Something quite interesting happened today!

I was at the park with Luka and he was exploring the bushes, about 30m away and a lady asked me if she could get a closer look... Well, I said I would try but he doesn't tend to listen very well if there is no logical reasoning to a command...

Anyhow, I tried, I called for him but he just gave me that look he does, as if it say, "wait a minute, or 30".

Just at that point, there was a man walking past and we got talking - he mentioned how he studied dog psychology (he was walking his border collie) and that my stance was all wrong! He asked me if he could call Luka over and I said "Yeh, go for it!" (bearing in mind that i've only taught Luka Turkish, he only knows a few english words and "come" is not one of them!) I wasn't expecting what happened next!

Well, this man pushed his chest out and did something with his finger whilst he said Luka! Come Here! - Well, to my surprise, Luka came trotting over, the man said sit, he sat, the man said stay and he didn't move for a good 10-15 minutes whilst this lady was commenting on his eyes the whole time!

How is this even possible? Is body language really that effective? Has anyone else done any research into it, because I just tried it with him and it worked fine

I just thought I'd share because it seems to work, and seeing as we all have the same stubborn breed, it may be a useful tool to all of us!

Hmm...That is pretty interesting! Even as effective as it may have been at that moment, I still would never trust a husky (or any dog for that matter) off lead. But good luck with that! I might have to try it for when we're in the yard or the house!

shaina&indy wrote:

Hmm...That is pretty interesting! Even as effective as it may have been at that moment, I still would never trust a husky (or any dog for that matter) off lead. But good luck with that! I might have to try it for when we're in the yard or the house!

I just called him in the house and he didn't come, but then I did it the way the guy showed me and he lowered his head and came right over! It is interesting! As for trusting Huskies off-lead, the park by our house is pretty well fenced in!

its to bad you couldnt video tape the guy so we could see exactly what he did River wont come to me off leash unless i open the truck door

lol, he just stuck his chest out, shouted Luka firmly once and said come here as if he was barking it and as he said it he pointed at him with a very straight arm and finger and pointed his finger down at the floor, just moving his wrist if that makes sense?

Huh. I find this very interesting as well. For the most part, mine come when called but they have the occasional deaf ear. I will try to remember this and see if it works on those occasions.

The only thing Nunya really listens to is when I tell him to leave the cats alone, but I don't take any crap when it comes to that, and he seems to know it by my body language. His ears go flat, his tail goes down, and he lays on the ground with his head on his paws.

Very interesting. I have never really given any kind of thought to the body language I am using when I give commands. I use a lot of hand signals for her "main" commands like, come, sit, lay down, stay.

I went to a park yesterday that was totally empty. a large grass and soft dirt area surrounded by and studded with trees. It was just me and my friend with her hound mix (a handful). He stayed on lead the whole time, but Keeonah was behaving extremely well on lead, so I thought about it for a second, and decided it would be a learning experience.

She ran and played, i threw sticks and pine cones that she would romp after (didn't expect to take her off lead, so no ball ), and she kept a close proximity to me while i interacted with her. when i went and sat with my friend at a bench, she started to wander. she would get about 30-50m away, and i would give her recall command. She came back the first time because i acted enthusiastic about it, and when she got there i gave her like 5 pieces of the doggy trail mix i brought for her. she liked that . then I would let her start to wander again, a little farther, then i would call her and she came back at a light trot. That time she got like 7 pieces and I praised her like mad. Keep in mind her trail mix is two different kinds of kibble, 2 flavors of TOTW, and a small handful of her training treats. So i'm not just giving her gobs of sweets either. I went back to my friend. Keeonah spotted some birds, and just bolted after them. they took off and she gave chase. I yelled HEY!, the word I use so she knows "oh man, this is serious", she stopped dead in her tracks, I called her, and she turned and came at a full sprint to me. she got a wholeee lot of treats. Then, I put her lead right back on, and called it a day LOL.

Consistent positive training is everything in my opinion. Then again, we were alone, and I know the situation would have been completely different if even one other person was around.

MyKeeonah wrote:

I yelled HEY!, the word I use so she knows "oh man, this is serious", she stopped dead in her tracks

I don't have a word like that maybe its time i came up with one!

HA!

"HEY!" is my 'stop right now before I really get involved' command. There is definitely something legitimate to the body language thing. Voice variations too. The word "alpha" is not how I would describe it but that's the word NatGeo has given us. People like Cesar Milan talk about pack order, being dominant and not letting the dog think its alpha. Even softer ways like NILIF are based on the precept of you being in charge.

The problem is a lot of this is hard to teach. For me, I KNOW I'm in charge and don't need to think about voice or posture at all. Dogs do not intimidate me and in general I can get the same results of the guy you encountered. I feel if you have to think about alpha, provider, dominance, etc then you're more likely to experience training issues because your timing will be muddied by wondering if you're correctly presenting yourself.

Im quite comfortable too as well as confident but my little guy can be incredibly stubborn at times!

I didn't mean to imply you're not. That also wouldn't work for that guy the third time he called Luka. I'm pretty sure of that. My main point is don't think about it too much. It just is.

Oh no, i didn't take it that way either

harrise wrote:

The problem is a lot of this is hard to teach. For me, I KNOW I'm in charge and don't need to think about voice or posture at all. Dogs do not intimidate me and in general I can get the same results of the guy you encountered. I feel if you have to think about alpha, provider, dominance, etc then you're more likely to experience training issues because your timing will be muddied by wondering if you're correctly presenting yourself.

I think you are exactly right. It's more a mindset than something to learn and try. I know that I control every aspect of Keeonah's life (NILIF and waiting to eat helped TONS here), and as a result of my confidence in knowing that, she senses it too, and doesn't question it.