Dogs have an amazing language that is much like a dancer’s. Every movement, every glance, every turn means something. The body of a canine tells its story as it happens. Each and every moment lived by a dog is an open book, one which is eager to be read and to connect, as is appropriate for dogs, with humans. While their gestures can be obvious, like as a broad sweep of an arm, there are many smaller flicks and turns that are quite subtle and can even be overlooked entirely. To say a human often loses true meaning in translation is an understatement and the biggest culprit of this is a human’s natural lean towards humanizing everything around her, down to the rocks and the wind. How much easier then to humanize the quirk of a dog’s ear or the roll of the eye? This does a disservice to the pooch, though, because as much as a human is not a chandelier, so is a dog not a human.

Fortunately, we can teach ourselves new tricks. Dogs are often far better tuned into human emotion than we are tuned into doggy talk because they speak the language naturally. We have to be taught how to interpret such things even among our own kind. It is not as hard as you might think but it does take commitment, observation and practice. While the whole picture has to be considered to truly make sense of what beloved Doodles is trying to say, there are specific areas of interest, such as the eyes and the ears you can get in tune with. Both tell us a great deal of information about Doodles’ mood, but let us focus on those soulful eyes.

Eye, Eye Captain

Notice that the natural look of a dog’s eye when she is relaxed and happy is a soft almond shape. There is usually very little, if any, white showing even on such bug-eyed breeds as the Chihuahua. White then is an indication of something other than inner calm and balance; it lets us know that Doodles is stressed, tensed and quite possibly ready to bite. It can indicate fear, nervousness or anxiety. Pooch specialists call this phenomenon “whale eye” and it does not show in simply wide, happy eyes. It has meaning especially when backed up by other body language that is tense, or otherwise not relaxed. The position of the ears and tail will help you determine what Doodles is feeling and whether to approach her or not.

Quite often, dogs will not make eye contact with humans or for very short bits of time. This is to show deference to the higher-ranking pack members, as a human should be. They can be trained to make eye contact if the human so desires it; some feel it lets the dog pay better attention rather than casting her eyes off to the side all the time. Some dogs will make a degree of contact with their owners but will never directly challenge them. If her human seems angry or intense, Doodles will always keep her eyes averted except to periodically glance up for a nanosecond to see if the behavior has changed.

The alpha dog (male or female) will generally ignore those in her pack. This makes the direct eye contact, when it happens, all that more startling and effective. Humans feel eye contact to be a connection or understanding but that is not what it means to a dog. You will stress your dog if you force her to behave by human mannerisms. To a dog, eye contact is often a form of tacit correction.

Staring down at a dog will make her nervous and eventually very anxious to the point of severe discomfort. If you stare down a dominant dog, you may make her aggressive, and to stare at an aggressive dog is to challenge one that is already unstable. You may well provoke an attack. If you find yourself in the unenviable position of being caught around an aggressive dog that is actively snarling and challenging you with direct eye contact, lower your eyes and turn sideways. Do not stand straight on to the dog. Yawn or lick your lips (these are called calming signals and lets the aggressive pooch know you want to diffuse the situation). Keep your eyes averted and slowly but calmly walk away. Do not run, remain relaxed and do not make sudden moves. Certainly, do not lock gazes.

Dogs speak with eyes and every part of their body. If you are around dogs often it behooves you to learn how to understand and deal with them on their terms. Their instincts will not bend for us, so we have to bend for them. It is well worth every effort to do so and sweet Doodles will be much happier for it.

Your French Bulldog Snoopy is your best pal. You don’t know how you would live with yourself if anything untoward ever happened to him, and boy golly do you hate seeing him in pain – including when the mean and nasty vet gives him unnecessary shots like the Rabies vaccine. Rabies is barely even a problem anymore, right? You actually couldn’t be more wrong. It is important to protect Snoopy from all of the diseases that you can, even if they are uncommon – especially rabies. Why especially Rabies? As controversial as the rabies shot is, it is the hope with this article to influence you to consider the rabies vaccine.

1. Rabies is Fatal and Horrifically Painful

All it takes is one bite from an infected host – whether that is another dog, a raccoon, whatever – to kill your dog. That is all that it takes to sign your pal Snoopy’s death warrant. There is no cure for rabies in dogs once symptoms become evident, and there is barely one for humans – who knows, it could end up being fatal for you too if he bites you – and that is the other thing.

Rabies is excruciatingly painful for dogs, not only physically, but mentally. He will be scared, and unable to control what or who he bites and hurts. The last thing in the world he would want would be to hurt you.

2. Rabies is Highly Infectious – One Bite is All it Takes

Just like one bite is all it takes for Snoopy to get it, once he has it, it only takes one bite for him to spread it. If he bites another dog, a cat, or even a person, the infection has spread. No second chances, no “oopsies,” no taking it back. This is especially awful, because often, the kind of person who doesn’t know better than not to approach a strange dog (especially one with frothy, excess saliva) is usually a young kid. And while one might hope the frothy mouth can be a sure indicator that a dog has rabies, not all rabid dogs foam at the mouth. So some unsuspecting person could happen by and get bit and never have been able to see the warning signs.

3. The “Vaccinating My Dog Exposes Him To It” Myth

As with all vaccines, there is a rumor floating around about the rabies vaccine that you somehow put your dog Snoopy at risk by “exposing him to it” in the form of a vaccine. This is just not how vaccinations work. If you feel uncomfortable with your understanding of the rabies vaccine and how it works, do your research. Lots of information is available on the Internet or if you are getting conflicting opinions from people who seem to perpetuate this misnomer, ask your Vet. He or she is probably more than happy to talk over your questions and concerns with you, especially if it encourages you to get the a vaccine for Snoopy.

4. The “Rabies Is Not a Problem Anymore” Myth

So, many vaccine campaigns have done so well at getting people to vaccinate their pets, that the number of cases of rabies in pets has decreased significantly. Popular culture no longer provides stories like “Old Yeller” and “Cujo,” which served as warnings to those who chose not to get their pet vaccinated. It almost seems as if rabies isn’t a problem in the public eye anymore.

The unfortunate truth is that it is more dangerous than ever. More animals in the wild – racoons, bats, coyotes, foxes and skunks – have the disease and – now this is really important – modern suburbia is being expanded into where these critters make their home. The chance that your Snoopy may run into one of these infected animals is greater than it was ten years ago.

5. He Can’t Get the Vaccine Himself.

If Snoopy had the brain power to comprehend what a vaccine was, the opposable thumbs to drive himself down to the vet, and the little doggie pants with little doggie pockets to carry his little doggie wallet full of little doggie money to pay for the whole thing, he would – but he doesn’t have those things. It is up to you as his owner and his friend to look out for his well being. He’d stand in front of you if an attacker threatened him. Rabies is his attacker, and he needs you to return the favor. If you love Snoopy, you want him to spend as many long, healthy years with him – so get him vaccinated against a disease that could take him away in one bite.