Owner-Dog Communications Benefit From Body Language
Posted: Monday, February 01, 2010
by Sylvia Dickens
Hale Publishing
When we train our dogs, we teach them simple commands like sit, stay and down. Yet, there are other dog training tools, body language in particular, that is worth considering in your dog communications efforts. Begin with the basics and expand from there.
You should not have to constantly give your dog commands. He should know instinctively from your previous training that he should not do things like climb onto the furniture, scratch at the door when you go out, shred your personal belongings or bark at every sound he hears. Body language is a great way to let him know right from wrong.
Both species communicate using body language, dogs moreso. While a dog will make different sounds to communicate, he combines them with body stances that are quickly understood by other canines. This is where we are at a disadvantage until we learn that language.
Humans have various ways of speaking that clearly indicate a particular frame of mind, whether the person is angry, relax or stressed. We will stand upright when we are confident, slouch when we are not, put our hands on our hips in defiance and fold our arms across our chests when we are not open to debate an issue.
As you spend time with your dog, you'll come to recognize his poses and how to interpret them, as he will yours. Work on this and you'll soon see how effective it can be, especially when you add it to other positive training methods.
Dog communications benefit best with positive training methods
Perhaps the most important key to effective training is to use positive reinforcement when the dog responds correctly, and being patient and understanding when he does not respond to your commands. This means no yelling or hitting.
You both are learning a language that is not your own, which makes this a training process for you as well as your dog. Because you have the thought processes that are more able to establish cause and effect, you are in a better position to learn his language and modify your own rather than the reverse.
If you ever watch herding dogs at herding trials, you'll see trainers using nothing more than hand signals and whistles. Once trained, dogs know what is expected of them and as soon as the signal is given, they will race off to get the job done. Better trained dogs need little else but a certain whistle or hand gesture from the trainer.
This is a perfect example of how non-verbal communications can work between an owner and his dog. It takes many hours of practice to reach this stage. It is not reached with physical punishment for non-compliance. Praise is far more beneficial and helps you to develop a closer relationship with your pet.
Dog communications does take a great deal of patience, but the rewards are well worth the time and commitment.
--------
There are many more things to know about dogs that will help you with your training. We have put together a free special report, "How To Pick The Right Dog Training Tools" to help you. . We also offer a Free Trial of our extensive Puppy Parenting Course that teaches you everything you need to know about choosing, raising and training a puppy.
This Article has been viewed 100 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.