Do you know your dog quite well? By simply looking at his facial expression or the way his ears or tail stands moves, can you tell what he’s up to? Do our canine companions actually understand us?
OK, I know those are a lot of questions, and you probably know where this article is going. Yes, it’s about dog psychology, if ever there was one. Well, even if we’re non-experts, we know that psychology is also involved when dealing with our canine buddies, or with most animals for that matter.
Do you talk to your dog like you’re talking to a baby?
When we talk to babies, our voices are usually high-pitched. We also use very simple words and often repeat them. If there’s a difference we can observe between talking to an infant and talking to a pooch, perhaps it would be that we have more questions for babies and more barking orders (no pun intended there) for dogs.
Do our pet pooches comprehend what we’re communicating to them?
We give orders and talk to them, believing that they completely understand us. But do they? Well, if the way they react or respond to what we tell them is any indication, we can safely say they do. Look at those dog shows and you’ll realize this fact displayed entertainingly. Dogs can go beyond the usual sitting, standing, and fetching routines. They actually do certain maneuvers that show they understand commands. Of course, some can contend that the obedience is more a result of conditioning or repetitive trial and error practice, but we know for a fact that they obey not only to oral commands, but even to non-verbal cues (like asking them to get back to electric fence for dogs).
OK, I know those are a lot of questions, and you probably know where this article is going. Yes, it’s about dog psychology, if ever there was one. Well, even if we’re non-experts, we know that psychology is also involved when dealing with our canine buddies, or with most animals for that matter.
Do you talk to your dog like you’re talking to a baby?
When we talk to babies, our voices are usually high-pitched. We also use very simple words and often repeat them. If there’s a difference we can observe between talking to an infant and talking to a pooch, perhaps it would be that we have more questions for babies and more barking orders (no pun intended there) for dogs.
Do our pet pooches comprehend what we’re communicating to them?
We give orders and talk to them, believing that they completely understand us. But do they? Well, if the way they react or respond to what we tell them is any indication, we can safely say they do. Look at those dog shows and you’ll realize this fact displayed entertainingly. Dogs can go beyond the usual sitting, standing, and fetching routines. They actually do certain maneuvers that show they understand commands. Of course, some can contend that the obedience is more a result of conditioning or repetitive trial and error practice, but we know for a fact that they obey not only to oral commands, but even to non-verbal cues (like asking them to get back to electric fence for dogs).
Image credit: Everton C.D. (flickr.com)
Do they mimic their owners?
Do you notice that your dog can sometimes look intently at what you’re doing? I’m not sure about your own experience with your pet pooch, but as far as one of my dogs is concerned, I think his facial expressions and body language told me he was trying to do the same thing I had done. I’m not sure if this has been proven or will ever be proven scientifically, but I get the feeling they want to repeat some of what their owners do.
Do they get jealous?
If you know how to interpret what sort of emotions your four-legged pet is trying to communicate, you know that they can also get jealous when we give more attention to other pets in the house. It can be heart-breaking looking at how their face give out that blank look (which, for me, is an indication of sadness) whenever we spend more time with other pets in our home compared to the time we spend for them. I’m not sure if that’s a valid observation, but I can tell from experience that they do get jealous.
If your dog doesn’t know how to respond to your commands, you might be communicating those commands incorrectly. There are resources on the web where you can get Dog Training 101 crash courses to help you in this area, including dog psychology tips.
Related articles:
Dog Psychology 101 (ozdogtrainer.com.au)
Which Emotions Do Dogs Actually Experience? (moderndogmagazine.com)
Do you notice that your dog can sometimes look intently at what you’re doing? I’m not sure about your own experience with your pet pooch, but as far as one of my dogs is concerned, I think his facial expressions and body language told me he was trying to do the same thing I had done. I’m not sure if this has been proven or will ever be proven scientifically, but I get the feeling they want to repeat some of what their owners do.
Do they get jealous?
If you know how to interpret what sort of emotions your four-legged pet is trying to communicate, you know that they can also get jealous when we give more attention to other pets in the house. It can be heart-breaking looking at how their face give out that blank look (which, for me, is an indication of sadness) whenever we spend more time with other pets in our home compared to the time we spend for them. I’m not sure if that’s a valid observation, but I can tell from experience that they do get jealous.
If your dog doesn’t know how to respond to your commands, you might be communicating those commands incorrectly. There are resources on the web where you can get Dog Training 101 crash courses to help you in this area, including dog psychology tips.
Related articles:
Dog Psychology 101 (ozdogtrainer.com.au)
Which Emotions Do Dogs Actually Experience? (moderndogmagazine.com)