Dog Training/Rehabilitation Tip
This is a reprint from the October 2024 newsletter
Use Your Voice!
Your Voice just may be the most underused tool in your dog training toolbox!
With the advent of clicker training and more and more dog trainers advocating for the use of so many different training tools, it seems that using our voice has fallen out of favor… However, your voice is the most easily accessible and the most reliable tool there is. Your voice is a more powerful reward than any treat and hearing your voice it is something your dog craves. A simple “Good Boy” or “Good Girl” is the strongest reward you can give your dog.
In addition, talking to your dog serves so many purposes
First, it is so important to tell your dog when he is doing something right. This is the biggest pitfall many dog owners make. We tend to speak up when the dog is doing something wrong (which is probably less than 10% of the time), but during 90% of the time when the dog is doing exactly what we want him to do (such as lying down, being calm, playing nicely, not reacting to another dog walking by, etc.) we say nothing. It is during these times when the dog is doing something right that praising the dog with a “Good Boy” or “Good Girl” will have an enormous impact by teaching the dog how we want them to behave. This is the best and easiest way to teach our dogs the right way to behave in our human world.
Of course, when the dog is doing something wrong we can tell them by simply saying “no” in a calm way, and that “no” (which is considered a correction) MUST be timed within 2 seconds of the action we are correcting or else the dog will not understand what you are correcting. This is why corrections can be very ineffective. Since the dog is not doing the wrong behavior for very long, it is very difficult for most people to give the correction within the very short time period (2 seconds) for the dog to be able to understand what we are telling them we didn’t like.
Since the dog is not doing the wrong behavior for very long, it is very difficult for most people to give the correction within the very short time period (2 seconds) for the dog to be able to understand what we are telling them we didn’t like.
Once we redirect the dog to the behavior we want, we need to enthusiastically use our voice to praise them so they will know they got it right. Then we need to keep using our voice enthusiastically as they continue to get it right. This is how we let the dog know that this “right” behavior is the behavior we want them to repeat. The beauty of telling the dog when they got it right is that since the dog is getting it right for a long period of time, it is not as hard for us to get the timing right since the good behavior lasts for so much longer than the bad behavior did. As a result, when we praise the dog for good behavior, he can more easily understand what behavior we are telling him to repeat.
The beauty of telling the dog when they got it right is that since the dog is getting it right for a long period of time, it is not as hard for us to get the timing right since the good behavior lasts for so much longer than the bad behavior did. As a result, when we praise the dog for good behavior, he can more easily understand what behavior we are telling him to repeat.
Second, the more you talk to your dog, the more words they will learn. Your dog is not born knowing English (or whatever other language you may speak). Dogs communicate with each other primarily through body language, so in order for our dogs to be able to adjust to the human world we are forcing them to live in we need to teach them our spoken language. So talk to your dog lots and over time they will be able to learn more and more words. You might be surprised just how much they can learn. Your dog is constantly paying attention to you and studying your movements, actions, speech, etc.
Third, talking to your dog is a great way to interact to help strengthen your bond with them. They may not understand most of the words you are saying, but what they do understand for certain is that you value them and want to spend your time with them. And as I said earlier, they are carefully studying you so they will keep learning more and more words as you continue to talk to them. They are smarter than any of us realize!
Use Your Voice!
You'll be glad you did!
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Note and disclaimer: All information in the blog posts on this site is my opinion based on my own experience rehabilitating an aggressive dog. I am not a professional behaviorist or otherwise involved in the Veterinary profession. If you are dealing with an aggressive dog, I recommend you seek the advice of a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist.
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