dogs, designer dogs, yorkipoo, yorkie poo, paws up, pay attention

Tone is Key – Training Tips Tuesday

dogs, designer dogs, yorkipoo, yorkie poo, paws up, pay attention

 

Does your dog pay attention to you and follow your commands? Most dog owners have trouble keeping their dogs focused and cooperative both in and out of training sessions. One way to deal with this problem is to analyze your tone. If you constantly get frustrated and yell at your dog, he or she will probably learn to ignore the yelling as normal behavior and continue doing whatever he or she feels like doing. But if you act happy and excited about a command, your dog may enjoy that and try to perform the command to keep you happy and excited. It all depends on your particular dog and his or her relationship with you as the owner.

For example, many people try to assume the stern, alpha personality to show the dog that you are the boss and your commands must be followed. But if you are not that type of person at all, your dog may see right through that act. I personally have trouble acting that way, and therefore that is not the right tone for Sadie and I. Sadie actually prefers the babying approach, and is more likely to listen to me if I pitch my voice higher and ask if my “good girl” will do whatever I want her to do at that moment.

You need to experiment with your dog and see what kind of tone works best for your relationship. Other members of your household may need a different tone with the dog, simply because each and every bond between a dog and a human is unique. Try to be yourself and use your natural personality as much as possible. Most dogs can tell if you feel unsure or insecure about how to behave with them, which greatly impacts your ability to gain their trust and respect, and therefore their obedience.

 

This post is part of the Training Tips Tuesday blog hop hosted by DOGthusiast and Tiffany’s Diamond Dogs.

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3 comments

  1. Very true that tone is key. Also, though, if we’re in a new place or a stimulating place, it’s very natural for dogs to want to explore and look around. That’s perfectly normal and we keep that in mind. So we make it a point to do that first for awhile then ask for some focus. Then everyone learns there is a time for to do whatever they want and to focus when asked. But it’s also so important to keep things fun or you are very right in that the dogs will do whatever they think is more fun-so if training with you is boring, they’ll happily ignore you and do their own thing. Another mistake many people make (which also leads to frustration on the human’s part and the dog learning to ignore) is to ask for something when the dog isn’t paying attention. If the dog isn’t paying attention, it’s unrealistic to expect them to connect or respond.
    Tiffany’s Diamond Dogs recently posted…Being Charged by a DogMy Profile

  2. Attention is usually no problem for my herding type dogs, except for if there’s an amazing smell that must be sniffed or a squirrel… squirrel! 🙂 Or fear, of course.

    Sometimes I actually want Mort to stop paying attention to me, crazy as that sounds. He gets so incredibly focused on me and the toy that he doesn’t do other things in these amazing environments that we try to take the dogs to from time to time, like the beach. I know he appreciates the beach, but I’d love him to actually do something else than chase the ball. But he’ll do whatever I ask with the hopes of getting the toy, a treat, some attention, whatever it might be. Because in his books just about anything is fun. Our other dog is a bit more work, often she is paying close attention to what’s in the environment as she’s nervous of some things (and getting attention above fear is almost impossible, for good reason). So then it’s distraction > attention.

    Great topic, and good question!
    Jen | DOGthusiast | Stylish Canine recently posted…An Introduction to Flyball: Learning Jumps. Training Tips TuesdayMy Profile

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