Normal Stance

This is when a dog is relaxed and at ease with what situation or circumstances they are in. In an ideal world, this is how a dog should be when they are out in public and being well behaved. It depends on the breed of the dog as to their complete stance, some breeds will droop their ears in a relaxed manner while some breeds with naturally cropped ears will stay standing but in a leisurely manner. Quite often with long tails they will droop down or give a slow wag in a form of friendliness. If a dog is completely relaxed in this stance their mouth will often remained closed and nearly in a frowned manner.

Aggressive

In this stance a dog will be trying to make themselves as big as possible in order to scare off those who they are being aggressive towards, whether it is a person or another dog. Quite often the hair on their back will rise, their tail may become erect and wave slowly and they will growl lowly in the beginning before possibly making a loud bark. In these circumstances it is best to ignore this behaviour and to avoid eye contact with the dog until they have settled themselves as it could otherwise spark them off into an aggressive outburst.

Submissive

 In this stance a dog is basically submissing to whoever they are displaying this reaction to, it could be a person or another dog. The dog will try to lick the face or hand and will roll onto its back displaying their groin area. In some cases the dog will wag their tail in a friendly manner. In this position, the dog is basically showing that they know who is more dominant and in some way being friendly towards their leader/ owner

Playful Stance

This stance is really self explanatory. A dog will often crouch its front end down and keep its rear end high in the air with its tail wagging frantically. The dog will also often have its mouth wide open with its tongue hanging out. The dog can also be panting as it becomes excited with the anticipation of play. It is usually very obvious when a dog is in the playful stance as it looks and acts very happy and excited.

Fearful Stance

There can be many ways in which a dog can display fear, shaking, shivering, and hiding behind a familiar person or furniture and tucking their tail between their legs is usually an obvious sign. In some cases, dogs can urinate out of fear and not realise they have done so, just be careful and not punish the dog for this.