Does your dog pay attention to you and follow your commands? Most dog owners have trouble keeping their dogs focused and cooperative both in and out of training sessions. One way to deal with this problem is to analyze your tone. If you constantly get frustrated and yell at your dog, he or she will probably learn to ignore the yelling as normal behavior and continue doing whatever he or she feels like doing. But if you act happy and excited about a command, your dog may enjoy that and try to perform the command to keep you happy and excited. It all depends on your particular dog and his or her relationship with you as the owner.

For example, many people try to assume the stern, alpha personality to show the dog that you are the boss and your commands must be followed. But if you are not that type of person at all, your dog may see right through that act. I personally have trouble acting that way, and therefore that is not the right tone for Sadie and I. Sadie actually prefers the babying approach, and is more likely to listen to me if I pitch my voice higher and ask if my “good girl” will do whatever I want her to do at that moment.

You need to experiment with your dog and see what kind of tone works best for your relationship. Other members of your household may need a different tone with the dog, simply because each and every bond between a dog and a human is unique. Try to be yourself and use your natural personality as much as possible. Most dogs can tell if you feel unsure or insecure about how to behave with them, which greatly impacts your ability to gain their trust and respect, and therefore their obedience.

This post is part of the Training Tips Tuesday blog hop hosted by DOGthusiast and Tiffany’s Diamond Dogs.

When Sadie wants a treat or a bite of something I’m eating and I won’t hand it over immediately, Sadie goes into her ready position. She knows that I want her to earn the treat, so she sits down and looks up at me, awaiting orders. I love to stay quiet for a minute or two to see Sadie’s adorable reaction. Since she doesn’t know what command I’m planning to give, Sadie just launches into a quick summary version of every command she can think of.  She stands up, lies down, rolls around, speaks, gives me her paws, spins in circles, etc.; all in fifteen seconds flat. I like to think of it as my ‘no command’ command.

This post is part of Nola and Sugar‘s Black and White Sunday blog hop.