Hey Dog Lover 🐾
Come.
Stay.
Leave it.
Off.
Down.
Let’s go.
No.
We humans are incredibly verbal.
And somewhere along the way, we seem to have decided that because our dogs live with us, they must also be fluent in English.
So when we say “come” and our dog doesn’t come, what do we do?
We say it again.
Usually louder.
“COME!”
As though the problem is that they didn’t hear the English the first time.
Sometimes dog training looks an awful lot like shouting English as a second language at your dog.
And then comes the sentence I hear all the time:
“But my dog KNOWS come.”
Okay.
Maybe they do.
But do they know what “come” means here?
And even if they do, is the word really the entire conversation?
In this episode, we’re talking about what we’re actually communicating to our dogs, what they’re paying attention to besides our words, and why knowing a command might not be the problem at all.
We’ll talk about:
🐾 What we really mean when we say “My dog knows this”
🐾 Why knowing a command in one situation doesn’t necessarily mean your dog understands it everywhere
🐾 Why we put so much responsibility on a single word like “come”
🐾 Everything your dog is paying attention to besides what’s coming out of your mouth
🐾 How movement, body language, spatial pressure, intention, and your history together are all part of the conversation
🐾 What happens when your body and your mouth are saying two completely different things
🐾 Why your dog may need a reason to choose you, not just a command telling them to
🐾 How your relevance and relationship with your dog influence whether they follow your guidance
🐾 Why relationship-based communication doesn’t mean we stop teaching or using cues
🐾 The question I want you to ask instead of “What command should I use?”
Because I absolutely use words with my dogs.
I teach cues.
Recall matters.
Skills matter.
But the word isn’t carrying the entire conversation.
Your dog is also learning what you mean.
Your movement.
Your body.
Your patterns.
Your intentions.
Your history together.
Your relationship.
So the next time you find yourself thinking:
“My dog knows this. Why aren’t they listening?”
Get curious.
What are you actually communicating?
What does your dog understand in this situation?
And instead of immediately asking:
“What command should I use?”
Try asking:
“What am I trying to communicate?”
Because once you know the answer to that, the word becomes just one of the many ways you can say it.
And maybe we can finally stop shouting English as a second language at our dogs.
Hope you enjoy this one!
Tracy xoxox
RESOURCES
🐾 Join the Online Program Fearless Framework!
https://beyondobedience.ca/fearless
🐾 Take the Quiz!
https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quiz
🐾 Read the Blog!
https://beyondobedience.ca/blog
CONNECT WITH ME!
Contact → info@beyondobedience.ca
Podcast → https://beyondobedience.ca/podcast
Connect → https://facebook.com/groups/LivingBeyondObedience
Resources → https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quiz
Merch → https://www.beyondobedience.ca/store
🐾 NEXT STEPS 👣
Step 1: Join the free Living Beyond Obedience community and connect with other dog owners who are learning to lead through trust, relevance, and understanding.
https://facebook.com/groups/LivingBeyondObedience
Step 2: Take the Dogonality Quiz to discover how your dog's unique personality shapes the way they learn, communicate, and respond to leadership.
👉 https://www.beyondobedience.ca/quiz
Step 3: Ready to stop second-guessing yourself and start understanding what your dog actually needs from you? Join the Fearless Framework.
👉 https://beyondobedience.ca/fearless
Music Credit 🎶: Shawn Trotter
www.shawntrotter.com
