A viewer asks: “I do find it very hard to determine whether my dog feels aggressive or not to another one because they are not showing much body language that I can discern, except interest. Then there will be either acceptance or sometimes aggression. It’s very hit and miss and I’m hoping there’s a better way.” What can we tell him?

Dogs highly attuned to their master may reflect similar energies. This is why high-strung people may have a high-strung pet. They are not only compatible, having similar dispositions, but will become in tune energetically and share a similar general tone in their response to unfolding situations and new environments. But, for the most part, dogs have a mind of their own and cannot be controlled, with respect to their behavior, in a very detailed way except through intensive training to keep them largely repressed waiting for a signal to do something. Few people have the patience or knowledge to train a dog to be solely responsive to their cues. Whether that is desirable is even questionable. Dogs with a disposition prone to strict obedience will eagerly await instructions. In a sense, it is giving them a role to play, even a kind of career, to set about pleasing their controlling human from moment to moment. We would see that as a very narrow set of options, even for a canine, in terms of its potential to enjoy life and have fun in a variety of ways.