Being a pack animal dogs need to have some means of communication.
Gestures such as the way the head is held or the manner in which it walks can have important meanings to other dogs which help hold the heirarchy together and reduces serious and possibly fatal disputes.
Our domestic dogs exhibit many characteristics of very young juveniles rather than full adult animals.
One characteristic is when your dog greets you, some will approach you with their head held low, will not make eye contact and hold their tail low with small almost feeble wagging movements. Many owners will recognise those signals when their dog greets them in this way, the dog knows it has broken some rule, maybe emptied the trashcan or ripped something apart. This is their “I’m as guilty as hell and I’m really really sorry look”
They may well be fearing some beating as the owner gets emotional and irrational so they try to show submission.
Other times when you come home the dog sees you as a hunter returning with the spoils, you may have lots of interesting smells so you might well be inspected, in a respectful way of course, and there might even be the possibility of food to share.
Many dogs do get fed fairly shortly after their owners return from work, and many also get a chance to go walkies, which to the dog is a time to get completely hyped up ready for the pack going hunting.
Your dog may just go completely over the top trying to show you how loyal he is and how jolly glad he is for your return, this is where the tail goes mad, knocking cups off tables, banging against doors, he may dash off and fetch you a favourite item of his as a kind of gift or maybe to remind you that he is expecting his gift from you, it kind of depends on his mood.
Other times like say when you are sat in your front room and your dog sidles past on his way to lie in front of the fire (usually too close than is good for him!) he will give you a slow glance and gently wave his tail just once or twice as if to say “Hi, don’t worry about me I’m cool”
One of the funniest I’ve seen is when a huge animal decides it is still a puppy and can sit on your lap, they kind of creep up watching you, but look away instantly everytime you make eye contact and stop moving, the moment you look away they start up again and slowly try to insinuate themselves onto your lap, the tail flickers very slightly as if to say “Please be nice I’m really very small and you will hardly notice me”
This is often accompanied by some comedic clumsiness where you get a wet nose poked in your eye and an ungainly balancing act as paws slide around trying to gain purchase until it all falls apart and cups of coffee go flying one way, newspapers another and the dog trying to look as innocent as possible.
