Sometimes, it can seem like your dog has some kind of direct channel into your brain or your heart. That they have some, sixth sense, about how you are feeling or what you want or need.
Many dog owners have told me stories, in awed tones, of their dogs almost supernatural abilities to know what they want or need. While it's not magic, dogs do have super powers of perception that go beyond what we are normally consciously aware of.
Let's review these, so that we can have a better understanding of how to communicate with our dogs and understand how what we do affects them.
Scent
It probably goes without saying, but your dog's nose is far better than any human's. Well, that's not entirely true. We have some of the same hardware, but the difference is really in the brain. Dogs' brains are just wired for the sense of smell in a way that ours never can be.
In training, when a dog is food motivated, we use scent in association with food. Meal time can become training time because a hungry dog near food will be more motivated and engaged. Our approach is, You want this? Great! If you do what I want, you get what you want!
Scent is also important when meeting new people, new dogs and going new places. I don't know why, but it seems that whenever I'm out with a dog, some stranger feels the need to shove their hands in the dog's face. Sorry, but a dog can smell you quite well from where you are! If you have a dog that has anxiety, fear, or nervousness at new encounters with people, keep the dog feeling safe by guarding his/her space and letting the human know that the dog can smell them just fine. No hands are needed.
Body Language
Dogs are hyper-aware of every little bit of our body language, which is one of the primary ways we have communicated with them over the last 20-40 thousand years they evolved with us. They've had a lot of time to get dialed into our every move. This is why their powers of observation seem to be almost mystical. They watch our body's positioning, posture, how relaxed or tense we are, facial expressions, and more. This is an entire language to a dog. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are always communicating through our body language; to a dog, we speak volumes. Our emotional state is often reflected in body language and tone of voice, and dogs will pick up on that and internalize it, mirroring our internal state within themselves. This is why dogs are often a reflection of their owners or their home environment. If there is a lot of stress and anxiety in a home, the dog is much more likely to have issues with stress and anxiety. This is particularly true of German dogs, German Shepherds in particular.
One area of body language that dogs are usually hyper-aware of is something called spatial pressure.
This is the proximity and movement of people or things applied to the space around a dog up to and beyond the threshold with which they feel comfortable. Leaning into or over a dog creates spatial pressure and makes them uncomfortable, just like an American traveling on a subway in Tokyo would feel uncomfortable. "Hey! You're in my space!" I've had dogs that would refuse to swing into a heel on my left side because my shoulder was dropped an inch too low or I was leaning forward a couple of inches too much. Yes, they can be that sensitive to spatial pressure.
When training, we encourage engagement by teaching the dog to look at us and pay attention to our actions. Proper canine leadership also requires that we keep our bodies relaxed, our emotions calm, and our posture straight so that we project confidence and control.
If you are trying to teach recall, i.e., the "here" command, moving towards a dog will likely apply pressure and make them run away from you, while moving away from a dog will remove the pressure, engage their prey/chase drive, and draw them into you. Kneeling down and being positioned to the side is passive and more welcoming to a dog as it removes more spatial pressure. This is especially helpful for timid and nervous dogs.
Tone of Voice
Have you ever had someone tell you that "How you say something is more important than what you say?" This is doubly true for a dog as it conveys a lot of meaning and nuance, including about our emotional state. At the most basic level, a high-pitched tone conveys approval, happiness, and excitement, while a low-pitched tone conveys disapproval, unhappiness, and anger. Have you ever heard a dog growl in a high-pitched tone? Of course not; a growl is always in a low-pitched town, while excited yips and play barks are in a high-pitched tone.
In training, we use the tone of voice to convey approval or disapproval. Most of the time, we use a voice prompt, i.e., command, in a happy, high-pitched tone, with the voice rising at the end of the word. This is the same technique we use to designate something as a question in English. As we get to the end of the sentence, the last word has a higher tone. When we do that, the dogs understand that what they have just done is good, while they build recognition for the pattern of sounds we are using to mark that activity. We never mark a prompt with a low tone of voice, which creates stress and tension. Also, if you want your dog to know and like their name, never use it when scolding them. If they've done something bad and you are unhappy about it, don't use their name. "Bad Dog" is better than "Bad Mabel!" If you do, they'll be looking to make a getaway whenever you use their name!
Touch
Can be the most powerful communicator, one that overrides many of the others. Positive touch, including soothing touches and petting, can be used as a reward. In contrast, negative touch, which includes leash tugs, poking, slapping, leaning, biting, and mouthing, adds pressure and can result in stress.
Too much positive touch can work against you if you are trying to reward your dog for good behavior. You can create so much excitement that it results in a huge distraction, destroying the connection you are trying to make between good behavior and a reward. When training a dog, I'll use a nice tone of voice in addition to a slight and brief touch to a dog's shoulder or side of the face. Usually, for an excitable dog, I'll touch an area with less muscle and more bone - like the side of the face - to keep the level of excitement low. For a calm dog, I will usually touch the shoulder as it has more muscle, and the effect of the touch will convey greater excitement.
Dogs often use touch to train humans! Dogs who lean on you, put their paws on you, step on your feet, jump up on you, nip you, put their mouth on you, or push you with their nose are using negative touch to communicate their desires by adding pressure to us to get us to do something they want. Usually, it's for attention, play, food, or to go outside. This type of communication from a dog often signals disrespect and should be ignored or corrected. A dog will rarely, if ever, use negative touch on a pack leader, so if your dog does it to you, chances are, you are not the leader!
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