Learning a Second Language

My friend Steve is thinking about retiring to Mexico. His retirement date is a aways off, but he's making an attempt to learn Spanish in the meantime. This got me thinking about learning to speak dog.

I'm frequently amazed at how well Gracie communicates with me. Between her facial expressions, body language and bark, I almost always interpret her message correctly. I suspect this comes from us spending so much time together - much as it would with a human companion.

Gracie didn't bark until she was about 7 months old. It surprised both of us when she finally let out her first "woof." As any proud parent would, I went to great lengths to share this experience with my friends. As friends of indulgent parents do, they listened thoughtfully and did not roll their eyes (at least not in my presence).

Gracie mostly barks to alert me to some important occurrence in the neighborhood:

• The warning bark: this sounds like a muffled "woof." Her checks puff out air to make the sound. It almost sounds like a human "huh?" or "what?" Her ears prick up and her upper body tightens. I can provoke the warning bark by asking her if she has seen Romeo, the hapless neighbor cat who likes to sit in the street and dodge cars. The mere mention of his name engages the warning bark and requires the household to increase it's threat level to Yellow.
• The alarm bark: this is the "woof" without the f at the end. It sounds like "Woowoowoowooowooo!" with a staccato beat. By now her legs have stiffen and with each "woo" her front legs bounce off the floor. The hair on back stands on point signifying the threat level has been raised to Orange.
• The "make my day" bark: This bark is a series of repeated "woowoowoo" with some "grrrrrrrrs" thrown in and sometimes a gnashing of teeth. The bark usually only surfaces when a neighborhood dog dares to walk past our front window. This is the bark where Gracie ceases to be the stereotypical Labrador clown and becomes the intimidating guard dog. The threat level has moved to Red.

Gracie also has a playful bark that she uses to wheedle more food out of me. This bark consists of her standing in the kitchen staring longingly at the cupboard where her food is stored. She then checks to see if I'm watching. If I am, she perks her ears forward and smiles at me. Then bowing forward, she gives me a "wwuuuuuvvv" type sound followed by a front paw to the cupboard. If I'm too obtuse to understand, the behavior continues until I give in.

How does your dog communicate with you? How have you learned to listen to and understand his or her language?