How Dogs Communicate

Living with a large group of GSDs in my home gives me a rather unique look at how they talk with each other and with my family. Dog are pack animals and talk a lot with their bodies. Their actions tell others in the pack how they are feeling, their mood and their station in the pack. Ever wonder why your dog knows that your taking him somewhere before you go get the leash or say something? Its because you have told him in a subliminal language that was transferred from you brain to your body. And with dogs talking a lot with their bodies, they are very good readers of your moods or thoughts. It is a very subliminal language.

I am always telling people that being a pack leader is a state of mind. When you have dog they must know that you are the boss dog or leader of the pack known as the Alpha. I call it a state of being. I believe I am Alpha so it is so. Having a rather large group of dominant breed of dogs I have to have a very strong leadership. As we all live in my home as a whole pack. I do not kennel my dogs but do crate when needed, like when I go somewhere, have clients over or company or bedtime for some of the dogs. So in order to have a calm household I have to have rules and a strong belief in myself that I am able to control all these dogs. It is not done by yelling or kicking or hitting. It is done by a strong self belief that I am in control. And the dogs relate to that. In a pack the stronger the leader the more calm the pack is. They do not have to worry about who is in charge because it is all ready decided for them. The leader is the one who looks out for danger and makes sure that there is none. They procure the food for the pack and decide the activities for the day for the pack. The leader is the brains of the pack. So by being calm, reassuring and strong in your personally being the dog will be calm in his relationship with you. If your dog is a nervous type of dog, by being calm and relax this will translate to the dog and he will pick it up also and become calm. If you’re a nervous person and is worried about some thing like on a walk when a strange dog approaches you. That too will transverse to your dog. So be on the look out and be prepared for the dangers of this world so you can be prepared to communicate to your dog what his behavior should be. If your dog is a dog aggressive then be on the look out for stray dogs so you can control the situation. You see the dog, you know your dog is going to react. So stop him before he reacts it is so much easier to stop a behavior when he is only thinking of it and not in a full physical mode.

If you have a more less tranquil dog, one that is fearful, by being calm and reassuring your communicating to him that all is safe and that he can relax ,because your relaxed and on top of things. I tell my clients to visualize what they want the dog to be like or act like. And it happens, if you are doing a sit/stay or down/stay and walk away from the dog in a calm manner and visualize the dog staying as taught, he will stay and not move. But if you leave your dog being unsure of him he will feel unsure and break his stay. So if you want your dog to be like or doing something that you want. Then see it in your brain and it will happen. When you work your dog either in regular obedience or behavior have a picture in your head of what you want from him. And it will transfer to him and he will understand what you want. Using your voice is good too, along with treats, and lots of body touching and hugs. Have you ever noticed that your dogs sense’s bad people well they are able to really read how people think by how they carry their bodies. It is their way of communicating with each other.

Now on your relationship with your dog, most owners make the really big mistake of NOT LISTENING TO THEIR PETS. They think that telling a dog what to do is their job, but that is only part of it. Your job is like a old fashioned, two cans and string attached together like in the old days when us kids use to talk to each other. Your thoughts and vibrations go to the dog by the way of a invisible string, and visa versa your dog communicates back to you in the same way. Ever have a feeling when your doing something with your dog, and you get this mental picture of what he wants or needs? Well this is him talking to you in his own way. Along time ago with my very first Shepherd I was at a Obedience class with a very tough trainer. We were doing sits and stays on the cement, and my dog was squirming a lot and not staying still. I got this mental picture that the cement was hurting him. He could do sits and stays all day long on grass or dirt but never on cement. That trainer told me I was making my dog move and he was a big baby. It was later discovered he had such a sever case of displaysia of the hips the Vet’s were shocked he could even walk at four years old. So by me listening to my dog I was able to stop him from being in pain, and leave that trainer and find someone better and more suited to the type of training I wanted for both me and my dog. So if ever your in a training situation or Talking to a Vet about your dog. And you get a really bad feeling, about this person, it is coming from your dog most likely and he is telling you there is a problem. So listen to him and find a professional that will work with you and your dog better. So always think that the relationship with your dog is like in the old days with the can and strings, there is two way communication coming and going from you to your pet and most important from your pet to you. Happy talking!