Lowering hindquarters

The dog lowers only the hind part of his body, bending his rear legs. The tail is lowered or held between the legs.
(Murphy, 1998; Shilder,2004; van der Borg, 2004; Koler-Matznick, 2005)

During an Obedience trial, this male Pit Bull has lowered his hindquarters, turning his ears sideways and raising a front paw in reaction to his handler's attitude.

This male Belgian Malinois has approached a female Golden Retriever, who has responded by swerving to the side, stopping and lowering her hindquarters.

VIDEO

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In this interaction, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a 2-year-old spayed female; the Australian shepherd is a 2-year-old male. The Staffy follows the male, and when he turns to face off, she half-closes her eyes lies down and licks her nose. When the male steps forward towards her, she lowers her hindquarters with a front paw raised, leaps to the side and then turns to face him, with tail lowered. As the Australian continues to advance toward her, the Staffy lowers her hindquarters and runs away.

low posture < > lowering the head