Comments on: Use Your Voice – Good for the Dog; Good for You

By: BJ Pup

BJ Pup — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 03:09:46 +0000

BJ understands tone probably more than some words. And I say some because he knows cookie no matter what tone I use. He does however respond differently to my tone. The old adage of “it’s not what you say but how you say it” works with dogs and people.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 19:56:19 +0000

Emmett is VERY sensitive to tone – so much so that I have to moderate my voice when I’m annoyed or he cowers. Very sad. Lucas, on the other hand, is careful to pick out words he knows, regardless of tone. He’s a “head tilt” listener, and he perks his ears when he hears a word he recognizes. I try to use both tone and words when I’m training with them, although it’s easier said than done. As for people, something my mom said over and over (and over) when we were kids was, “It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.” I think it’s often true!

By: Miss Jan

Miss Jan — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 18:05:56 +0000

I try to be consistent in words, tone and volume and pay close attention to the sounds my Jack Russell makes, the soft whine which means gotta go outside right NOW, the “singing growl” which means stop reading that and pet me right NOW, the warning bark that the sanitation truck is arriving to empty the dumpster (as though I hadn’t heard the massive rumbling of that huge vehicle!), the angry get-out-of-my-territory bark which he imagines can be heard outside the double-paned living room window by the invading miniature schnauzer from next door. I learned years ago from an incredible horseman that consistency of words and tone and volume are the most effective ways of interspecies communication (I’ve been a lifelong horse owner in my 7th decade of life) and if we listen carefully we learn that the consistency is delivered by the animals to us as well – our task is to try to understand!

By: Lauranne

Lauranne — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 09:11:10 +0000

When Mity starts telling us it is his dinner time (usually about 4pm – he gets fed at 6!) we tell him he is twirly. I don’t know why he then sits and grumbles to himself. Sometimes I ask him if he wants a cuddle and if that’s what he’s after – I open my arms and go to touch him, he runs away tail wagging and hides under the table until he comes out and we play the game again.

BD has never asked for food ever, so long as he has his tennis ball he is happy.

Not answering your question, just bragging about my boys – sorry!

have a lovely Christmas

By: Jana Rade

Jana Rade — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 06:43:18 +0000

Some words definitely are of utmost importance themselves. But generally, yes, it is the voice that matters. I mostly use either high pitch “singing” voice or calm voice. Though when Cookie wants to play, any ol’ voice means the same thing to her: “Ok, how about now?”

Sometimes, rarely, I’ll bark when I really need to make a point quickly.

By: Roberta

Roberta — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 03:56:44 +0000

I need to be very careful with my voice among so many dogs from varied backgrounds. I do use “eh!” a lot – it gets me attention and stops whatever is happening. VERY good post.

By: Jackie Bouchard

Jackie Bouchard — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 23:29:46 +0000

Oh, yes, Rita is a sensitive one too. (Sometimes I forget she’s in the car when I have, um, words to share with other “excellent” drivers.) I have to remember to not lose my patience with her, cuz she hates it when Momma gets mad. (When Momma ain’t happy, nobody happy…)

As for humans, yes, the tone is so important! I think that’s why email communication (and texting, etc.) can lead to misunderstandings. The tone can definitely affect what someone says and how it’s interpreted!

By: Eloise Bright

Eloise Bright — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 22:44:10 +0000

This is so true, I loe what you say about some dogs not coping at all with shouty voices. My own little dog is now fairly deaf, so we’ve started to use more hand signals. He has always been incredibly good at picking up on body language and I think dogs being such as social species are very good generally at picking up mood from the way we hold ourselves.

Dogs that suffer from anxiety are much better if you act relaxed rather than give them extra reassurance. I’m thinking in particular of dogs that are scared of storms and fireworks. The best thing we can do for them is to act unconcerned, perhaps yawn a little and give them the message that there really isn’t anything to worry about. If you give them extra reassurance, the message is that yes, they should be worried. You are acting differently, so they know that something is amiss.

The tone of voice is so important too. When people say their dog understands when they have done something bad (eg. chewing up the Christmas presents), that look of shame, is more likely your dog reacting to your stern voice. It is unlikely, unless you really caught your dog in the act, that they would actually understand what they had done wrong!

Great article and well said, your dogs are lucky to have such a gentle companion. It really makes me think about communication between humans too. So much of being a good communicator is about engaging your audience and speaking in short declarative sentences, rather than rambling on!

By: jan

jan — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 19:40:55 +0000

I babble incessantly at my dogs. It isn’t unusual for Poodles to have vocabularies of hundreds of words if they are exposed to language. I’m guessing that prepositions and conjunctions are not part of their vocabularies, but any word involving food or comfort they only have to hear once.

By: emma

emma — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 18:47:55 +0000

Mom does lose her temper and yell on occasion when we won’t be quiet and it doesn’t help and gives her a sore throat. She tries hard to always be calm and talk in a normal or quiet tone, but now and then she has to just yell whether it works or not!