NO THANK YOU
For dogs, there’s a big difference between being angry and simply saying no. And honestly, that’s one of my favorite things about dogs.
Being angry, for them, usually means someone has crossed a boundary—and now they’re irritated. But saying no? That’s something entirely different. It’s calm. It’s clear. It’s gentle.
When a dog says no, they’re simply letting you know they don’t want to do something right now, or they’re not comfortable with it. And the way they say it is actually really beautiful—they just turn their head away. They physically shift away from the energy they don’t want to be a part of.
And I think that’s great.
Way better than snapping or growling.
Dogs use this way of saying no all the time.
Yuna does it often when I ask her to do a trick she’s not in the mood for—especially “down.” But seriously, who wants to lie down on a cold floor?
She’s very polite about it, though.
If I ask her to lie down, she just turns her head AWAY from me—and holds it there for about five seconds. Sometimes longer. Just to make it clear that there is absolutely no way she’s putting her warm little body on that chilly surface.
Then, when she’s made her point, she turns her head back and lifts her paw—as if to say, “But hey, I am up for some other tricks. Maybe ‘paw’?”
This head-turning behavior is also something we can use to communicate with our dogs.
If your dog is doing something to you that you don’t like—jumping up too much, licking your face, being in your space—you can simply turn your head away.
It works so much better than pushing them off or saying “no.”
Why? Because it’s their language.
Of course, it only works in situations where the dog is doing something to you. It’s not the same as a correction for something like chewing the sofa or barking at the mailman.
But for personal space stuff? Turning your head away is incredibly effective.
At first, dogs need a little time to get what you’re doing.
But once they understand it, things become so much easier.
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