Verbal Commands vs. Body Language

Jewlieee

they pay attention to body language first and foremost. I usually train with hand signals before I use verbal cues

 Same here, Julie. Yep, dogs have been trained for years using hand signals.  Herding dogs way back in the 1800's and then retrievers in British Field Trials.  The first guy to start using hand signals, back in the '30's at a British Field Trial for retrievers, got the idea while watching herding dogs work sheep. All the other competitors cried "foul".  lol 

I started out training Shane with verbal commands but found that many times I was using hand signals without even realizing it.  

I thought this book was really interesting and the scientific studies they did were realy enlightening -

 http://insideofadog.com/

micksmom

That's what I meant- no matter the type of obedience, body language is involved somehow. ...................  

Honestly, tho no matter what you do, even if it's just hanging out and not competing, communicating with dogs includes body language - we just don't realize it a lot of the times. 

I agree. Dogs are responding to our body language in everything we teach them. As you say, people just don't realize that.

 They can respond to verbal cues as well in agility...some dogs more than others. A verbal cue can save you with those "traps" We also teach left and right which helps a lot after the dog has gone over a jump and needs to change direction. It is amazing though how much they do read your body language though. It can only be a shift in your eyes that they might catch. Place that can happen is the weave poles. If you don't watch your dog through that last weave pole, he may pop out of the poles, cause that is what your eyes told him to do. Some times you'd think they have eyes in the back of their heads the way they catch your body positions.

Oh, try sitting down or laying down and tell your dog to sit or play dead, or whatever it is that you've taught. See if your dog will respond. Or try standing in front of your dog but facing the other direction and give the commands and see what happens. Do they really totally understand the verbal?

 That book sounds interesting, thanks for the link!

Interesting topic.

 With standard commands I've worked on teaching Dahlia to do them with body language and with verbal, so she can sit, stay, lay down, and come using both pretty easily.

In agility I use almost all body language.  I only use verbal to release her ("Go!";), to tell her to "touch" on contacts, to tell her it's the teeter (instead of the dog walk), and to call her when she's in tunnels if she needs to turn toward me coming out of it.  All directional things are done using body language.

I was once asked by the judge at a trial if my dog was deaf.  She was surprised at how little I spoke.

crysania

I was once asked by the judge at a trial if my dog was deaf.  She was surprised at how little I spoke.

Most of the advanced Agility handlers use very little verbal.  That is what I now have to learn, which prompted this thread. Last night's class, I took Willy through one run without saying a word, lol.  Only 'lost' him once coming out of a tunnel he didn't know where I was.  So I have to remember to keep that eye contact when he exits.

I completely agree! Animals in general adpat more to our body languages because they do not have the ability to have a verbal discussion (well one that we understand besides trhough the woof, woof).

 I have found that if I am worried or super happy my dog reflects the same emotion. Its as if you jump up and down and wonder why your dog is so overly excited - it's because they feel your emotion and want to do the same.