Sunday, February 19, 2012

It's All in How You Say it to the Dog...

Written by: Amanda Purviance with Train Me Dog Training in San Diego

Voice Control in Dog Training
During my time dog training I am always amazed at how different people talk to their dogs. Now that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with talking to your dogs, it’s only bad when they start answering you.  What I am referring to is how I have to correct people in their tone of voice and inflection. When you are dog training it is important to realize that you have to be not only in control but also emotionally in control to properly train your companion.

There is a sliding scale that I use in dog training to illustrate my meaning of voice inflections and tones.  On one side there is the harsh, loud, forceful  voiced person that trains as if they are angry at the dog. On the other end there is the soft, quiet voiced person that begs, or nags at their dog to do what they want.  Which one would you want to be trained by?  

In Inflection of Voice...
Amanda and her dog Gun
They key to training is that you tell your dog to “sit” you do not ask it. Understanding that is what begins the process of creating a relationship with your dog. Your dog can be your friend, but you must be the dog’s teacher and leader first and foremost.  Being too harsh, on a soft dog is a quick way for that dog to shut down. However, being too soft with a “hard” dog will end in nothing but frustration and anger and can cause you to over react to the dog’s actions.  Here is where balance must be struck.

To Tone the Voice...
When I am dog training, I rarely allow my voice to raise above a soft spoken voice, or louder than if I was talking to a person who was standing 2 ft from me. Unless your dog has hearing problems, or is deaf, they can easily hear you from one end of the house to another when you speak in a normal voice. I use this trick on people when I want them to concentrate on what I am saying. Works well on husbands too ladies! Keeping your voice soft keeps not only you calm, but registers in your dog’s mind as that you are calm and collected just like a good teacher is!

1 comment:

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