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08-18-2015 01:24 PM
My little dog is a great communicator. She has trained me to respond to a simple raised paw, at which point I ask her questions such as "Potty?" or "Treat?" or "Supper?" or "Snack?" or "Walkie?" and so on.
Guess which ones get her tail wagging the most!
On the other hand, she also knows a fair amount of other words or phrases such as "Bye-bye in the car" which makes her excited. Yes, I talk to her as if she were a two-year-old child. After a while, you stop feeling silly and simply feel rewarded that the dog actually understands.
(And no, she doesn't always get something to eat when she raises her paw. I often just take her for a short walk since it's "time," and I think you know what I mean.)
I bet a lot of your dogs know a lot of words. And I do think training goes both ways. It works better that way.
08-18-2015 02:04 PM
We had 2 cocoker spaniels that are no longer with us. They were good dogs. If they wanted to go outside they would go to the door. If they wanted a treat they knew where they were & would go sit by the cabinet. When we were training them to go outside to do their business we would give them a treat when they came back in. They were smart because they would go to the door to go outside just to get a treat. LOL!!! We caught onto that real quick. They loved to jump in the pool. When I came home from work they would run to the back door barking & jumping around because they wanted to go swimming. Once you open that back door you would hear a splash. You could say go for a ride or simply pick up your keys & they would fly to the door. One of the dogs even hid one of my small owls. I asked what did you do with my owl? Guess what? The next day when I came home from work the owl was sitting in the middle of the living room floor???
08-18-2015 02:07 PM - edited 08-18-2015 02:09 PM
My puppy (avatar) is the first dog I have owned who will not go to the back door and bark when nature calls. Never done it. What he does is find me, bends his head sideways with the "look," and lean in the direction of the door. So we head to the door. He also knows "Mommy's leaving," "doggy day care" (which always produces a circular happy dance), and "wanna walk?"
He tells me several times a day with his eyes that he loves me.
ETA: the system wouldn't let me use my first word for "bends." Too graphic, I guess. Started with a c and had a k in it.
08-18-2015 02:13 PM
Dogs are amazing. Suddenly, as I began to type this, one of mine came to me and asked to go out.
Very skilled creatures of adaption and survival. And I love them very much.
08-18-2015 02:16 PM
I also say a "See you later" and accompany it with a wave of the hand, a la the queen waving to her people. I include the hand signal in case of later deafness. Most of my dogs quickly learned and it almost always makes them sad.
The hand motion paid off when one of my dogs (now deceased) actually did lose her hearing but we could still communicate with that signal and others.
08-18-2015 02:21 PM
@MaggieMack: O/T, but I remember using a word for "deal around in a trifling way" which starts with an f and ends in a z, and it was removed.
Enjoy the dog. I will never be without one!
08-18-2015 02:22 PM
SInce I do agility with my dogs, I think we communicate very well. Changing directions on course, obsticle discrimination/commentment etc. take a lot of practice. We are always working on team buliding exercises. It has got to a point that we can almost read eachothers "looks".
08-18-2015 05:32 PM - edited 08-18-2015 05:49 PM
Fun thread- it is neat reading how everyone communicates with their dogs!
And yes, I communicate with them and it is very clear to me that they know exactly what I am saying. They also sense things without words, like my one ALWAYS knows when we are about to leave in the van, the car they get to go in. I don't know how he does it.
They always let me know when they need to go out potty, they remind me that it is feeding time if it is past their normal feeding time, when they want a treat, when they are feeling nervous, unsure, or in pain, when they want to go out on the porch and lay in the sun, etc.
You can tell so much by watching their body language and facial expressions what they need/want etc. It is crucial to be able to know how to communicate with your dog and to understand your dogs verbal and posture cues in all circumstances to keep both them and others around safe and relaxed.
One of my favorites is when they show me which treat they want. All I have to say is "show me" and they each do their thing. For example, one will lift his paw and and point to which he wants, the other noses which one.I also have one that will wrap his front leg around my leg and hold onto it when he is feeling nervous/unsure or just when we are just have a really quiet, peaceful moment, like watching the sun set in the evening. So incredibly sweet. Sometimes he will also lean his head into me at the same time, like a full on hug. I don't know why/how he ever started doing this but I like it.
Those that don't think that animals have feelings or care or love, are dead wrong.
08-18-2015 05:55 PM - edited 08-18-2015 07:34 PM
Love this thread!
Yep, my doggies have me trained, and of course I think they are the smartest and best!
I have Labs and rescue dogs. I train for Therapy and honestly, Labs are so attuned to people they almost train themselves. I read some where that dogs can learn and retain up to 500 words, wish I could remember where.
Most requests have a hand signal too. I find this is useful in quiet settings and also distances. I had a wonderful experience with a young hearing impaired person. I showed her the hand signals for sit, stay, come front, and down, she was THRILLED that she could communicate with my big boy. She called all her friends over and showed them what she could do. It was one of those moments that stays in your heart.
I know what you mean by following your eyes. My soul mate, now at the Bridge, could read my eyes. He could read my thoughts, sometimes they are so empathic it's scary.
Odd words we know: 'Boat', Names of doggie friends - want to go see Fido? 'NO CAT!' If we forget 'NO CAT' - it's 'IS THAT A CAT'? 'Go Pee pee' - they go on command, or at least hike a leg and pretend to.
Once I was walking through a large auditorium with my dog. Someone who knew him said over the AV system "FIDO sit", he glanced up at the celling, and sat!
Ok, stopping now. Sorry for the discourse, I can talk animals all day.
08-18-2015 06:17 PM - edited 08-18-2015 06:18 PM
@Drythe wrote:
~cut~Odd words we know: 'Boat', Names of doggie friends - want to go see Fido? 'NO CAT!' If we forget 'NO CAT' - it's 'IS THAT A CAT'? 'Go Pee pee' - they go on command, or at least hike a leg and pretend to.
Ok, stopping now. Sorry for the discourse, I can talk animals all day.
HAHAHA, mine too! And sometimes when they just really don't have anything left to give, they look at me like, but mom I don't HAVE to go! lolol! But they also will go poop on command by saying "go poop". TMI?? lol. Seriously though, it makes it soooo nice traveling when you can get them to go before starting off on the road and then at every rest stop.
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