Patricia McConnell speaks at Google about canine communication, emotional states, and human-dog interactions.
Uploaded by Talks at Google, 2018 · Watch on YouTube ·
McConnell highlights research showing that tail wagging is lateralized according to emotional state. Dogs wag with a bias toward the right side when experiencing positive approach emotions toward owners, but bias toward the left when feeling anxiety or withdrawal from unfamiliar dogs.
McConnell explains that leaning forward with weight shifted over a dog is perceived as looming, an assertive or threatening posture in canine body language. Humans frequently do this unconsciously when trying to be affectionate, creating stress rather than comfort.
McConnell points out that while humans are vocal primates obsessed with talking, dogs are visual communicators who prioritize physical body language over spoken words. In experiments pitting visual signals against acoustic ones, dogs consistently follow the visual cue.
McConnell cites research showing that a dog's classic 'guilty expression' is not an admission of wrongdoing, but an appeasement gesture triggered by the owner's angry voice and body language. Dogs exhibit the exact same guilty look when scolded even if they never touched the forbidden treat.
McConnell explains that psychological trauma overwhelms the nervous system and alters brain physiology in dogs just as it does in humans. She describes how rehabilitating her rescue border collie Will helped her confront and understand her own trauma.
7 books; 1 reviewed on LuvemBooks. Dates and covers from Amazon.
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