Dog Not Listening? Stop Talking!

Human beings are verbal communicators. Dogs aren't. Yet most people seem to think the more they say something, the more their dog will understand. The truth is, the more humans say, the harder it is for dogs to pay attention and discern which of the 42 words in a sentence is worthy of a response.

When human beings use language to communicate with a dog and the dog fails to respond “appropriately,” we tend to get frustrated, disappointed, angry, and/or upset. We take the dog’s lack of action personally, as if Spot were capable of premeditated revenge. The more likely explanation is that the dog didn’t understand what was being asked of it, and therefore never had a chance to “please.”

Dogs don’t have conversations with each other, yet they manage complex social hierarchies within a pack, and engage in new dog-dog interactions without incident, for the most part. Communication is vital to any dog’s existence, yet the human race is blissfully ignorant because dogs “don’t talk.”

If you want your dog to pay attention when you speak, choose your words and tone very carefully. Focus on communicating with your body language; manifest your intent and your energy in your actions. Humans frequently rely on a raised voice or angry tone to command respect. Dogs, on the other hand, experience angry outbursts as unstable energy. Instability equals weakness, and dogs don’t follow weak leaders. Yelling may temporarily interrupt a behavior, but the dog is likely too confused and too frightened by the noise and the unstable/weak energy to pay attention to the lesson. Blowing off steam ultimately keeps your dog from trusting you, and therefore respecting you.