Can Dogs Tell By Your Tone Of Voice What You Want Them To Do?

Oddly, you’ve stumbled across a strange fact about dogs.

They ignore us on purpose!

The reason a dog does not respond until you “insist,” is because of what you do – not because of his hearing or ability to respond. You cause the dynamic by “giving in.” The dog is controlling the situation, up until the point where you get “angry-sounding.”

Assuming he doesn’t have a hearing problem … take another look at your pooch … I bet he has enormous ears! He can hear everything you say and do, all day long, around the house … he can even hear you when you’re outside nearby, or when he appears to be sleeping. He’s very good at hearing things.

So what’s going on?

Say hello to Oliver, my Jack Russell. He loves kayaking.

Dog Training Distilled

This is how commands work with your dog: When you have the “correct” training relationship, your command can be whispered, and it won’t make any difference. The dog should assume you “mean it.”

Let’s say you command “sit!” At the moment you command “sit,” the dog is watching many things, including how loud you sound, but also your body language. He’s not so much listening to the command but watching you.

What exactly does he see? He sees you anticipating his not sitting, and he sees you getting ready before he even fails to sit, to tell him to sit again, with more enthusiasm. The first one, two, maybe three times you command this, the dog knows, from experience, not only will you repeat the command in short order, but you won’t actually GET mad. You, in his opinion, are a true pushover, compared with how a dog would handle the situation.

If you were thinking like a dog, you might whisper, as loud as you care to, knowing the other dog can hear you … and if you were the dog in charge, the INSTANT the command is not carried out, the other dog wouldn’t even have time to read body language, because you’d be on top of him, making him do what you commanded, with no apology. This would be done with no time wasted, as a way to say “My commands are not optional!”

With you, though, being a person, with a deep and compassionate mind, the dog will have a field day. You are probably presenting the idea as a suggestion to him, unless you follow through, somehow, definitively.

It’s worth mentioning when you issue your “louder demanding SIT,” you may also be changing your body language. For example, you might stand up; that’s a big attention-getter for a dog who’s in the middle of ignoring you.

Try meaning it the first time. NEVER repeat a command. Take something away (Taking your attention away is a significant short-term punishment for most dogs). Dogs are very smart this way. Smarter than most people

Some Tips

Try this: With your dog standing near you, make a gentle closed fist, and put it two inches in front of his nose. His eyes will go to it. Immediately raise your fist, without any drama, straight up. The dog will sit.

Much of your relationship with your dog can be non-verbal. Think about it this way – Start by using all body language, eye contact, and proximity. Many animals are extremely aware of the arms-length distance. Closing in is dominant. Step forward to show confidence. Ignore his “personal space” often, if he’s at all reluctant to let you get within arm’s length. Many dogs never back up when you close in on them, but if yours does, that’s not “correct.” Your goal should be for the dog to gain confidence when he’s standing next to you, touching you (as in dog shoulder to human leg), because you literally exude confidence.

Dogs love this kind of master!

Teaching New Things

When, at first, you need to teach a new thing, don’t jump right for the words. They don’t mean anything to Fido. Instead, if your body language didn’t work, remember, don’t repeat – instead, escalate. But how? It would be much more meaningful to your dog if you growled. Try it. Keep it very low, so quiet a person would barely notice it. Low and steady, like a purr.

Keep a straight face and don’t move. Don’t turn to look at him. Because you are superior and he’s not making you do things. You just sit there, look at him or elsewhere … make a slow, low, grrrrrrr …. eyes with no emotion or drama, motionless. The less you do, the more anticipation you create that will reinforce the previous message, and make it clear you don’t care to negotiate. Imagine he’s thinking “Really? Do I really have to? Awww” just to test you. Don’t ever let him do that. Imagine you’re saying “NOW!”(with your growl). Soft and deliberate.

And the golden rule with dogs is height is might. Always stay above the dog during these exercises. The combination of stepping forward and standing up tall will almost always cause the dog to become immediately submissive.

What If All That Doesn’t Work?

Don’t worry. You got more ammo. And you haven’t spoken a single word! With a dog, there is only one “final” escalation point, the thing you’d do if all else fails, and it’s the easiest thing of all, as long as your dog is free to roam off-leash. Just ignore him. Turn around and walk away. The taking away of the engagement will ruin his day. He’ll avoid it if he can. It may take time, but understanding the energy you give to your animal is the pathway to teaching him well. When you love your dog, and pay a lot of attention to him, he’ll be devastated if you indicate disappointment by disengaging.

His alternative is boredom, and that can go on for too long very easily for him. But the bright side is, a good owner will pay lots of attention, creating a relationship in which the dog will be happy and healthy. Please understand the normal state should be generous heaps of attention. This will help your dog learn, and he’ll be more responsive, just as a person would.

These tools will prove invaluable when you have your dog in public.

And Finally

Most of your commands should require no noise at all, although sounds you make are a form of communication. It’s very easy to forget he doesn’t speak your language. You will be more successful if you learn to speak his.

I hope my article is helpful to many loving dog owners. May your pooches brighten your lives and teach you how to be a better human. I’d like to leave you with this video of our friend Oliver catching his Flippy Flopper!

Oliver’s catch success rate was just about 100%.

He’s naturally reluctant to put the Flippy Flopper down, but notice how I don’t say anything. Just wait. He knows. Don’t reach. Also notice, Ziggy the Pit Bull over on the right, just watching; he’s already pooped out. Lest I forget to remind you, all of the above will be easier after some hearty exercise!

Original question: How can dogs tell from the tone of your voice that you are demanding with your command? A soft-spoken “sit” is ignored but a louder demanding “SIT!” is immediately obeyed.

Article reprinted from Quora and authored by Mark Urso

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