second about how soft and silky must puppy ears are), it is a pretty amazing organ.
Dog ears are composed of over 18 muscles that allow your pooch to move it backward, forward, down, sideways and even independently of the other ear. Now, imagine if humans had the ability to do that!
Dogs don’t just use their ears to listen and track sounds, although that is the predominant purpose. They use their ears to communicate with other canines and their humans, if they are paying close enough attention.
With Shepherds and dogs of that like, catching the different ear movements your fur baby is using is easy to spot. Other breeds whose ears are floppy or close-cropped take some more attention to detail. With these types of dogs, you’ll want to pay close attention to the base of the ear, where it meets your pup’s skull as that is where the movement is really coming from.
And as always, be sure you are considering the ear placement in the context of what else your pup is doing to get the full picture of what these amazing creatures are trying to tell you. The ear is just one piece of the puppy puzzle.
During play dogs may instinctively pull their ears back to protect them but also to share emotions.