How to communicate with your cocker spaniel
This is a fun learning experience for all dog owners. By knowing how your puppy communicates and making a little observation, you will be well on your way to communicating effectively with your Cocker Spaniel. Dogs have natural instincts and behaviors to be mindful. By understanding how dogs communicate the bonding process, understanding and training your dog becomes easier.
Cocker spaniels are an intelligent breed, but by no means should the owner believe that the puppy is smarter than they are. Assuming that your dog can understand your language is a big mistake. To communicate with your Cocker Spaniel, or any other puppy, you need to understand how they communicate and interact with people, other dogs, and animals. All dogs have the ability to communicate through body signs and different voices. It is up to us to recognize the signs and signals.
How dogs think
Dogs think in terms of instincts, images, and actions. They don’t think of phrases or ideas like we do. They associate actions through body language. For example, if you said in a friendly tone “who wants to go out”, you could omit the words “who wants to go out” and the dog would react in the same way. The dog has been trained to react to the word “outside” and chooses the word “outside” in the sentence. The dog is unable to understand sentences. Your voice and the way you express yourself (your actions) will always have the biggest impact. Try whispering the prayer to your dog and see the reaction, then say the same sentence with enthusiasm and you will notice a big difference in reaction.
Body signs and voices that are used to communicate.
Movement of the eyes, ears, eyebrows, head, mouth, and tail are the basic signs of body movement. Vocal signs include barking, grunting, groaning, and groaning. The puppy’s gestures can have changing meanings, such as a dog’s panting. This could indicate that the dog might be hot, anxious, or just plain happy.
A raised tail is the sign of a confident and senior dog. In the wild, dogs have and show feelings of submission and dominance in them. This is normal package behavior because there is a hierarchy within the package. The weaker dogs in the pack submit to the more dominant dogs in the pack. You would notice an insecure dog with a low tail. With an aggressive dog, you would notice a high tail and bristling tail and nape hairs. I would also notice this if the dog believes that he must participate to protect himself or his property. Most animals will show this behavior when trying to increase their size in front of their enemy. If you see a dog with a high tail, it is very confident.
A dog will wag its tail slowly when it enters a confusing situation. It will continue to do so as you sniff and go through the process carefully conducting your assessment. They will come to accept the situation or not. Dogs that wag their tails very fast are excited. If the dog’s hips move from side to side along with the dog’s tail movements, this is a sign that the dog is ready to submit to a higher ranking dog. You will see this behavior more often within a litter and in happy puppies when they greet their owners.
Aggressive dogs will show their fangs. If the fangs and teeth are visible, the dog indicates that it is ready to bite or attack. Also, a barking dog will show all of its teeth and gums. The difference between a smiling dog and a growling dog is that a smiling dog will only show the front teeth.
Dog ears can tell you a lot about what a dog is accessing. They provide indications of levels of care. A dog’s ears facing forward and upright indicate that the dog is concentrating. Ears that appear to be lying down indicate that the dog may be afraid of something. Occasionally, you will see a dog’s ears that are forward and horizontal, indicating that the puppy is happy.
Barking is used to communicate in different ways. Dogs tend to bark to convey emotions that include suspicion, stress, fear, and pleasure. A shape and a short bark indicate that the dog is excited or just playing. A repeated high-pitched bark indicates that the dog is stressed or anxious. Interestingly, dogs bark to communicate with other animals and dogs, but the sound of the barking is different.
To threaten or show a sign of superiority, a dog may growl. The howl is used for long-range communications. A dog may yawn when bored, sleepy, stressed, or confused. A panting dog with an open month is a happy dog. A dog will signal that it is time to play with his mouth slightly open while panting. The puppy will also stomp on its front legs or lift its hindquarters while lowering its head and front legs to signal that it wants to play. They will also scratch the things they want. When a dog tilts his head, he is trying to recognize unfamiliar sounds or may be concentrating.
While many books have been written on dog communication and communication, the above is a common sense approach that will help all dog owners. Take the time to recognize the mentioned signs with your own puppy. A little observation will go a long way and it’s fun. In no time, the signs will become clearer and easier to read. This will also help you increase your bond by leaning into dog language and communicating with your Cocker Spaniel.
