You've probably had a day or two when you felt
like your dog just wasn't paying any attention to you at all,
right? You talked, you yelled, you shouted, maybe you jumped
up and down and waved your arms, but she just wasn't
interested in anything you had to say to her in any tone of
voice. You're not alone.
Your dog isn't human.
Unless you believe in pet psychics, there's really no way
for you to read your pooch's mind and figure out exactly what
she's thinking. The good news is that, like many dog owners,
the problems you're having can probably be traced to one
simple thing: you're trying to communicate with your dog from
a human standpoint, and your dog isn't a human. Sure, you know
that, but lots of humans try to relate with their dogs in the
ways that they think are rational as humans. The problem is
that dogs are driven in every act and every moment by very
strong instincts. Deciphering those instincts and leveraging
them to build a productive relationship is like finding the
keys to the city.
Your dog doesn't speak English.
Take the word "no," for example. Does your dog
speak English? Not understand English. Does she speak it?
What's meaningful to her is your tone of voice, not the word
itself. Now let's think about that - we're taking up excess
time trying to teach our dog a word she'll never speak and
that probably doesn't mean much to her anyway. Sure, it's
meaningful to us, but that's only one side of the equation.
What about something that's meaningful to both human and dog?
You know what a growl means, and your dog knows
what a growl means.
If you think that mutually meaningful language doesn't
exist, you're not thinking creatively enough. What does it say
to you when a dog growls at you? Anything from "get away
from my food" to "back off, dude," right? Yet
in every case, a dog's growl typically means that she is not
happy with whatever you've done. And you've seen dogs react to
other dogs' growls, right? So you know what a growl means, and
your dog knows what a growl means. Where's the disconnect?
Growl at your dog!
No, seriously. The next time your pooch starts stepping
outside her bounds or doing something you don't like, growl at
her. A nice, strong, guttural growl that would put the alpha
wolf in a pack to shame. While you're growling, look directly
into her eyes. You're almost guaranteed that she'll back off.
It might be best to try it in your home environment to start
with - I don't want to be held responsible for you getting
funny looks in the street!
Instincts save time and communicate effectively.
See that? You worked with her instinct and the information
hardwired into her brain, and the result was instantaneous.
Why spend tons of time trying to work against that instinct
and end up frustrated, angry, and still miscommunications?
This approach works in everything from basic discipline to
full-on obedience training. You just need to figure out how to
apply it in each of those situations.
Paul is Head of Training for a major UK Charitable Organisation.
Browse
540 Dog Breeds
Looking for information on Dogs? We have all Dog breeds listed, just click on one of the links on the list to find more information about that breed!
Looking
for the perfect Dog name? Dogs names for your new
Puppy. Browse thousands of Dog names, names for both male
and female dogs, Start looking by clicking on a letter!
Hi Cats is a website you can find extensive information on all Cat Breeds, Articles, Health, Books, Photos, Desktop Wallpapers, Posters, Training, Cats names, Links and more.
Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/boxistc/public_html/heydogs/training/4-things-frustrated-dog-owners-should-know.html on line 899
Warning: include(http://www.heydogs.com/footer.html) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/boxistc/public_html/heydogs/training/4-things-frustrated-dog-owners-should-know.html on line 899
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.heydogs.com/footer.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/boxistc/public_html/heydogs/training/4-things-frustrated-dog-owners-should-know.html on line 899
HeyDogs.com Dog Breeds Information
Guide menu 
