The Language of Dogs
Now, I had a slight change to my planned reading this month. I was supposed to be reading Ludwig von Mises this week. However, with the advent of puppies to my household…puppies that REALLY like to chase cats, I had to mix it up a bit. I have two books on dog training, one of which is laid out like weekly lessons. So I read the other one this week for some quick guidance, making this week’s book of the week The Language of Dogs by Justin Silver and David Donnenfeld.
The Language of Dogs opens with a brief introduction to Silver and the story of how he came to be involved in dogs and dog training, and it’s really engaging to read through, you get a definite sense of his likeability. And he really condenses his life down to one chapter, because this book is not about Justin. It’s about dogs, and how we can be better communicators with dogs. Starting with the dog’s absolute belief that what they are doing is A-OK. When the puppies chase the cat, they don’t see it’s stressing the cat and thus the humans out. They just know that this is part of their drive. They are lab/rott mix puppies. Herding, hunting, prey drive is pretty strong with them. And no amount of yelling No Kitty! Is going to break through that.
So, what to do? I’ve been working diligently on redirecting their attention to me. As soon as they focus in on a cat, I call their name, get their attention. Break that focus, usually by shaking the treat bag. Once they are off the cat and sitting at my feet, we practice look at me. Once I get good eye contact, they get the treat.
And that’s just one thing. No, Silver does not actually specifically address what to do with cat/dog age old enmity. But he does address what to do when your dog is hyper focused on something puppy shouldn’t be, and that’s one of the tips. Break that focus, redirect to something you want them to be doing. I want the puppies to focus on me, not the cats. Treats help with that end goal. Would also be hugely helpful if the cats would quit trying to play with the puppies. It’s all cute until the cat decides their done and try to leave and the puppies start chasing. My cats have their claws, I don’t believe in declawing cats…they just don’t use them. It’s embarrassing how dog friendly my cats are.
A lot of the anecdotes he relays as emphasis of what he means include how the humans are failing the dog. Dogs respond to calm. They respond to calm authority. You’ll get further with calm and in charge, then angry yelling. And tone of voice is everything. Tone of voice should mimic what you want. Our Corgi that we lost in March….I had taught her the gentle command when giving treats. And she was SO gentle with me. I’d say, Tilly gentle, and she’d be very ladylike with her treat retrieval. My husband….he’d SAY gentle, with a tone of voice that indicated he fully expected to lose a finger. Subsequently, she would snap when taking the treat. He nicknamed her Sarlac because of how aggressively she would take treats from him. I told him…the tone has to match. When you say gentle like the fires of hell are licking at your heels, the dog ain’t going to be gentle. So, after reading this book, I feel vindicated in that assessment.
Silver spends a large chunk of the book explaining just how different dogs are from people. Which is totally fair. As he says, dogs have done so well adapting to domestication that people tend to humanize them. But really, it’s like Gary Larson said, we say one thing, dogs hear something else entirely.
And not just tone of voice, but actual words sound different depending on how they’re said. Good Boy! Sounds very different to a dog than GOOOOOD BOOOOY! Also, this might seem obvious, but not all dogs are the same. A training program that works very well with one dog will not necessarily work with another. Consequently, training should be catered to the dog to maximize benefit. Some dogs will love the mellow, some dogs need high energy. But all dogs need purpose. This doesn’t have to just be herding ducks. He recounts one story where the dog needed to be taught that the best purpose she could have had would be to sit quietly when mom was working, with the payoff being lots of play time when the workday ended.
Also, like with people, stereotypes are bad. Even bulldogs, notoriously infamous for being lay on the couch dogs, need more exercise than people think. Labs are smarter than people give them credit for. They have to be to be hunting dogs. The key is to make training fun and keep their focus.
Certain things are counterproductive. Like yelling. Yelling raises the stress level of everyone concerned and also cues the dog that the good time they’re pursuing is about to end. Also, nose rubbing in case of house soiling…They don’t learn much from that either. Teaching the proper place for the bathroom is a long slog of patience and anything other than extreme patience is an exercise in frustration. As anyone who DOES go in for nose rubbing will tell you, it pretty much only works if you actively catch them in the act, and even then, it’s too damn late, because really, when you have to go, it’s usually RIGHT NOW. Also, if the accident happens when you’re not home to let them out…is that the dogs fault? How do you punish the dog when they have no option? The best form of potty training is constant vigilance. Learn to listen with your eyes. Learn when a sniff is just a sniff and when it means they’re looking for The Spot.
Most of the book is geared towards helping people who have adopted adult dogs work through whatever trauma the dog experienced prior to coming into your home, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t work for puppies. Which is why I’ve been working with Baldur and Freya on the cat/dog enmity thing. I actually don’t think the puppies are trying to traumatize my cats. I think they’re puppies who are trying to be friendly, and when the cat runs away, they think it’s fun to run too and so they chase. I don’t think it will ever be possible to teach a dog that it’s NOT fun to chase cats. It’s not fun for the cat, but for dogs it’s LOADS of fun. So I have to teach them to come when their names are called so that when the cat walks away, the dog returns to me, and doesn’t keep harassing the cat. And this I have to do NOW, before the dogs get big enough that they can accidentally hurt the cats.
It would also be helpful if my cats would quit cozying up to the dogs. My orangey- Rusty- is truly dog friendly. I’ll be working on getting the pups to focus on me, and Rusty will walk right up and rub against them. Weirdo.
He does include a chapter, with a ton of pictures, on what various training commands look like and how to work with the dog to get the results for the basics, look, sit, down, stay, heel, off, on. Also, a chapter on some ideal training tools and why he selected those. He does not specifically go into crate training but does include easy ways to crate train. I personally dislike crate training, not least of which is I’ve seen it grossly misused by people who should probably not have a dog ever. But my dogs are my kids, and I’m pretty sure if you stuff a child in a crate, they will call CPS on you. GATE training, I can and do get behind. I set up a child gate to corral my pups into my dining room, kitchen, bedroom area, with easy access to the backyard. This works very well for house training, as the back yard is right there, and they aren’t being distracted by the cats and birds who are on the other side of the gate, so they actually DO go outside to bathroom. But crates?! No. Crate training has only been around since like the 1990’s. For literally all of our joint evolution we didn’t use crates, then for the last 30 years, everyone suddenly had to have one. Crates are dumb. In my opinion.
Dogs are awesome though, and this book is an awesome primer for what you need to know to start speaking The Language of Dogs.
This book was originally reviewed on YouTube on July 24, 2022, but is now available on Rumble and PodBean.
