Talk to your animals

Many people believe that animals can only understand one word commands but I don't believe that.  I believe that animals understand everything we say.  I don't think it is much different than when babies are born.  They don't understand the language when they first come into this world, but over time they pick up more and more words, as they hear people around them speak.  I think it is the same with animals.  The more we talk around them, the more they understand.  

I frequently suggest to my clients that they talk to and explain things to their animals.  Often I am met with looks that translate as "are you crazy?" although fortunately, they are usually willing to give it a try anyway.  Here are a couple of examples.

One of my clients had a dog that barked like crazy if anyone came to the door.  No matter what the owner did, she couldn't get the dog to stop barking.  I explained to her that her dog was trying to protect her, that he was doing his 'job'.  I suggested that she let him know if she was comfortable with the person who came to the door, so he would know if he needed to be 'on duty' or not.   

She emailed me the next week to tell me that she had started telling him when someone was coming over and assuring him that she felt safe and comfortable with the person who was at their door.  Much to her surprise, he didn't bark.  Then one day, a delivery person came to the door and she didn't say anything to her dog, she just opened the door and guess what?  He barked like crazy.   That was all the confirmation she needed to know that her dog DID understand what she said when she spoke to him.  So now, she's talking more and he's barking less.  :-) 

Another client had a dog who had pulled a muscle in her leg and was limping.  She told me that she was trying to get her dog to rest, so her leg could heal but that her dog wouldn't stop bringing her the tennis ball . . . pleading with her to throw it, with sweet yet sad eyes, multiple times a day.  I suggested that she explain to her dog why she didn't want to throw the ball, how she wanted her leg to heal so she could get back to her favorite activity of chasing the tennis ball every day.  

She called me the next week to let me know that she had 'talked' to her dog and that amazingly, she had stopped bringing the ball to her incessantly.  When her dog's leg was healed enough to resume exercise, I asked my client to thank her dog for taking it easy and giving her leg a chance to heal.  

I believe it is an important part of the communication process - not just to ask our animals to do or not do something but to thank them for their cooperation afterwards.  It isn't much different from what I would hope for with human to human communication.  It closes the loop and sets a tone of respect and partnership.  

So, if you aren't doing it already, I hope you'll start talking to your animals.  You'll be amazed at what they can understand and how well they can respond.