07/06/2025
🚨🚨🚨UNPOPULAR FACT!!!🚨🚨🚨
Your dog, in fact, no dog, has the ability to understand fluent human language. A dog is able to understand, tones, that relate, directly, to a behaviour. With enough practice, that dog will carry out that behaviour, by voice.
If you start to add words, it will understand less so if you have a nervous, fearful dog. Talking to it, in a soft whispery manner. Will not it anyway console the dog as you may think. In fact, it can be the complete opposite, as dogs will only see you reacting emotionally, which they don't really understand. So, it may look and feel good to the human eye, as that may be the approach with a toddler or a human. But, it's definitely not the right approach for a dog.
If your dog is cowering, showing teeth, moving away, barking or snapping at a certain stimulus. It's communicating, that it is uncomfortable.
Talking and stroking the dog in this moment, is almost, certainly going to make the behaviour worse, but it almost certainly, will not stop or resolve, how the dog feels.
In fact, when you behave this way, you are more likely, to put the dog under more pressure, and if you do not own the dog and you are close to it, you are in the dogs eyes, confronting it. Which in essence, will cause more fear.
To give an example:
Yesterday I watched an Instagram video, of a dog groomer, who had a small dog, who was scared of the whole environment by the looks of it. The last groomer, proceeded to put the dog on the table, put the tie around its neck.
All the while, the dog was growling, showing teeth, and snapping at her.
Her reaction, was to, talk sweet nothings to the dog, "oh, it's ok, it's all alright," blah blah blah, the whole time she was also stroking the dog.
To the human uneducated eye, this looks amazing, it looks kind, it looks considerate and gentle.
But in actual fact, it's the complete opposite, not only is she, confrontational, she is putting the dog under pressure, whilst reacting emotionally. She is also, rewarding the dog for the behaviour, by stroking it.
Now, the comment section, was a complete outpouring, of over emotional woman, saying how kind and wonderful this groomer was. Those that actually, said she's was approaching it incorrectly, were vilified by quite clearly, uneducated people.
This is my problem, time and time again, we see, things that are not conducive to helping dogs, or how dogs should be treated. Being seen as cute, or kind or gentle. Because it fits with our human emotions.
DOGS ARE NOT HUMANS!!
Dogs are dogs, and will only ever be dogs, behave like dogs, and respond and understand how dogs can. Stop reinforcing, poor treatment of dogs, because it looks good to the human eye.
It's completely possible, to be kind, gentle and considerate, without talking too, or even touching a nervous or fearful dog.
Stay calm, keep distance and don't stare, are all ways of helping a dog become more confident in the moment. Slowly build up introductions to stimulus.
I'm getting so sick and tired of ill educated people, telling other people, that do understand dogs, that they are in the wrong, because it doesn't fit with, their silly emotions,
Be more emotionally controlled around dogs, communicate via signals, and commands that the dog understands, because, you have taught the dog, what those commands mean!
START SEEING DOGS, AS DOGS!!!!!!
DOGS ARE NOT EXTENDED HUMANS!!!
