Dog behavior problems are frequently the result of unclear communication. The owner may not even be aware that the messages he is sending to the dog are confusing. The owner of a well-trained Standard Poodle was unaware of her confusing messages during an epic long session of grooming. The Poodle tired and attempted to sit. The owner, wanting the dog to remain standing, yelled “Don’t sit.” The dog stood for a few seconds in a crouched position, and, confused about what the word “don’t” meant, tried to sit again. Totally perplexed, he was trying very hard to comply with what he thought was his owner’s request.

Good communication with your dog is comprised of clear, consistent, distinct messages. A dog cannot possibly respond correctly if the vocabulary or the rules change at whim from day to day. Another example of inconsistent, mixed messages is demonstrated by the owner who allows a…

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It wasn’t by accident that advertising for the company “RCA” once featured a dog cocking his head in front of a speaker horn. There’s something about this position that most people find utterly adorable. Dogs know it, too, which is why they do it, even when they aren’t trying to hear anything in particular. We give them a positive response, and they remember that. Also, dogs tilt their heads for very practical reasons as well. Tilting the head to the side puts one of the ears up and forward. By turning an ear in the direction of fuzzy or inaudible sounds, dogs are able to hear a little more clearly.

We often forget how confusing human speech is for dogs. Even though dogs understand some of what we’re saying, most of our conversation is just a blur of sound to them. Usually, they just ignore it. They can tell from our…

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Ancient dogs survived on whatever they could find or catch. If they managed to get more than they could eat in a sitting, they had to make sure it would be there when they came back to it later. “They stored spare food by burying it,” says Benjamin Hart, D.V.M., Ph.D., professor of physiology and behavior at the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine at Davis. “It was a pretty resourceful way of keeping leftovers.” Dirt may be gritty and hard on the teeth, but it is also protective.

The temperature in the ground is cooler than it is in the air, so burying food helped it stay fresh longer. Buried food did not roast in the sun. It did not immediately get covered with flies and insect. All in all, burying food and juicy bones was a very good solution.

Dogs do not need to bury their food…

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Part of the canine greeting is to sniff and lick faces. Because people are so much bigger than they are, dogs try to bridge the gap by jumping up.

Some people really dislike it when dogs, they own or someone else’s, jump on them. But dogs, on the other hand, do it all the time because they think they are being polite.

The next time you take your dog to the park, watch how he greets and is greeted by other dogs. They start by sniffing each other’s mouths, then move around to sniff the back ends. All of this is considered proper and polite behavior among dogs, and they assume it is the way they should greet people.

Dogs do not have any trouble sniffing our bottoms, they will do it all the time if given a chance. But the first part of the greeting, the mouth sniff, is not possible because we…

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Dogs hear a lot better than people do, partly because their ears are incredibly mobile. They have 15 different muscles that can move the ears in all directions. This helps them detect and understand sounds no matter where they’re coming from. Head cocking is a tool they use to hear clearly. Dogs shouldn’t be doing it all the time, however. When they are, they may need some extra help to hear. Speak in a higher voice.

One way dogs decide what’s worth listening to and what isn’t call for help is by the sound frequency. High-pitched sounds get their attention, probably because they resemble the sounds made by traditional prey such as rabbits and chipmunks. Pitching your voice upward will get your dog’s attention and let him know that he needs to listen carefully to what you’re about to say. Stand where he can see you. Even though a substantial…

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No one really knows for sure why dogs love to roll in stinky things, but people who study animal behavior have some pretty good idea. Some experts believe that dogs like to mark themselves with their territory. A dog wearing a bit of woodchuck carcass or horse poop on his neck and shoulders is a lot like a man wearing a big gold chain around his neck. It says something about him and where he lives, something like, ‘I am a dog of means; I own the territory with all this nice stuff.”

It is hard for people to understand how anyone, even a dog, could rate the value of his territory according to its riches of cow pies. This is one of those situations that illustrates how
completely different dogs and people are. People appreciate things that are clean and fresh, while dogs like things that are old and smelly.

There…

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