How To Read Your Dog

We’ve been big fans of the artist Lili Chin for a while now. Though best known for co-creating the Warner Bros hit animated series “Mucha Lucha,” it’s her utterly charming and pitch perfect “Doggie Drawings” as she calls them, that have won our hearts. And we’re not alone—her viral Doggie Language poster has been translated into many different languages and is used by dog rescues and shelters around the world to help guide dog-safe interactions by depicting dog body language and its meanings via clear—and super cute!—illustrations.

Now, you can get your paws on her first book, Doggie Language: A Dog Lover's Guide to Understanding Your Best Friend. In it you’ll find dog body language clearly illustrated and explained in a winning way that will help you better read your dog.

Her muse and the inspiration behind the book is her rescued, blue-eyed Boston Terrier, Boogie. 

“Many years ago, I was watching a video of myself training my dog, Boogie,” Lili shares in the book’s prologue. “I had seen this video several times before, but this time I noticed Boogie yawn and lick his lip after I tugged his collar. In my earlier viewings, I was so focussed on how well Boogie was responding to ‘Sit’ that I had completely missed these signals.

“Having just read Turid Rugass’ On Talking Terms With Dogs, this time I noticed and understood that the “yawn” and “lip lick” were signs of discomfort and that these were Boogie’s responses to the collar pressure on his neck. This was a mind-blowing realization for me, and from then on, I could never un-see these signals again.”

Lili became a student of dog body language and, realizing that she was not alone in failing to read her dog’s signals, shared what she was learning via drawings. She has since created many illustrations for welfare groups and training professionals, helping to educate myriad people in better understanding dogs and thus improving dog-human relationships. Join the club by picking up a copy of Doggie Language. Your dog will thank you.