Canines communicate very differently than we do. I have written about this subject a lot, but lately a lot of people are really getting it wrong.so I’m writing about it again. Dogs are all different; in how they look, in how they communicate and the level of their visual display of emotions. Some dogs have a very low rate of visual emotions; those dogs who seem to just go through life on one level. Then there are the dogs who show an average amount of emotions; who are fairly easy to read if you know what you are reading.
Then there are the dogs like Riggs; the ones who have big feeling and wear their heart on their sleeve. Nothing goes without being said; and it is those dogs who teach us the most. On the opposite end of the scale was my girl Tilley who has been gone twelve years now. She was the silent type; not one for show and pomp unless it was something big. These type are a harder read but their communications are still there, just not so much in your face.
Riggs is very emotional. He is sensitive and has something to say about pretty much everything. Like Riggs his predecessor Luke (gone 9 years now) was demonstrative. It is funny because most humans consider dogs who complain and growl to be the tough ones, but it is actually the other way around. When a dog does not communicate openly, it is much more difficult to understand what is going on.
Dogs like Riggs are like a deep dive into k9 communication. Communications that you might miss with a low or average communicator; you definitely see or hear from a high communicator. When something happens and our dogs respond, we learn. When we want to better understand our dogs, we pay more attention, we learn. So when you have a dog that speaks louder and more often than the typical dog, you learn.
As you know I am a watcher; I’ve always been a watcher of behavior. But when I started in positive reinforcement training (30 years ago) it went to a higher level. Seeing and understanding what our dogs are saying is very important if you want to know about your dog. If you have a dog that doesn’t have much to say, then you must become an even higher level observer. Dogs communicate, all dogs do, but not all dogs communicate at the same level.
I have told this story many times when people ask about petting dogs. We were at the beach with Elsa and Riggs (maybe a year old) when a guy who was walking by reached out to say hi and pet Riggs without asking. It happened so fast that I didn’t have time to react, but Riggs did. He growled fiercely at the guy who very quickly drew his hand away. He realized his mistake in that moment as he nodded his head as I stated “he doesn’t like strangers touching him.” Riggs was simply saying “don’t touch me, I don’t know you.”
Ours dogs who do not speak up often tolerate behaviors or don’t. The whole idea of punishing growls is in the same realm of all communications. DO NOT PUNISH A GROWL, DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO THE CAUSE OF THE GROWL. The growl gives us information delivered through a communication about how our dogs are feeling. We then need to figure out how to create a situation where our dogs don’t feel the need to growl. (Please read this again)
Elsa growls very seldomly and when she does there is always good reason. Typically it is because she is feeling unsafe about a dog coming by us. It is either too close, she doesn’t like that it is staring at her or it just plain looks scary. I will immediately obtain space for her which is all she needs. It is completely up to her how much space is enough when she is feeling vulernable. Before a growl will often come a snort; this is her “I’m worried” communication to me. And then its up to me to make her feel protected.
I was watchiing a very bad video of a dog growling at his guardian over a food bowl before writing this blog. All the comments on the video were how the guy should hit the dog, show it who’s boss, take the food away. But in reality, dogs growl around a food bowl because they think we are going to take it. It is up to us to teach our dogs that not only do we not want their food; but if someone is around the bowl, its a great thing by adding yummy food while we walk by. It is of course a tiered process but it is one of the easier things to get rid of. BY SHOWING THEM WE DON’T WANT THEIR FOOD AND BUILDING TRUST. Not by proving them right by taking their food.
Dogs are complicated, emotional beings. They cannot use words to communicate their feelings to us; so they use what they know. It is up to us to learn how they communicate so that we can better understand. And stop thinking they are here to dominate us and be the alpha. They are doing their best, we need to do ours.