#175 Beyond Words: Why Your Dog Responds To Sound, Before Meaning

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Every dog owner has faced that moment when your pup seems determined to ignore you. You've repeated "come here" five times with increasing volume, yet they continue sniffing that fascinating spot in the yard. What if the solution isn't saying it louder, but saying it differently?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the 5-Minute Dog, the mini-podcast
that delivers practical trainingadvice in less than 5 minutes.
Here's something that I havesaid for years Sounds will get
your dog's attention faster thanwords, and I know that might
sound like an oversimplification, but it's backed up by how dogs

(00:29):
are built to experience theworld.
Dogs don't just hear louder,they hear more, higher
frequencies, faster pitchchanges, subtle tone shifts.
Changes, subtle tone shifts.

(00:50):
They catch it all.
That's why a click or kissynoise, or even the cluck of your
tongue or a gentle whisper canstand out more than repeating
hey, no, come here five times ina row.
And this isn't just abouttraining, it's about daily life.
The way you talk to your dogmatters every day, whether

(01:10):
you're trying to calm them downat the door, call them in from
the front yard or get them offthe couch.
Dogs process tone and pitchbefore they even consider what a
word means.
Tone and pitch before they evenconsider what a word means.
So when you say no, no, stop it.

(01:32):
In a high energy or anxioustone, they're hearing excitement
.
You may accidentally be hypingthem up instead of calming them
down, and I tell clients all thetime if your dog is too excited
.
And I tell clients all the timeif your dog is too excited.
Try whispering, try soft, lowtones.
You'll see a shift almostimmediately.

(01:56):
It's like telling a toddler totake a breath, but for dogs it
starts with the sound.
Clickers are great for trainingbecause they're consistent and
clean.
But even outside of formaltraining, your sounds are your
signals.
The snap of your fingers, thetone of your uh-oh, the way you
sigh or shift your weight it allcommunicates something.

(02:19):
So here's the takeaway.
So here's the takeaway your doglistens to sound before meaning
.
So keep your voice calm whenthings feel chaotic.
Use simple and sharp soundswhen you need attention, and
know that how you sound, notjust what you say, is shaping

(02:41):
how your dog lives with youevery single day.