Stress cues
- Whale eye or side-eye
- Lip licking when no food is present
- Yawning outside sleep context
- Pinned ears or tense mouth
Posture cues
- Stiff body
- Tucked tail
- Weight shifted backward
- Frozen stance before movement
Context cues
- New guest or child nearby
- Resource guarding situation
- Panting at rest
- Hiding after a routine change
Quick signal check flow
1
Start with posture
Look at the whole body before judging the face. Stiffness, freezing, and weight shift matter.
2
Add facial signals
Check eyes, ears, mouth tension, yawning, and lip licking in context.
3
Match the situation
The same signal means different things at the vet, near food, near a child, or during play.
Risk levels
Relax
Loose body, soft eyes, normal breathing, and easy movement.
Monitor
One or more stress cues appear, but your dog can disengage and recover.
Call a professional
Freezing, repeated escalation, pain signs, bite risk, or major behavior change.
Get a visual signal report
PetSignalAI reviews the actual photo or short video, identifies visible cues, and summarizes whether the situation looks like relax, monitor, or call-a-professional territory.