The dog's body language is, in fact, quite advanced. Learning to understand a dog's body language saves us a lot of time and effort when training and showing. The carriage of the body as well as facial expressions can be revealing. In particular, the position of the dog's tail can be very revealing. Indeed, cats and dogs misunderstand each other because of differences in 'tail talk'. For example, cats sway their tails when they are angry whereas dogs sway their tails when they are happy and relaxed. Reflect for a moment on human body language, the way we indicate our happiness is by showing our teeth! Dog owners should be aware that dogs read human body language. We can, of course, talk to a dog, thinking that the dog will understand us but we must remember that dogs do not know human language. A dog will learn to associate certain words or phrases with certain actions, a very typical type of training where showing is concerned. Words associated with food are quickly learnt and if we say, for example, "Do you want to go out", the dog will understand us, but only because of association with a repetitive action. How we talk to a dog is revealing in itself. We can say the cruellest things to a dog but using a happy tone of voice ensures that the dog will merely wag its tail! An example of this is the following. Using a happy tone we could say, "Tomorrow we are going to the veterinary surgeon to have you put down", and the dog's reaction will be a swaying of its tail. Telling the dog that we love it but using a very strict and abrupt tone will ensure that the dog curls up and wonders what it has done wrong. Staring at the dog at the same time will increase the threatening effect of the words. We humans constantly use body language although we are often unaware of it. To test if a dog really understands the meaning of words such as 'sit' and 'lie down', try turning your back to the dog while issuing the commands. We often tend to give animals human-like qualities. Bearing this in mind my closing words are therefore, be aware of both your dog's and your own body language as well as the differences between the two. The above is a short discussion about a subject which should be thoroughly considered in order to allow a greater success in the interplay between dogs and their handlers.