User blog comment:Hidden Scorpius XI/D-Piddy attacked by a Zwei cosplayer at Anime Expo 2015./@comment-25555436-20150711172511/@comment-4010415-20150712070029

Pfft, you just need to know how to read a dog's body language. Really, that's actually something every single person who's going to own or frequently be around dogs should learn.

I've learned the body language for when a dog is nervous, anxious, or scared, in which case you should proceed with caution and don't mess with it.


 * Tail is standing straight up, may be trembling or slowly waving - Dog is alert and nervous.


 * Tail is between its legs - Dog is scared, everyone knows this.


 * Dog turns its head away from you, so its cheek is toward you, may glance at you with its eyes, and refuses to face its nose toward you - Leave the dog alone, it's nervous or anxious.


 * You can see the whites of its eyes in sort of a crescent shape - This is because the dog's eyes are wide, it's nervous or scared.


 * Dog keeps licking its lips, only at the very front of its snout - Dog is nervous, leave it alone.

Another thing is that people should really do research on the breed (or breeds, if they're getting a mix) they're thinking of getting, since every breed is different and requires different care. Some breeds have something about their usual temperament, such as: German Shepherds do not take well to being hit. If you own a German Shepherd, only train them with positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement (hitting them) can lead to them becoming guarded and aggressive toward you.

Dogs can actually make pretty great companion animals, as long as you don't raise them badly.

And dog intelligence is variable. Some breeds overall are smarter than others, and dogs are individuals, like us, so some may be dumber than others.

The smartest dog breed on the planet is the Border Collie. There's actually a Border Collie who had its own show for a while (dunno if the show's still going), where people showed off the dog's ability to use process of elimination. On the other side of a wall, they had a ton of toys spread out over the floor. These were toys that the dog had seen before and knew the names of. The person who put the toys there would also put a toy that the dog had never seen before. Let's say, in this example, it's a baseball. Someone would command the dog "Bring me the baseball," and the dog would go around the wall, search through the toys, find the baseball, and assume this is what the human wants, since none of the other toys are called "baseball."

Poodles are considered the second smartest breed, and someone actually taught their Poodle to recognize written words as commands. Basically, the dog was "reading."

Even still, my grandparents once had a Miniature Poodle who was so stupid that he never seemed to learn to duck when trying to chase their Toy Poodle under the coffee table, so he always hit his head on the table. The Toy Poodle knew this would happen every time, so she saw the coffee table as the perfect way to win their little game of chase.