TulsaPets Magazine January 2023

10 TulsaPets • January / February 2023 Clear Communication What To Do and Not Do When Training Your Canine by Mary Green CPDT-KA: Certified Professional Dog Trainer Knowledge Assessed, CDBC: Certified Dog Behavior Counselor CNWI: Certified Nose Work Instructor K9 Manners & More, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma D ogs are amazing in their ability to learn our language. We are so defi- cient in learning theirs! They learn not only the words we say but the tone or intonation of our voice, the volume of our voice, and our posture. When we are rigid or stiff, they might be reluctant to engage with us. If we are staring at them with a scowl, they might try appeasement gestures. If we use our dogs’ names harshly, they will not be quick to respond. Think about the ways in which you deliver cues, commands, reprimands, and praise. Watch for the nuances in your dog’s response. The smallest of details can clue you in to how your dog feels in that moment. I am sure we can all do better at communicating with our pets. Here are some things to do and not do for clear communication. Do not say your dog’s name in a harsh tone of voice. There is power in your dog’s name. I want my dogs to think their names are the most wonderful words ever spoken. I don’t want them to be suspicious of me if I use their names harshly or to trick them into doing something they might find unpleasant. I want them to come running happily to me when I call their names. Create a positive association between the dog’s name and the response to it. Do not associate your dog’s name with something she finds aversive. Many of us love to give our pets nick- names, which is generally just fine. Those nicknames should be secondary to their names. You might use nicknames during playtime or snuggle time. As dogs get older and more experienced in understanding our language, they begin to understand that nicknames are happy words. Check your emotional response! Are you scowling, are you smiling, are you glaring? Your emotion should match the cue. Be honest in your praise. Do be especially mindful of your words and tone of voice with pup- pies. They are just beginning to under- stand how they fit into this world. It’s aggravating when a puppy has an accident, and some people get angry and raise their voices. That frightens the pup. The pup does not associate a potty accident with your angry response. It creates suspicion. It can also create a situation in which the pup becomes creative and sneaky about where she goes to potty. Do make sure everyone in the house- hold is on the same page with cues. Make a list of words that everyone should be using to communicate with the dog. For example, a command for the dog to sit is pretty clear. The dog usually has a longstanding relationship with the behavior of sitting and a positive outcome such as a treat. If someone says “Sit down,” the dog might not understand what is asked and might fail to respond. It’s confusing if one family member says something completely different. Do not use the same word (cue) to mean different things. One cue equals one behavior! An example of this would be that if you say the command “Down” to mean the dog should lie down on the floor, you can’t use the same word to mean the dog should stop jumping up on you or should get off the furniture. It might take practice to find the right vocabulary for your household to best train a dog consistently. As a dog trainer, I say “Stay” and “Wait” as different cues. That can be confusing, but I train it clearly. If I ask the dog to stay, it means to stay in place until I return or tell the dog to do some- thing else. If I ask the dog to wait, it means to hold the position for a second and then move. To reduce door bolting, consider asking the dog to wait at doorways and releasing it by saying “Break” or “OK.” Do be consistent in your expecta- tions and actions. Inconsistency seems to happen especially with leash walking. When you are in a hurry to get somewhere, such as to your vehicle or into your house, you might let the dog pull to the end of the leash. Then when you go for a walk, you want the dog to stay politely with you with- out pulling on the leash. This is confusing to the dog. Loose leash walking is some- thing to be practiced consistently. When it is OK sometimes and not OK other times, the dog becomes confused and likely will default to pulling. Do not let your dog become desen- sitized to hearing you say “No.” It is easy to fall into the trap of saying no to everything your dog is doing that you don’t want her to do. It is much more effective to direct the dog (especially im- portant for puppies) to something that you do find acceptable rather than just yelling “No” and expecting her to do something different. That strong word might come in handy sometime when your dog is headed for danger, and you need an immediate cease and desist! So when you do yell “No,” you get the dog’s attention and avoid a catastrophe. Ultimately, remember that in communi- cating with people and pets, clear is kind. TRAINING TIP