Honestly, when I bought my dog from the pet shop six years ago, I didn't know much about dogs. Over the years, my handsome but sometimes arrogant Maltese taught me some interesting lessons on dog behaviors. Dog teaching old man new tricks? Well, not exactly that, but I have learned to read the dog language.

Yeah...dogs talk, laugh, dream, snore, break wind, burp, sneeze and even have mood swings. These are just small everyday dog behaviors that most folks don't notice because they don't express most of them like you and I do. Here are a few interesting things I've observed from my boy and maybe you can have fun discovering yours too.

Dogs Talking

Dogs are usually the most talkative when topics revolve around food, either telling you to feed them or begging for food. They also like to talk when someone returns home, to welcome them or maybe even scolding them for being away for a long time. And when I say talk, I mean bark. Dogs are talking to you when they look at you in the eye and are barking away. There is difference in their bark at different times. Dogs Dreaming You can tell a dog is dreaming when they twitch their legs, eyes and sometimes even letting out soft woofs while they are still sleeping. I have witnessed my dog running in his sleep! It looks like he is chasing rabbits, and really makes me wonder what exactly was he dreaming about. It really was quite a sight.

Dogs Snoring

Well, this is as it is, like how we snore too. This happens when there is a slight obstruction in breathing while the dog sleeps, like a piece of relaxed muscle partially blocking the airway. Sometimes it can get pretty loud and that usually happens when my dog is in a deep sleep. He probably wouldn't be as reactive as he would being in lighter sleep. I sometimes detect a slight moment of daze when he wakes up from a deep sleep, it can be quite amusing.

Dogs Breaking Wind

Yes...dogs fart too. This seldom occurs but when it does it really gets you cracking up and pinching your nose too. They are often times being made the scapegoat when you go around accusing other folks of the odor and sometimes they are the silent culprit.

Dogs Getting Your Undivided Attention

When barking at you is not enough to catch your attention, they come up with pretty innovative ways to grab your full attention. Mine does that by furiously pawing at me when I ignore his barking. It sounds cute but is certainly not fun. Whining and yelping seems to work too, makes you think they hurt themselves or something, smart tactic.

Excited Dogs

When dogs get excited, they sort of pounce onto you. Other behaviors of excited dogs include hopping about with two hind legs, gently biting you and running round in circles. In some cases, even leaking urine and gagging a little are common signs of excitement in dog. Mine does it like a spinning top, spinning round and round in front of me whenever he gets excited.

Guilty Dog

Notice the pulled back ears, pleading eyes or even rolling over on their backs when you return home? That's a pretty good indication that they did something wrong and they are using these, we consider, somewhat cute tactics to make you not be angry with them. My dog does that all the time especially after he had fun tearing up pieces of paper while I'm away.

Embarrassed Dog

Ever caught your dog slip or banging into the wall or furniture? I DID! When he saw me watching him at his most embarrassing moment, he immediately took off for his hiding place. This is especially obvious after each time he is shaved bald. He seems to know he looks ugly and refuses to walk around the house unless he needs to. This really amuses me, my guess is he knew we were making fun of him.

These are the few small interesting traits I observed from my dog, some good some bad, the list can go on and on. Your dog may display different behavior. Dog behaviors varies depending on breed characteristics, individual dog personalities, the kind of dog training you give them and even your lifestyle. Only you can interpret what your dog's behavior means. In fact, all dogs have the faintest idea of what we classify as embarrass or guilty. That's just a language for us to communicate as human specie.

Your dogs are what you raise them to be, just like children. Spoil them, they will become spoilt brats. Abuse them, they will turn aggressive. Love them, they will reciprocate your love. Go on spend time knowing your dogs, give them lots of love. You won't regret spending moments with them. I'll leave you to share with me your interesting dog behaviors.