Communicating With Your Canine

Does your dog understand the words that are coming out of your mouth?  Probably not.  They are more in tune with the reaction they get from their pet parents and will continue to do those actions that get a positive reaction. (Positive reaction to your pup could simply be attention, good or bad).  In all actuality, you could train your dog with gestures and non verbal commands, but humans are verbal communicators and it would feel weird to ONLY give non verbal commands to our pets.

Even though your pooch may not understand the actual words coming out of your mouth, he does understand tone and pitch.  There are three tones  your dog will readily identify with.  A high pitched tone of voice is interpreted as an invitation to play.  An ordinary tone is considered instructional and a low pitch tone, a reprimand.  I, myself, have a naturally higher pitched tone of voice, so with canine clients that are easily excitable I have to consciously deepen my tone of voice when interacting with them, otherwise I get clobbered.  Many dogs like my company for this same reason...I sound like I'm always ready to play!

Experiment with your dog.  Try reprimanding with a high pitched tone to your voice.  See what kind of reaction you get.  Try playing with a deeper tone and see if they are ready to chase that ball.  Now, I don't suggest trying this experiment when it's important to reprimand, this is all meant for fun and games.  I'm sure you'll see that adjusting the tone of your voice will do wonders to facilitate meaningful communication between you and your pup.