Adesdum. If I said that in a crowd of people, some might recognize it as Latin for “come here” but most would pass by without a clue. If I were in Latvia and spoke in English, I wouldn’t expect many to understand my native tongue. But in either situation, if I were to make eye contact and motion towards myself with my arm, at least some people would comply by approaching me. The words themselves have no inherent meaning. Meaning is ascribed after contextual clues cement the connection between the sound (word) and the object or action.
The key to training our dogs is to help them make that connection by establishing two-way communication. I’m always confounded by how many people think dogs should understand us without having been taught the meaning of the words. Dogs are remarkable students – they notice everything. It’s astounding what they learn, as much in spite of us as because of us. If we say “sit… sit… SIT!” before wrestling the dog into some semblance of that position, the dog, understandably, thinks the procedure is to listen to “sit… sit… SIT!” just prior to being strangled and shoved. No fun for either of you. Why not teach it that a single word, “Sit,” means put your butt on the ground?
One of the biggest impediments to clear communication with our canine companions is anthropomorphism - the projection of human characteristics onto our dogs. Accept that this creature you love is not a fur-person. Dogs are wondrous, beguiling, bewildering Others whose companionship we often take for granted, but whose wolfish DNA co-evolved alongside us, enabling them to understand our gestures, facial expressions, moods, voice tone. They occupy a separate world, overlapping our own but with rules, motivations, and goals that differ from ours. Find what motivates your dog, and you hold the key to a dog that will do back-flips (literally) to please you.
Remarkable things can happen if an owner is equipped with some basic understanding. A handful of key concepts can improve any human/dog relationship with minimal effort; regardless of breed or age, most dogs can be obedient & trustworthy canine citizens.
It is amazing that people can barely communicate effectively sometimes but think that dogs should understand English.
ReplyDeleteI would love if you would tag the pics of these gorgeous dogs. I recognize a few from your website but not all.
This is a daughter of Waldana, which makes her a half-sister of Elatha's and therefore a half-aunt (?) of Orrie's. Her call name is "Liesel" - pick of litter but owners never titled her. The dog on yesterday's entry is the male I bred Elatha to for her recent litter, V Yago v Silbersee, SchH 3, FH, Kkl 1 Lbz 'a'.
ReplyDeleteOops, I lied...Yago's photo was further back than I remembered. He's actually the Oct. 28th post. The dog in the post just prior to this one is Xico, who is out of Brianne, sired by Teejay (http://www.hollowhillsgsd.com/hhgsd.html)
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