Communication is essential in any relationship. Everyone knows the value of listening and being heard. It is important that people understand the language of any social partners. Dogs and humans use vocalizations and body language to communicate. With training, humans can learn to accurately translate the utterances and postures of their dogs and dogs can learn to recognize human speech and gestures.
What does my dog hear when I speak?
Before your dog learns word associations, they hear “yadda, yadda, yadda” when you speak. Until your dog understands the meaning of specific words, they focus on the way you use the words. They notice your volume, tone, and pitch.
What volume, tone, and pitch should I use when I speak to my dog?
Volume: Dogs have very acute hearing. There is never a need to shout, except perhaps if you are facing a true emergency. You should use a conversational volume for all training.
Tone: Dogs are keenly sensitive to human emotions, even when no words are spoken. The best way to keep your dog engaged is to sound friendly, not stern. A lighthearted tone catches their attention and keeps them engaged. Dogs are more likely to cower or retreat from a person who uses a low, stern, or angry tone. Dogs recognize even subtle changes of tone.
Pitch: Dogs typically respond favorably to higher pitched voices and to speech patterns sometimes called “pet-directed speech.” It is always important to observe your dog’s body language when you are speaking to them. If they cower or disengage when you use a high voice, then adjust accordingly. If they bounce around happily, play bow, and give you some soft tail wags, you are on the right track.
When you use a cue to ask your dog for a behavior, a stern or loud voice is never appropriate. For certain behaviors, such as “lie down and settle,” a low, calm voice might be best. If you’re playing outdoors or engaged in a sport, such as agility, an animated, high-pitched voice might work better.
To improve your dog’s responsiveness and comfort, always watch their reaction when you speak and be prepared to adjust the volume, tone, pitch, and even the duration of the cue.
Practice in different situations to discover the perfect way to communicate with your dog. Here are some examples of cues to get you started:
- Sit: Short, high tone
- Down: Longer word, lower tone (Doooown)
- Come: Highest pitch, excited tone (Come!)
Why is verbal communication so important?
Most dogs do not spend their entire day directly in front of their people or looking at them. In those situations, the best way to reach your dog is with words. A timely response may be critical to your dog’s safety. You might need your dog to come to you immediately, drop a dangerous object, freeze, stop, or stay.
Verbal cues help create a predictable environment for dogs and people alike. If you have taught your dog a verbal cue such as “sit” or “come,” you can count on them to respond most of the time. Of course, if your dog is distracted, frightened, or does not feel well, they might not respond as expected. For that reason, in situations where there is a risk of your dog being injured, you should keep them on a leash. Never rely on a perfect response if your dog’s life depends on it — there might be a car coming down the road or your dog could run off and chase a deer.
Understanding words creates a predictable world for your dog as they can count on you to offer praise, treats, and positive interactions when they respond to a trained cue. Dogs seem to enjoy getting things right and become frustrated when they perceive that their owner is not pleased with their behavior, particularly when they don’t yet understand what behaviors are expected. Verbal information provides clarity.
How do I create word associations for my dog?
You can use reward-based training to teach dogs the meaning of spoken words, including verbal cues. Even without human help, attentive dogs form associations with the keywords they repeatedly hear in conversation.
The most effective way to create an association with an action cue is to first encourage your dog to engage in a specific, desired behavior, such as sitting, without using any verbal cue at all. For example, to train your dog to sit, you can use a treat to lure their head slightly upward until they lean back and sit. Or you could “capture” your dog’s spontaneous behavior by quietly handing them a treat each time they happen to sit.
"Even without human help, attentive dogs form associations
with the keywords they repeatedly hear in conversation."
Soon, your dog will sit whenever they notice you approach with the treat. Your dog understands that you are pleased when they sit and, even better, they can predict that you will deliver a treat if they sit. Your dog’s behavior has now become predictable to you, as well. You can reasonably expect that when your dog sees you approach with the treat, they will sit.
Once you can confidently predict your dog will sit when they see the treat, you are ready to introduce a verbal cue. Your timing is important — the ideal time to say “sit” is at the precise moment your dog is about to assume the sit position.
At first, the word “sit” will be meaningless to your dog, but they will notice that they consistently hear “sit” just as they are sitting: you say “sit”, they sit, they get a treat. The dog now knows what action will earn a treat.
Now that your dog understands your language, you can ask your dog to “sit” even when you do not have a treat in your hand. To strengthen the association, be sure to quickly acknowledge the sit (you might say “yes” or “good”) and quickly deliver a treat, ideally before the dog gets back up again.
Using this method, you can gradually add as many action cues as you would like. Remember, do not speak the word (cue) until your dog has mastered the behavior through quiet, reward-based training. Avoid repeating the cue — say it once, with your best conversational voice, and wait patiently for your dog to respond.
Use cues consistently. They are not interchangeable. Your dog must clearly understand what behavior you are requesting. For example, if you have taught your dog that “off” means get off the couch, they will be confused if you instead ask them to get “down” from the couch. From the dog’s perspective, they are already lying down! But if you ask them to get “off,” it is clear what behavior you expect.
Should I teach my dog hand signals?
Dogs mainly use body language to communicate, so they are naturally attentive to posture and movement. Gestures and hand signals can be used to enhance verbal cues. You may find that your dog responds better to a hand signal for some behaviors and verbal cues for others. Visual cues can provide a vital way to communicate with dogs that experience age-related hearing loss.
