Do our dogs mirror our energy or our emotions?

[Malakai The Great]

Lately I’ve been thinking about how much of what we see in our dogs actually starts with us.

I’ve noticed on the days I’m calm, grounded, and not in a rush, my dog mirrors that. He moves slower, checks in more, settles faster. But if I’m distracted, tense, or even just thinking about what could go wrong… it’s like he tunes into it instantly.

Some people call it energy. Others call it leadership, presence, or emotional regulation. Whatever you call it, I’ve seen it firsthand, dogs read us on a level that goes way beyond commands.

When I trained with a handler years back, he told me:
"Your dog doesn't care what you say. They care about how you feel when you say it"

That stuck with me.

So now I try to lead by example. If I want calm, I act calm. If I want focus, I bring focus.
And on the days I fail at that… well, my dog reminds me immediately.

Curious what everyone else has noticed. Do you think your dog reflects your energy, your emotions, or both? And how do you reset things when the vibe gets off?

 

[MyDogBitz]

Lately I’ve been thinking about how much of what we see in our dogs actually starts with us.

I’ve noticed on the days I’m calm, grounded, and not in a rush, my dog mirrors that. He moves slower, checks in more, settles faster. But if I’m distracted, tense, or even just thinking about what could go wrong… it’s like he tunes into it instantly.

Some people call it energy. Others call it leadership, presence, or emotional regulation. Whatever you call it, I’ve seen it firsthand, dogs read us on a level that goes way beyond commands.

When I trained with a handler years back, he told me:
"Your dog doesn't care what you say. They care about how you feel when you say it"

That stuck with me.

So now I try to lead by example. If I want calm, I act calm. If I want focus, I bring focus.
And on the days I fail at that… well, my dog reminds me immediately.

Curious what everyone else has noticed. Do you think your dog reflects your energy, your emotions, or both? And how do you reset things when the vibe gets off?

I think so much of this is our unconscious body language. I believe dogs are far more in tune with the most subtle of physical cues then what we give them credit for.

I've noticed that if I'm stressed out or pissed off about something and I carry those feelings with me into a training session the dog is a bit flat or even a little checked out before we even get started.

Even if I'm compartmentalizing it well and keeping the feelings internal, somehow the dog knows.

Dogs communicate with each other through body language. But I think their "language" is far more advanced than what we think it is. I really believe they can read everything about us through our body language. Even the most mundane ques are like screaming alarms to our dogs.

That's my totally unscientific and impossible to prove opinions on it.

 

[Malakai The Great]

I think so much of this is our unconscious body language. I believe dogs are far more in tune with the most subtle of physical cues then what we give them credit for.

I've noticed that if I'm stressed out or pissed off about something and I carry those feelings with me into a training session the dog is a bit flat or even a little checked out before we even get started.

Even if I'm compartmentalizing it well and keeping the feelings internal, somehow the dog knows.

Dogs communicate with each other through body language. But I think their "language" is far more advanced than what we think it is. I really believe they can read everything about us through our body language. Even the most mundane ques are like screaming alarms to our dogs.

That's my totally unscientific and impossible to prove opinions on it.

Couldn’t agree more. It’s crazy how subtle it can be too. Sometimes it’s not even posture or tone, it’s the micro-tension in your breathing or the way you shift your weight before giving a cue. They pick up on it instantly.

I’ve had sessions where everything technically looked fine on my end, but the dog still felt “off.” Later I realized I was frustrated about something totally unrelated, but they’d already read it in me before we even started.

It really does feel like they’ve got their own version of emotional radar. Makes you appreciate just how much communication happens before we ever open our mouths.

 

[MyDogBitz]

I’ve had sessions where everything technically looked fine on my end, but the dog still felt “off.” Later I realized I was frustrated about something totally unrelated, but they’d already read it in me before we even started.

100%.