How To Make Dog Communication Work For You, and Why You Should

Why should dog communication concern you? Surely, teaching your pet a few necessary commands to get by is enough.

While it is true that you can manage if you teach your dog the basic commands such as sit, stay, down, come, and heel, you will be missing a lot if you do not take it to the next level. It depends on what you want to accomplish and what kind of relationship you want to establish with your dog.

You have to keep in mind that dogs speak a totally different language from humans. Dog communication relies a great deal on body language. You will see this when dogs meet or pass each other on the street. A simple look can tell the other dog a lot. It can indicate dominance and therefore a challenge to the other dog. Or it can simply mean that the male is interested in the female.

How one dog looks at another is just one part of dog language. How dogs face one another, how they stand, how they all hold their heads, how they tilt the ears, and even how they wrinkle their brows will indicate exactly what message is being transmitted.

It will help if you understand how dog language works so that you can make it work for you.

With practice, you can teach your dog your body language. You can do this in part by copying the dog's body language. Playfulness, for example, is often indicated by a dog lowering the front part of his body while keeping his butt in the air. If you did this yourself, he will know right away that you want to play and will become animated himself.

When a dog stands rigid with his tail straight out and up, he is on guard and ready if he is challenged. If he shows you his side and lowers his head, he is submitting to you.

You can use certain body posture to let your dog know that you are not pleased with something he has done or is not doing. In some cases, it might mean pointing or gesturing in some way, but you can also teach your dog to respond with a raised eyebrow or a tilted your head depending on what activity you want from him. This is where knowing dog language can benefit you.

It can be fun going through this training exercise because you will both learn from it. You will discover exactly how to modify your posture to get the result you want. This is an entirely different aspect of training that is not often mentioned. Yet it is very important because you could be sending the wrong message with your body, a message that is contradicted by how you stand.

By standing tall and staring down your dog, you'll give him the impression that you are challenging him. If this is not your intention, you can confuse him - at least until he learns your expressions and habits. Even your facial expression will tell him something, so make sure that it does not conflict with your verbal commands.

On the other hand, if your goal is to let your dog know that you are the boss and he is being rebellious, standing tall and looking him in the eyes will let him know that he must obey you.

As you can see, you can make dog communication work for you once you understand his language and teach him yours.

There are many more things to know about dogs that will help you with your training and the enjoyment of your pet. 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.