Conversely, canines communicate primarily through body language, and oral sounds are a secondary means of expression.  So herein lies the basic difficulty of dog training: communication breakdown! We go out of our way to tell the dog what we don’t like, such as "No Rover, don’t jump on Grandma!"  Then we get mad and punish the dog for not understanding. Meanwhile, the dog tries to communicate its needs and desires using ear and tail carriage, body posture, and eye contact, but since we don’t "speak" body language, we ignore it.

Our dogs’ actions also can be a means of communication. For instance, perhaps you own a young adult dog with lots of energy, but you don’t always have time to give the dog adequate exercise. As a result, the dog is bored and lonely, so he busies himself by chewing up your favorite shoes. Whose fault is it? Remember that your dog depends on you for more than just food and water.

So the next time your dog misbehaves, try to think about the underlying factors which may have caused it. And, of course, before you lose another pair of shoes, bridge the human-canine communication gap through professional obedience training. It’s your gift to your best friend, and High Praise! can help.