I chatter to Emmett and Lucas all day long. A lot of what I say to them has created an odd set of routines. For instance, they tend to follow me around the house. So when I’m in the office and I say “I’m going to refill my coffee,” they know I’ll be coming right back, so they don’t follow me.
Other things have really specific meaning to them – Want to go for a walk? Are you hungry? Let’s go see Cady! (meaning, play with the darling dog next door). They have really specific reactions to each of those things. At “walk,” Lucas runs and sits at the front door. At “hungry,” Emmett runs and sits in front of his bowl. And at “Cady,” they both run to the backdoor and start dancing with excitement.
But recently I realized that they respond more consistently to nonverbal cues. Like hand signals with training, dogs seem to respond to visual directions… even ones you don’t try to teach them!
For example, when I pull my navy blue running shoes out of the closet, Lucas dashes to the front door just as reliably as when I say “walk.” He has learned that these sneakers – not my black ones, not the yard work ones, THESE ones – mean we’re going for a walk.
Likewise, they’ve learned that when I pick up the single key to our mailbox, they know that they’re not getting a car ride, they’re not going for a walk, I’m not leaving… I’m getting the mail. So as soon as I pick up that one single key on its Colts football key chain, they dash to the front window to watch me walk to and from the mailbox.
Those are just two small examples of our nonverbal conversation. It goes on throughout the day with all the different cues that they’ve learned – this happens, then I get to do this! I know a lot of it is routine, but it takes some pretty deep intelligence to really get the cause and effect associated with certain actions.
What nonverbal cues does your dog respond to? Do you find that your dog does better with verbal or nonverbal communication?
Megan has a pair of windpants that she’ll wear for dog walks during the spring and winter when it’s still cold out; and now as soon as Moxie hears them whooshing (how else do you describe the sound of windpants?) he knows he’ll be getting a walk and goes nuts.
He also knows that we tend to wind down the last hour or two of our evening in front of the tv, and that when it gets turned off, he’ll be let outside to pee one last time before bed and has — annoyingly — taken up the habit of whining and barking the second the tv is turned off.
He also starts visibly salivating at the mere mention of “dinner.”
My dogs can tell whether I’m heading out the door for work (work shoes, purse, keys) or to sit on the porch and enjoy a book (no keys, no shoes, book, maybe a beer). When I’m leaving for work, Dex settles onto the couch and Ernie gets to his post on the bed in the spare room to watch me leave. When I’m sitting on the porch, they’ll follow me out and lay down on their outside beds. They never try to follow me when I’m leaving for work or to run errands, but they unfailingly follow me when I’m just going to sit.
Also, Ernie always knows whether or not he’s going to get a bath when I pick up the outside hose. If I’m planning on bathing him, he’ll slink around and try to be invisible. If I’m going to water the garden, he’ll follow me around and try to drink out of the hose.
Wow – it’s so amazing how they can distinguish between such similar actions. I think a lot of it comes down to cues we’re not even aware we’re giving!
All day long I am coming and going and wearing my running shoes and workout clothes because I walk dogs as my job. But somehow, Ace knows when I’m going to ask him to come along and when he’s not invited. I’m not sure what I do differently, but it must be something in my actions. Maybe I’m not as rushed. Maybe I don’t grab as much stuff. But if I’m going to walk someone else’s dog, he stays on his bed and if I’m planning on taking Ace, he is right at my heels. I don’t have a specific schedule for him to memorize because my schedule changes from day to day and I bring him along on some of the walks. Who knows!
Isn’t it amazing how well they figure us out?? I’m convinced that there must be something subtle that they pick up on that we don’t even know we’re doing. Like Ace, my guys seem to know when they get to go in the car with me and when they don’t… and I don’t know what clue I’m giving them!
Darby can definitely tell the meaning of different footwear. When it is dress shoes going on, she doesn’t get excited to go out. Flip flops on the other hand–time to flip out!
It is such a riot how our dogs can communicate without ever saying a word. I always like to say my Dexter does a “Joey Tribiani” – he goes around bobbing his chin at me to “tell” me things. I always think he is ready to say, “how you doin'” LOL
HA! Love that analogy, Carol!