This page provides a few useful tips on dog behaviour. (Rather than refer to a dog as 'it', I'm using the pronouns 'he' and 'she' alternately. I think this is more polite, don't you?).
Using your voice to control your dog
- Don't yell at your dog &mdash growl at him! When you yell, you usually tense up your muscles, including your vocal cords. Tenser vocal cords result in higher pitched sounds. In the dog world, high-pitched noises are positive and playful. So, yelling at your dog may have him thinking you like what he's doing, or you are only playing with him. If you want him to know you are upset with him, use the lowest part of your voice range &mdash think bass &mdash even an actual growl.
- To praise your dog, use a high-pitched voice. When you say "Good dog!" or "Good girl!" to your dog, use a soprano or even a falsetto tone of voice. This way your dog isn't confused. Otherwise, you may be thinking you're giving praise, but your dog isn't sure &mdash the words say one thing, but the tone of voice may say another.
Note: By "high-pitched" and "low-pitched" I do NOT mean louder and softer. I mean using your voice either in a higher register (think of a small child's voice, or a young girl's voice), or in a lower register (think of a deep male voice).
Don't want a dog jumping up on you?
It can be very hard to get a dog to stop jumping up on you, especially if it's someone else's dog. Puppies do it naturally, to attract attention from their parents, so that the parents will feed them. Here are the best methods to stop a dog (whether it's a strange dog or your own dog) from jumping up on your new white dress or your clean pants:
- Don't look at the dog. Do NOT make eye contact. A dog is much less likely to even approach you, let alone jump up on you, if you don't look at her. I know this may be hard to do, but you can still see the dog from the corner of your eye while you are pointedly looking somewhere else &mdash the sky, the birds, whatever.
- Turn your back. A dog almost never jumps up on someone who has their back turned.
- Don't run. A dog will AUTOMATICALLY chase someone or something that's running. It's much better to stand still and turn your back until the dog goes away, or to walk very slowly around the dog, while not looking at her.
- Don't speak to a dog who is jumping up on you. Ignore him.
- Never feed a dog who has is jumping up on you, or has just jumped up on you. This just tells them they are doing it right.
Is that dog a stalker?
You are at an off-leash dog park, or walking your dog in the countryside, and a strange dog approaches your dog. What does his behaviour tell you?
- The strange dog freezes, lowers her head and tail. Is she stalking you? Not at all. She's saying "I won't get closer until your body language tells me that it's OK. I'm very humble."
- The strange dog lies down on the ground and waits for you to get closer. Is he going to spring at your throat? No way. He's saying "Look how small and insignificant I am. I won't hurt you."
Hope these hints help you deal with the dogs in your life.
Disclaimer: while these hints are the result of years of experience and/or lots of research, in the end they are just my personal opinion. If you try something I suggest and it doesn't work, please don't sue me &mdash I guarantee nothing. Best of luck!
Page created and maintained by A. Steinbergs
Last modified: September 23, 2008