by

When taking your dog for Santa photos be careful and observant. The white beard and funny red hat can be scary to many dogs. Unless you or Santa are savvy at reading dog body language, your dog may be put into a position where he feels backed into a corner, and may strike out with his only defense, his teeth.

Reading a dog’s stress signals does take some education and practice. Let’s face it, humans and dogs have very different ways of communicating. So it’s up to us to learn how our dogs communicate to keep them safe in situations that may cause them to strike out because when that happens, it’s the dog that pays, usually with his life. Investing some time in learning stress signals and how to keep our dogs safe is an important part of dog parenting. None of us are born knowing these things, so let’s take some time to learn what to look for.

Dogs have three ways to defend themselves when they’re uncomfortable and their self preservation behaviors kicks in. They can flee, fight, or freeze. And a freeze can turn into a bite. It all depends on the dog. Before I discuss the body language of the dog in this picture, take a look at it and search for the signs that suggest this dog is stressed and why.

Before biting, some dogs give plenty of signals, and some don’t. Signals such as

stiff body

hard stare

squinty eyes

teeth showing

tight lips

pucker

tongue flicks

leaning away

ears back and tight

tail still

hackles raised

growling

snapping

are among the repertoire of signals a dog can display during mounting distress. Sometimes these body language signals happen slowly enough and the situation is dispersed before anything detrimental happens, and sometimes body language signals happen extremely fast then the dog bites. Other times, dogs give no warning before they bite. It all depends on the dog and the situation. Keeping control of the situation and the dog away from what he interprets as threatening is the key.

Santas used in photographing dogs should be given a course on dog body language, and how to conduct themselves with the dogs that they meet when taking pictures. The Santa above, for example, has overstepped his boundaries with this dog. Let’s think of this from a dog’s perspective. First of all, this is a stranger, and has all the smells of a stranger. But not only that, he’s a weird looking stranger. How often do we see people who look like this? Big long white beard surrounding the face, a long hat with a ball on the end dangling down, huge bulky suit with big black belt, white gloves, white furry trim, and huge black boots! We know of the legend of Santa, but dogs don’t!

If you have a brand new puppy, it would be fabulous if you could introduce that kid to Santa during his socialization period by the time he’s 12 to 18 weeks old, but we all don’t get that chance. Many of us are adopting rescued dogs and have no idea what their former lives were like. So we need to educate ourselves on what to look for during picture taking time until and even after Santa’s are trained in reading body language and proper ways to approach dogs. Never stop advocating for your dog. We are their spokespeople and need to take this job very seriously.

Time to compare. Did you call out what you saw in the photo above? Here are the stress signals this dog is displaying. Unfortunately for this kid, she was feeling very stressed in this situation and Santa was not listening and more than likely, didn’t know any better. Not only is this huge hairy stranger intruding in this girl’s space, but he’s bending right over her face and is staring right into her eyes. That is a very challenging stance in dog language! This could have been a disaster. The dog was clearly speaking volumes with her body language. We also don’t know what Santa was doing with his hands in the picture, which could also be problematic to the situation. Especially if he has a grip on her harness or collar. This girl obviously doesn’t want to be touched at this moment and would be most relieved to be released from this situation.

Most of us have seen the video where Kyle Dyer was bitten by a dog on air. The video below has some very good information on what was going on body-language-wise and all the ways the dog was communicating before he “suddenly” bit her. It’s worth your attention.

Now let’s look at some photos of Santa and dogs that were done by a non-profit group of Dobermann rescue folks in New Orleans, Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue, headed up by their President, Terri Valenti. They do Santa photos every year as a fund raiser and have a phenomenal Santa who not only looks the part in a dashing Santa way, but also clearly has a grasp on how to handle his patrons with the utmost of respect. Hats are off to the photographer as well, who takes phenomenal shots. GCDR also builds these sets, every year a different one, and it adds a realistic flair to the entire process and final product. Gorgeous photos.

The first one is with Santa and a Great Dane, who may not be comfortable or trained, but the GCDR group has set him up with Santa in a non-confrontational way. Santa and the Dane are at an angle to each other, Santa may have his hand on the dogs neck, but the dog is looking away from him. Though the Dane’s front legs are stiff, he also has the option to flee if he desires. The dog is not cornered into posing. And Santa is completely relaxed in his own body language. The Dane’s face, ears, and eyes are soft as well.

Look at this lovely photo. The dog is completely at ease. Soft ears, soft eyes, and Santa has the lightest touch on the dog.

Here we have a pooch, whose ears are relaxed and drooping backwards, looking up at Santa who in turn is looking out to the camera instead of down at the dog. This little kid is relaxed and curious. He’s comfortably draped over Santa like a rug, and Santa, once again, has the lightest touch on the dog, providing him the ability to flee if he wanted to.

This is an endearing photo of Santa and a Chihuahua. These two know each other, but the body language of this little dog shows relaxed ears, he’s reaching up with an appeasing gesture to Santa’s face with a lick, and Santa is not looking into the dog’s eyes, but instead has closed his eyes. This little guy gets held a lot and is used to and comfortable with it. Putting dogs into positions like this is about their comfort level, experience, and that of the Santa, too. Little dogs need to be respected as much as big dogs, and we all need to be mindful of that.

This Dobermann puppy is draped over Santa like a blanket on a bed. There isn’t a tense muscle on her, and Santa’s gently grasping onto her to give her support so she won’t slip out of the sleigh. This little sugar plum is probably dreaming of the cookie that’s in her near future for being such a well behaved puppy.

This Sheltie has a happy face, relaxed ears, soft eyes, is posed in a position that is not threatening, has a way to flee if she desires, and once again, Santa’s grasp on the dog is light.

I’ll leave you to interpret the body language of these beautiful dogs in our last Christmas photo. It’s quite magnificent, wouldn’t you say?

Thank you to the owners of all the photos above for allowing me to use them in this post. And for those yet to have Santa photos of your dogs taken, remember when you put your dogs in situations to take holiday photos, watch their body language and watch the way the Santas interact with your dogs. Speak up if your dog is showing any signs of stress. You are their voice. Better yet, watch how the Santa works beforehand, and politely educate him with instructions on how you’d like him to pose with and handle your dog so he’ll be in a position to learn from you. Take treats for your dog and use them as rewards through the process. In turn, you’ll keep your dog calm and happy. After all, everyone should enjoy the holidays, and most especially our dogs!

By Helen Verte

Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, Certified Trick Dog Instructor

Educator in the Body Launguage of Dogs, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Broward County