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Dogs also use their bodies to communicate their intentions. In general, dogs either try to look normal, smaller or larger. If your dog’s feeling happy and contented, he’ll look normal—relaxed muscles and weight evenly balanced on all four feet. Similarly, when he’s playful, he’ll look normal. He may be bouncing around or running wildly with exaggerated movements, but his facial expression and his muscles will be relaxed and nothing about his body will look unnatural.This is quite different from the overall appearance of a scared dog. When your dog is scared, he’ll be hunched as though trying to look small. He might lower his body or even cower on the ground. His head will be held low as well. If he’s frightened by something or someone, he’ll recoil away from it. For instance, if your dog is scared on an examination table, he’ll pull away from the veterinarian and lean into you. If your dog is uncertain but curious about something, he might approach it tentatively, with his weight centered over his rear legs so that he can retreat quickly if he needs to.

This dog is relaxed and reasonably content. Such a dog is unconcerned and unthreatened by any activities going on in his immediate environment and is usually approachable.