Field Guide · Glossary
The shake-off
Body languageA full-body shake, of the kind a wet dog performs, carried out when the dog is dry.
How it works
It is commonly observed at the end of a tense moment: after a greeting, after being handled, after a startle passes. Trainers generally read it as a transition, marking the point where a dog moves out of one state and into another, and it is often taken as a sign that a difficult moment has finished rather than merely paused. The behavior itself is easy to see and reliable to spot. The internal account of what it does is inference rather than established physiology.
What it looks like
Two dogs greet, stiffen briefly, then move apart. A few steps later one stops and shakes from nose to tail, then carries on sniffing the verge with a loose body.
Commonly confused with
- Displacement behavior
- Displacement behaviors appear during a moment of conflict, while the dog is caught between options. A shake-off usually appears after a moment has resolved, which is why the timing is what identifies it.
Related terms
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