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Silence is Golden. Dog primary language is not verbal. That’s human language. Dog language is primarily physical and pressure. If you have more than one dog, watch how they interact. They communicate with subtle cues conveyed with their body and pressure. And it’s quiet. My dogs rarely vocalize with one another. Why then do we insist on verbal communication with our dogs? Why don’t we just speak THEIR language. Wouldn’t it make sense that they would learn more quickly?

Now think about competition. We can’t talk much at all. If we are talking constantly in training, is it any wonder our dogs are confused in the ring? Most people aren’t even aware how much they are talking. And to be honest, our talking is usually interfering with their learning. Imagine you are learning something new, trying to focus, and someone is chattering away. Ummm…quiet please!!! I’m trying to think! Dogs are the same.

When people are trying to keep their dog engaged, they often talk more. Their voice gets pitchy and a bit desperate. They are trying sooo hard to get the dog to look at them. It doesn’t work. It often does the opposite. It creates pressure that the dog avoids. Just be quiet. If the dog is cuing off your body (instead of your voice), they will have to watch you MORE. By default. There you go. Quiet creates focus.

Your challenge for this course is to train in silence. You can give the dog an initial cue and use your markers. That’s it. No other talking. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY. That’s super important. Every tiny move you make is information. Where you look, your expression, what you do with your hands, shoulders, hips, legs, feet….all information. Not sure what you are doing is influencing the dog? Watch your video. Your dog will tell you.

Analyze your praise. Does your dog like it? Or is the dog neutral about it? Or does your dog not like the praise you are offering? Again, read the dog. They are pretty clear. We are just not great at reading what they say.  If they like your praise and it builds them up, great. If not, no worries. Just praise in silence. It’s not as hard as it seems. You don’t need to overcompensate or do anything different. Act exactly the same as you normally would, just “say” the words in your head. My dogs like my verbal praise, but I still praise in silence a fair amount. Why? It’s their language. And the more they are used to silence, the easier the transition will be to the ring.

Whether your dog likes your verbal praise, or not, try praising in silence. It’s uncomfortable at first. But gets easier with practice. And it’s a great tool to have in your toolbox.

It’s the dog’s idea: The power of Shaping & Offering. There is, without a doubt, a big difference in learning and retention when it’s the dog’s choice. They really are not much different than us. If someone is constantly nagging you to pay attention, how does that feel? If you are like me, it actually makes you want to do the opposite. It’s just annoying! Dogs are the same.

At this point in my dog training, I shape all obedience behaviors. When shaping, the dog is problem solving. They are figuring it out. I’m not forcing it on them. Or telling them what to do. Most of the time I say nothing at all. Dogs are incredibly smart. They can figure it out. We just need to get out of their way. Solving problems is inherently self-reinforcing. It builds confidence and resilience. All traits we want and need in our performance dogs.

Once my dog is comfortable with shaping, I teach them to offer behaviors. This is even more powerful because it truly is the dog’s choice. They can pick ANY behavior they want. And they love it!! Some dogs take to offering more easily than others. That’s fine. All dogs are different. We just need to be patient. You basically pick a cue that means “do any behavior you want”. Obviously when you first give the cue your dog will have no idea what you mean. I stand up really tall (to get out of their space and remove all pressure), I make faces to encourage the dog, I might give my offering cue more than once in an encouraging and playful tone (no pressure!!). The key is to mark and reinforce ANYTHING AT ALL. Even if it’s inadvertent. If the dog changes their breathing, looks away, moves their head, moves a paw a tiny bit…anything at all. That’s what keeps them in the game. Most people wait for a full behavior and that ends up being frustrating for you and the dog. Most people don’t wait long enough for the dog to offer something. They get uncomfortable and intervene. And literally every time I work on this with someone, they are about to do intervene and I say “wait”...and shortly thereafter the dog offers something. If the dog is really and truly stuck, ask for a few tricks, then try again.

Once the dog gets the idea, they love it. And now we can use the offering cue for a wide variety of applications. I use it anyplace my dog is nervous, or worried, or anxious, or feeling pressure. I teach them to offer on silence and to offer engagement. No worries, I’ll show you how to do that!