In addition to the words you say to him, the dog also pays attention to how you chant your voice, how much you gesticulate, and whether you make eye contact with him by addressing him directly. The dog can understand the meaning of about 200 words uttered to him and react to them correctly.
What will you learn from this article:
- the tone of your voice is very important to the dog
- the dog pays attention to your gestures during the conversation
- when addressing the dog directly, try to make eye contact with him
- dog understand about 200 words you say
How to talk to a dog
Do you often talk to your dog? I do not hide that I do it practically all the time when I am with my pet. I treat the pooch as a friend, he is very important to me. Have you ever wondered what a conversation with your pooch should look like? Dogs are very different from us, so it’s obvious that their way of communicating is also a bit different from what we know.
How to talk to a dog to make this communication as effective and understandable as possible for both parties? I think that such knowledge is necessary for every dog guardian. You cannot assume that your pet will be able to correctly interpret everything you want to say to him unless you convey it to him in an accessible manner.
What the dog pays attention to when talking to his guardian
When you have a conversation with someone, you pay attention to many different aspects of your interlocutor. How the other person modulates his voice when he says words, where he looks, and how much he gesticulates. All this contributes to the reception of the message that the other person wants to convey to you in the conversation.
It works exactly the same for communicating with your dog. Your pet also pays attention not only to what you say to him but also to how you do it.
Therefore, for the communication between you and your pooch to be the most effective and efficient, you need to know what you should pay attention to during your conversation. Although your pooch bases his judgment not only on the words he utters, slightly different aspects of communication are important to him when trying to read your intentions.
– the tone of your voice when you talk to your doggy
For your dog, how you pronounce words is of great importance in receiving your message. Your voice tone is perceived as an indication of your attitude.
We speak differently when we are calm, happy or angry. I think you will fully agree with me on that. Your pooch lives by your side every day. I guarantee you that he is constantly watching you and teaching your behaviour. He already knows how you chant when you are angry with him, and how you express your joy.
Therefore, when you turn to your dog, pay attention to the intonation with which you are speaking to him. Make sure it is relevant to your situation. If someone upset you with something, and at the same time you call your pooch to yourself because it is time to eat him, make sure he doesn’t hear the anger in your voice. The pup will be confused when, on the one hand, you give him food, and on the other, when you call him and say his name in tone as he did something wrong. In his head it will be a situation that he does not understand and does not know how to take it.
– gesticulation towards the pet
I get the impression that in the case of dogs, gesturing in communication is even more important than in humans. For us, it is a kind of addition to what we are telling the other person. However, when it comes to dogs, I noticed that I communicate with my pooch very often only by means of gestures.
Consider, for example, the many commands we teach dogs. Many of them are based not only on the spoken command, but also with a characteristic gesture.
Dogs feel discomfort when someone addressing them directly, gestures in a chaotic, ill-considered and ostentatious manner. Your doggie might see this as a symptom of aggressive behavior.
Therefore, you need to pay great attention to the gestures you make toward your dog. Don’t let them be too agressive, as your pet may perceive it negatively.
– eye contact with the dog
Another extremely important aspect in communicating with a dog is eye contact. By looking into your dog’s eyes as you talk, you can be sure that he sees your words as being conveyed directly to him. If you say any command, try to look directly at the pooch. You will certainly notice how your pet obeys your commands much more obediently.
Your pooch also very often expresses his emotions through eye contact. I suppose you’ve witnessed a situation where your pooch, after doing something he knew you would be angry with, was avoiding your gaze at all costs.
In the case of my pet, his behavior in such situations looks almost theatrical. When the pooch bit my shoe, he sat in the corner and stared furiously at the wall. Any attempts to call him failed. The pet did not take his eyes off the wall so as not to make eye contact between us.
– spoken words to the quadruped
When you think about the best way to talk to your dog, you can’t forget to mention about the words you say to him. Although in the case of dogs words are not such an important part of the conversation as in the case of humans, they are nevertheless very important in communication.
Of course, you can’t expect your pooch to understand all the words you say to him. Unfortunately I must disappoint you even more on this point. Your pooch understands only a small part of the words you say to him. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth talking to your dog.
Dogs can recognize around 200 words, and if you think about it, that’s not a small number at all. For a dog, one word can mean a specific situation or a complex command. By looking at it this way, you might find that your little dog understands about 200 different things that you want to convey to him.
I think that’s a pretty good achievement. Dogs are considered one of the most intelligent animals for a reason. If you want to learn more about canine intelligence, I refer you to my other post, which you can find on this blog.
Some of the words you say to your dog will be ignored by him. However, some of them will be fully understandable by him. You probably observe it in everyday life with your pooch.
As soon as I say the word walk, my doggie is ready for me at the exit door of the apartment. It is similar with the word food, the sound of which the dog automatically directs towards his bowl.
The situation is similar in the case of spoken commands. The doggy learns to react in a specific way to a given word.
Dog bowl |DUO CERAMIC amber
It is worth talking to your dog
It is very important for your four-legged friend that you talk to him a lot. The doggy feels that he is important to you, and your bond becomes even stronger.
This also works the other way round as well. For me it is very important to be able to tell my pooch different things. Even though I know that he cannot understand what I am saying, I still feel that he is listening to me.
Do you talk to your pooch often? How does your pooch react to what you say to him?
Please share your experience with me in the comments section.
