Limiting the dog’s vocabulary for communication is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made by dog owners. As soon as the dog has learned basic commands usually amounting to about a dozen words, the owners are happy and discontinue the training.
Dogs have capabilities far greater than that. Some dog owners say that their dogs understand 100, 250, and even 800 words. One dog who happened to be deaf knew 43 words of American sign language.
The benefits of having a dog with such a vast vocabulary are amazing. If a dog knows a lot and understands many of your words this eliminates possible communication barriers between you and your pet. This opens endless possibilities.
Dogs are keen to learn what you tell them because they are anxious to please you and they feel that learning your method of communication pleases you. This makes them ideal students.
The more ways there are for your dog to communicate with you, the less stress he or she will experience. It will also be helpful for you as you can communicate with your pet more easily.
Your dog can learn many great things from you: that you are going on vacation, or taking a ride in the car, going shopping, and that dinner is coming. Among various things you can teach him is to fetch the morning paper, fetch your slippers, bring his lead, open/close a cupboard door, ring a bell, put his toys in the box, as well as many other interesting things.
A good way to know how advanced your dog communication skills can be is to look at service dogs. These dogs undergo special training to assist people in their needs. Hearing dogs and guide dogs do invaluable job in assisting disabled people.
What is a hearing dog? S/he lets his hearing-impaired master know when the alarm clock or the phone rings, when there someone to knock at the door. Also, they warn about a danger such as fire, strangers lurking and other things. A guide dog is used to steer his blind owner around objects and lead him to cross the street.
To expand and improve your dogs vocabulary you will need to consider a different type of training device. A clicker is considered by many as one of the most effective tools. Using the clicker is simple, you need to let your dog realize that the sound means that he is will be rewarded soon. It is important to attract the dog’s attention by the clicker and when he looks at you the reward can be given. Once such contact has been established, you can use it to approve or disapprove your dog's actions, such as ‘sit’ or ‘come’. Your dog must respond to your hand or voice signal, then when he does the command goes the a click followed by a reward.
If your dog has ever had a chance to play with a squeaky toy you have probably seen how excited he becomes. Because a dog's hearing is so sharp he is very responsive to various sounds. This makes the clicker training so powerful, in particular, in teaching new words to a dog.
Obtain a clicker and enjoy seeing how quickly your dog gains new communication skills. Repetition and patience in this case are crucial.
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