How To Communicate With Your Dog: A Complete Guide To Understanding Your Canine Companion

The very fact that we can communicate with dogs is nothing short of astounding. We don’t share a language. Our bodies are completely different. Our minds are too. Despite all of these barriers, we can tell our dogs what we want and need—and they can tell us the same.

Most importantly, we can show each other love. The connection between humans and dogs is truly incredible.

Whether you’ve got a new dog or you want to strengthen the bond you have with a dog who has been in your life for years, this guide will help you and your dog understand each other better:

What Does It Mean To “Speak Dog”?

Don’t worry—you don’t need to learn how to growl or bark. Speaking dog simply means understanding your dog’s body language, facial expressions, and vocalizations, and being able to communicate with them in a way they understand.

Dogs are extremely expressive—by learning to read their faces and bodies, you’ll learn to interpret how your dog is feeling and what they need.

The flip side of this is that dogs are also extremely good at reading human body language, from our eyes to our posture. They’re also great at reading tone of voice. This all makes perfect sense—these are the tools they use to communicate with us and each other. You can use all of this to communicate with your dog more effectively.

How To Communicate With Your Dog Effectively

Use Clear & Consistent Body Language

When obedience training, pair commands with hand signals; doing this can help your dog learn commands more easily, especially if you keep the signals consistent. Happy to see your dog? Let them know by crouching down to greet them, by smiling warmly, and by releasing tension from your body. You probably do most of this naturally already!

Speak In The Right Tone Of Voice

You’ve probably seen dogs perk up at the sound of their owner happily calling them, or look downcast when their name is spoken loudly and sternly. Dogs understand tone of voice intuitively, and it’s best to speak calmly and happily to them most of the time. Avoid yelling at your dog; a command can be firm without being harsh.

Teach & Reinforce Simple Commands

Obedience training is an absolute must; you’re learning to speak dog, and your dog can learn to speak a little human. Sit, stay, come, lie down, drop it, leave it, go, and look are all crucial commands for your dog to learn. With an underground fence from Pet Stop, you can practice these commands off-leash in your backyard.

Make Appropriate Eye Contact

Dogs use their eyes for all kinds of things: To learn about us and predict our actions, to tell us they want something, and even to express aggression or love. You can communicate with your eyes, too; if your dog is looking at you with love, you can look back into their eyes. A hard stare, on the other hand, might indicate resource guarding or other stressful or aggressive behavior. Don’t stare at your dog for too long, and don’t stare back if a dog is giving you a hard stare.

Greet Dogs The Right Way

You’re excited to get home, and your dog is excited to see you. They might want to jump up, bark, whine, or express their love and excitement in any number of ways. Here’s the trick: When these behaviors are coming from anxiety because you were away or over-excitement, you don’t want to reward them. When you walk in the front door, stay calm, and greet your dog when they’re calm too—a sit command can help, here. Once they’re calm, pet them, give them a treat, and play with them or take them for a walk!

Explore Dog Talk Buttons

Talking buttons were something of a trend on social media; dogs seemed to be able to form complete sentences and express abstract concepts. We’re not convinced talking buttons can really help your pup express existential angst, but we are convinced that they’re a useful tool for some dogs who want to communicate their needs. Buttons for specific toys and activities, from “Walk” to “Potty”, can help your dog tell you what they need without the use of body language.

What Dogs Hear When We Talk

Dogs are remarkably intelligent, and there’s some evidence that they process language in ways similar to humans. In an article on dog communication from VCA Hospitals, the writer talks about a series of studies conducted by scientists using MRI machines. They noticed that when a dog recognized a word, the left side of their brain activated; tone, on the other hand, activated the right side of the brain.

Another study in the article found that dogs seem to respond best to body language, tone, and words, just like humans. Your dog might hear the word “walk” and recognize it, but not be interested unless your body language and intonation seem to indicate that you’re about to go on a walk. On the other hand, your dog might have created such a strong association with the word that they get excited whenever they hear it, regardless of context.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Communicating With Dogs

Avoid Yelling Or Harsh Tones

Yelling and harsh tones can make your dog feel scared, anxious, and upset. Dogs do well with positive reinforcement; obedience training should be fun, so your dog is excited to respond to your commands. A simple, firm “No”, “Drop it”, or “Leave it” without raising your voice should be enough to get your dog to stop doing what they’re doing.

Don’t Use Punishment-Based Training

Punishment-based training actually falls into two categories: Positive punishment (where the dog is yelled at or worse) and negative reinforcement (where something the dog wants is taken away).

Don’t use positive punishment in training; it can hurt the bond you have with your dog and increase anxiety and fear.

Negative punishment, like not continuing to pet your dog when they’ve jumped on you, can be much more effective, especially when paired with positive reinforcement (petting your dog or giving them treats) once they are displaying the behaviors you want.

At Pet Stop, we don’t believe in punishment as a primary means of training dogs. Our dog collars use only mild stimulation to remind your pup of the boundaries in your yard—never pain.

Stop Ignoring Their Body Language

Your dog will use their eyes to point to the things they want. Their ears will point up if they’re on the alert. They will play bow if they want to play with you. Dogs use body language to appease, to show fear or aggression, and so much more. We recommend PetMD’s article on how to read dog body language to understand your dog better.

Avoid Inconsistent Commands & Signals

Keep consistent verbal commands for sit, stay, and other common obedience cues. When pairing visual signals like hand movements with those commands, keep your signaling consistent, too, and teach it to anyone who will use commands with your dog.

Expressing Love In A Language Your Dog Understands

Gentle eye contact when your dog has soft eyes, pets, praise, treats, playtime, and walks—these are all things your dog understands and loves. Best of all, they understand that these things mean you love them. You can show your dog a little extra love by getting them a wireless fence so they can play outside all day—they won’t know how you did it, but they’ll definitely appreciate it!

Mastering Communication With Your Dog

Dogs communicate in all kinds of different ways; paying attention to everything from your dog’s tail to their eyes can help you master canine communication and strengthen the bond between you and your dog.

At Pet Stop, we offer pet fence solutions that can help your dog stay happy and healthy. If you notice your dog often seems stressed or anxious, they might need more time outside; we can help.