When we train dogs, we run into a very common issue and it’s one most owners don’t give a lot of thought. While the particular issue is not one that is high on the list of issues for most owners, it is the root cause of many, many issues between owners and their dogs. Here it is: You and your dog don’t speak the same language.
Imagine if you brought an exchange student into your home from a foreign country, we’ll say France, and you can’t speak French and the exchange student doesn’t speak English. The student’s customs, body language, daily routine and communication style may all be different than yours. After a short time, it would become very frustrating due to your lack of ability to communicate with each other. You could use some body language and facial expressions. You could try to learn each other’s language, but in the end, it would likely become very frustrating.
Dogs never stop communicating. They are communicating when they are playing, resting, eating, pooping, peeing, approaching people and other dogs and even when they are sleeping. Dogs rely heavily on scent, what they hear and reading body language when they communicate. People rely on body language and scent significantly less than dogs do. Where a dog’s ears and tail are, how stiffly they walk, how much eye contact they make and where their hackles are tell us everything about how they feel about a situation. They use every part of their bodies to communicate. People communicate in spurts and rely heavily on talking with their voice and reading facial expressions when communicating.
Dogs want to please their people. When communication breaks down and dogs aren’t pleasing their people, their people often get frustrated. When dogs don’t know why their people are frustrated, they get frustrated and the relationship is strained.
In a dog’s world, there are dog rules and people rules but there is no such thing as no rules. When a dog’s people don’t make the rules, the dog fills the void with dog rules. Dog rules don’t work very well in their peoples’ world. There are ways to make rules for dogs that leave the dogs feeling happy and positive about the rules. The dogs become happy to do the things their people want them to do.
When we are asked to help with training a dog, we almost always start with teaching the dog’s family dog language. When we get successful results training dogs and modifying their behavior owners often tell us that we are “dog whisperers”. The truth is that there is that successful trainers and behaviorists do very little whispering. We are much closer to being interpreters. We teach dogs people language and people dog language. There is a magic moment when a dog’s people come to understand their dog’s language and are able to effectively communicate with their dog. It’s at that moment when a true bond is born.
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