Owner-dog Communications Benefit From Body Language

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.

When trained properly, your dog and you will have a better understanding of the rules and the messages being delivered between you. As you learn his body language, he comes to learn yours.

Like humans, dogs communicate with their bodies as well as their voices, but dogs rely a great deal on body language. A dog will whine, cry and bark to express himself, but he will stand a certain way, hold his tail in a certain position, and tilt his head as well. These body poses send specific messages designed mostly for other canines.

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.

Being social creatures humans and dogs will work to understand those non-verbal messages. Your dog will gradually know how to interpret certain poses that you take. Seeing this knowledge grow is very rewarding. Add positive dog training methods to magnify the results.

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.

Herding dogs is a perfect example of how non-verbal communications between owner and dog can work. It doesn't come easily, however, but takes many weeks of practice - failures and successes.

Dog communications does take a great deal of patience, but the rewards are well worth the time and commitment.