Many people argue that families that rent pets don’t have enough experience with pet needs and behaviors. Others think it is common knowledge that dogs are happy when they wag their tails and afraid when they lower their bodies and look down. Ms. Kahn’s student, Shatara, agreed with this notion. She shared, “Our poodle, Toots, wags his tail whenever we take him for a walk around the neighborhood, whereas Rusty, our sheepdog, cowers and is never happy about going for walks. My mom says that Rusty’s fear of city noises has been an ongoing problem since Rusty was a puppy.”

Ms. Kahn chimed in, “My family’s dog, Rex, is compatible with urban life, but he is afraid of new people inside our apartment. He’ll actually hide when we have guests.”

This got Shatara thinking about observing the behaviors of dogs. She sketched different ways that dogs held their bodies as she observed them. She was curious about how much she could infer from the posture of dogs. Examine Shatara’s sketches to see if there is enough information for you to make an inference. If so, write it down.

Discussion Question:

Some people might say that sketching is not a very scientific way for Shatara to take notes about her observations. What do you think?