section_path: Behavior/Communication
section_name: Communication
paragraph_text: Communication
  
  Dog communication is how dogs convey information to other dogs, understand messages from humans, and translate the information that dogs are transmitting. Communication behaviors of dogs include eye gaze, facial expression, vocalization, body posture (including movements of bodies and limbs), and gustatory communication (scents, pheromones, and taste). Dogs mark their territories by urinating on them, which is more likely when entering a new environment. Both sexes of dogs may also urinate to communicate anxiety or frustration, submissiveness, or when in exciting or relaxing situations. Aroused dogs can be a result of the dogs' higher cortisol levels. Between 3 and 8 weeks of age, dogs tend to focus on other dogs for social interaction, and between 5 and 12 weeks of age, they shift their focus to people. Belly exposure in dogs can be a defensive behavior that can lead to a bite or to seek comfort.
  
  Humans communicate with dogs by using vocalization, hand signals, and body posture. With their acute sense of hearing, dogs rely on the auditory aspect of communication for understanding and responding to various cues, including the distinctive barking patterns that convey different messages. A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown that dogs respond to both vocal and nonvocal voices using the brain's region towards the temporal pole, similar to that of humans' brains. Most dogs also looked significantly longer at the face whose expression matched the valence of vocalization. A study of caudate responses shows that dogs tend to respond more positively to social rewards than to food rewards.