Learning dog body language.
Can be an absolute waste of time.
Often people suggest to me I should teach more about dog body language to make things easier for them and others.
Their theory is if they can read dogs body language then they will have a better understanding of what the problem is and have an easier time identify when its happening and fixing it.
First thing, even when you are able to recognize the issue and pin point when it’s happening if you don’t have the correct foundation and tools to fix the problem then all you have is knowing the problem and having the frustration of not knowing how to fix it.
How do I know this?
Because I myself made this mistake, don’t think I’m planning on sitting here being holy than thou I know better and you all suck, that is not the case, most of what I know about what doesn’t work or isn’t the main thing you should be spending energy on is because I have made the mistake myself and watch many others do the same.
Second thing is, every dog is different, every breed has a different way of going about things and feel emotions at different intensities they are driven by different things, within that every dog even when you put the same breed side by side is unique in there own ways.
Can knowing body language be useful? Absolutely!
but studying it as a whole, just to apply it back to one dog is a huge thing to spend your precious time on, I see you, I know how busy you are.
So let me tell you, you don’t need to study it to get better at reading your dog.
Imagine if you studied human body language in your culture, and then you went and visited a completely other culture even knowing there language well, some of their mannerisms and the way they interact and show their emotions is going to be different, its not going to be your “normal”
All that studying would then be a waste of time yeah?
We aren’t about wasting your time, what you need is to be given information that is direct, to the point, helpful and a good use of the time spent with your dog.
So instead of thinking about if you knew dog body language more things would be easier.
Think of it this way, if you had the skills to better at LISTENING to your dog, to show him he is heard and you are willing and able to respond accordingly and know how to lay things out for him that he can have a much easier time learning, understanding and responding to you, that’s going to bring you closer to the solution than learning about dog body language ever will, understanding your dogs body language better is a result of doing the work, not the reason why the work we get our clients to do works.
Being a better communicator with dogs and people as well isn’t about learning to read them better it’s about learning how to be a better listening and how to act accordingly.
