When to look and what to look for

I was reading a great training book a while back and was shocked to learn about eye energy. Many people can't pick up on the body language or read just what their dog is saying. Perhaps they are a bit nervous or don't completely trust the dog because they are new and a bond isn't set or they may not know the body signals or misread them or even not understand there is such a thing. What happens next? They will look at their dog, constantly during walks to see what they do next or try to guide them to appropriate behavior. They do this around the house and when out at pet stores. What is interesting, I find, they don't do this when the dog is at a dog park. You canlearn a lot about dogs from watching them but, if you stare or don't know what you are looking for it is doing more harm than good. Have you ever been sitting somewhere and felt eyes on you? This is energy that is given off when others watch you and dogs feel this very well, I think it might be stronger than their actual sight.
Well what can you do?
First when you are on a walk or out, always be aware of your dog. If they become aggressive, be sure you know triggers or why they do this. Are they protecting you or the other dog or child in their pack? Are they afraid of children or of men or hats? Protect all involved.
What do you look for?
If your dog stands with ears forward, base of tail raised, scruff hair pricked, possibly showing teeth, eyes dilated... he is trying to asert dominance and possibly could lead to aggression if the other dog doesn't conceed.
If your dog has a tail set against his back it is so high and flutters in a wag or keeps the tail even with the back line this means calling for play or reading the signals and not wanting to rush posture. A play bow always means that, if your dog remains on leash during play, rotate yourself to keep leash untangled, reaching over a dog to untangle leashes is inefficient and could be read as a dominant posturing. A dog who chirps or is sniffing and then suddenly jerks could be playing but, if unsure lean toward thinking aggression.
I make mental notes about stances. He sees a bunny... ears go from back to up, he freezes and then bounces, this is the same with a squirrel. He sees a person he lifts head and if we are stopped he freezes for a second then he looks at me to see what I want of him, perfect. He is scared of some flag or trash bag that seems out of place... he freezes, leans forward, ears up, reluctantly approaches the preceived threat when he feels it is not a threat and wants to know what it is. Someone walks by the house... he gets wide eyes, slightly tilts head, ears up, bark alarm then bounces at me to ask why I am not alarmed then I call him over to me, treat the "come" and we move on.
A dog in charge will care for the others in the pack but not study the every move visually, a bottom rung dog will watch others looking for guidance, approval etc. Humans should be in charge earning others respect and leading with confidence. Relax and walk with a confident relaxed leash, walk quickly unless you are with a small dog and stop at intersections or paths and let your dog sniff and mark those areas most. If your dog decides to stop other places too slow down a bit and show interest in the area too, tap the ground with your shoes or lean over to pretend to sniff then after a moment give a kind,firm "let's go" or "hurry up" and start on your way, if you get to the end of the leash a gentle tug or two should do and if not use "leave it" and be sure to treat the good behavior when there is success. You don't have to stare at your dog and wonder if he will behave. Enjoy your walk and if you lead it well your dog will be happy to follow the plan.
I do look at my dog, he is being cute and good so I try to send him loving, good boy vibes. I try to envision him walking loose leashed by my side 100% of our walks but, I try to ignore the relapses or wandering dog he sometimes is choosing to praise the good. I try to only give short glances at my dog and I watch shadows to praise him for looking at me.
When in crowds I don't trust my dog because he is shy and a stranger could overstep his comfort without realizing it. To protect all involved I will typically have a treat ready to distract him with or I will be sure to have his gentle leader on. I have learned that when greeting people he is quick to warm up to the stranger and needs a few moments of them not looking at him so he can approach and sniff a pant or a hand. He will sometimes even give strangers kisses. I will talk to the person and after a moment I say"sniff" and he knows he should sniff, once he reads the hormones and pheromones and everything he is good.
I kept going to classes and the students were constantly staring and watchng their dogs. You can feel the energy they are transmitting most of the time through the leash and using your eyes is not allowing you to truly connect with your dog. We must learn to use our other senses which we find weak. we must pay attention to the signals our dogs send. When we learn what our dog is saying we have such a greater connection.
Recently I was reading about connections and how dogs respect posession, giving the leader the most buffer space when they have an object. I read also that they will use a low warning growl to warn the space buffer has been invaded. Dogs also do this at mealtime. When a puppy was introduced to our pack recently I watched as my dog gave signals to the new pup. Since I knew what to look for I saw not aggression but, correction. It was enlightening to understand what he was saying. I kind a felt like I learned how to speak dog.