Dog Whispering continued....

Dogs respond to intentions

I have noticed this response in children - see Potty Training Site Blog for my posts on that subject - but it has become really obvious with Smash this week that he responds much more to the caller's intentions than to their verbal commands.

The response that I have noticed is the difference between when I call him to me and when Janice calls him. I know, and now Smash knows that when she calls him her intention is to tie him up. So, if she uses the correct tone and words he will come close to her but always stay just out of reach. She gets frustrated and you can watch his ears and other body posture start to shows signs of agitation as well. He will often grab one of his toys and start tearing it up.

She gets mad that he comes to me when I call him seemingly the same way she does. However, when I call him, I am thinking about petting him and maybe giving him a snack or a treat. He will come right up to me and wait to get petted. He will then go to his tether and wait for his treat. Only after he has begun to enjoy his treat will I hook him up. He offers no resistance at all to being hooked up when my first intention is to give him puppy luvin' and a treat.

By the way, if I call him thinking about hooking him up because I am in a hurry, he usually runs the opposite direction. So I have learned to control my thoughts.