What it really means 2 have a dog

When we humans COMMIT to having a dog in our lives, we should be responsible for knowing AT LEAST the following six things. I say COMMIT not GET a dog because that is what it SHOULD be a commitment for their ENTIRE life. They deserve nothing less. This is our CHOICE, not theirs, therefore it is OUR responsibility to choose wisely.

IF we choose to make that commitment, we have to realize that dogs ONLY know what they have been TAUGHT, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Often times when we bring a dog into our homes, we EXPECT them to know a lot of things, like that they need to go outside to use the bathroom, not to bite us because it hurts, not to bark because we don’t like the noise, not to run away because it is dangerous, not to jump on people because it scares them or can hurt them, not to walk on furniture because it is not the floor, not to eat or steal our food because it’s ours, listen to or do or stop doing everything we say because we said so or because we love them.

The REALITY is that dogs are born knowing NONE of those things!

They go to the bathroom inside because they don’t know the difference between outside and inside…until WE teach them.

They bite and/or mouth us because either they are teething, they are a breed that uses their mouth extensively for their job, or because their mouth is the way they explore the world since they don’t have hands like us, and they don’t know there is anything wrong with it …until WE teach them.

They bark because it is their primary way of communicating vocally, and they don’t know when it is appropriate…until WE teach them.

They run away because it is fun to run and be chased and explore new things, and they don’t know when it is appropriate…until WE teach them.

They jump on people because they are excited to see them, and they don’t know it’s inappropriate…until WE teach them.

They don’t know furniture is not the same as the floor…until WE teach them.

They eat or steal our food because it smells good, and they don’t know it is inappropriate…until WE teach them.

They don’t listen to us because we are not communicating to them in a way they can understand. It’s as simple as that.

How 2 Speak Dog is here to change that. We want to teach you HOW to communicate (verbal and body language) with your dog in a way dogs understand and can better listen, and teach you HOW to translate what your dog is trying to “say” to you.

Through our interactions with literally thousands of dogs over 40+ years, we have identified 5 principles and 10 habits that will improve the behavior of ANY dog and get them to listen reliably, if understood and applied correctly.

Keep an eye out for future posts to learn more…

PLEASE NOTE: Dogs are not human and should not be treated or expected to behave as such. Since we are humans, we understand human analogy better. Even our company name is a human analogy (dogs don’t actually speak of course) and throughout the courses, blogs, lessons, etc., we will make similar analogies, but it is for clarification purposes for us humans only.