Listening to your dog...

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chay
Posts: 352
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:58 pm

Listening to your dog...

Post by chay »

i'm getting much better at listening to what gypsy is telling me, in a variety of ways - but sometimes i just smack myself in the head after realising AFTER the fact, just how obvious it was she was screaming out signals at me and me with my stupid human brain just completely missed it.

this morning it was POURING down with rain (spring in victoria, australia), so instead of leaving the door open after our morning outing to the backyard for the toilet, she got a cursory once-around and we went back inside and i shut the door. she pee'd and pooped - so great, i thought, she's done!

so the dog kept wandering in and out of the bathroom putting her paws up on my knee and stretching - i thought she was bored waiting (normally she potters in the garden while i'm in the shower/getting ready)...i think 'ok ok dog, i'm coming' and come to get her lead - and there is a massive puddle of runny poop right in the hallway (yes, the hallway is carpeted). the whole time she was trying to tell me NO REALLY I NEED TO GO BACK OUTSIDE, LIKE RIGHT NOW...

cue massive (human!) head-smack, two towels and carpet cleaner, and about 17 babywipes for the dogs very fluffy butt. all because I DIDN'T LISTEN TO MY DOG.

i'd love to know how everyone's dogs tell them things. is it as obvious as a paw in the face when you've been lying in too long and its walking time? or is it more subtle, like a raised eyebrow at the door when it's obviously supposed to be opened for them? the more time i spend with gyspy the more i learn, but i swear she probably think's i'm quite dim most of the time :lol:
Fundog
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by Fundog »

We humans are pretty dense at my house too. Thankfully, the dogs are very good at communicating: Yes, they are blatantly obvious, doing a dance and barking, putting a paw on the knee, whining, etc. We can even ask, "do you need.... (insert guess here)?" And the correct question is confirmed with more leaping pirouettes, dancing, and a little bark, as we are led to the door or the kitchen or what is needed.

Actually, it's the boys who figured out when Dottie starts doing her "I'm thirsty" dance, so they get up, go get her water dish out of the kitchen, and bring it to her royal higness, Princess Dottie! :shock: Yes, they spoil her. :P

What I really want to know is.... how do the dogs know when I am even thinking about their favorite activity? I was still in my pajamas this afternoon, after a nice nap. I was toying with the idea of taking the girls out to the bunny hills with the rifle. I was not even dressed yet, and they knew! They started getting excited and barking at me to hurry up! I swear, I did not say a word about my idea out loud to them. I had not pulled out any accessories (water, leashes, etc.) I was still in my pajamas. How did they know? :shock:
If an opportunity comes to you in life, say yes first, even if you don't know how to do it.
PHOENIX
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Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:16 am

Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by PHOENIX »

Good question, Fundog.

Ringo seems to know when I am thinking about taking him for a ride or a walk, too.

And, like you, I will not have done anything to give him a hint; not yet dressed for that particular activity, no plastic bags for cleanup, no shoes, no keys, etc.

Yet he knows.

I often wonder if my thinking about taking my best friend with me, which makes me very happy, somehow changes the body chemistry and he can smell that something good is about to happen.

Or perhaps they really can read our minds........



Phoenix & Ringo
MPbandmom
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by MPbandmom »

Sky is very obvious about what she wants. She talks, woodles and whines along with the appropriate body movements and facial expressions. Actually, she is quite demanding, and I feed right into it by talking back to her and usually giving in to her requests or at least some portion of her request.

Sirius is much less obvious, but does talk to me sometimes. Especially when some super yummy treat is involved and she just wants it NOW.

My dog also seem to know when I am thinking about an outing. I can have put them outside in the normal morning routine manner and then proceeded to gather things together, and when they come back inside, they are ready to GO. They also get fooled occasionally. I had the scooter in my van and had to take it out to haul some lumber. Poor Sky was certain that because I was rolling the scooter around in the house and putting it into its parking place, that we were going out for a scooter ride. Poor baby!
Grammy to Sky and Sirius, who came to live with me, stole my heart, and changed my life forever as I took over their care and learned how to be a dog owner.
chay
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Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:58 pm

Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by chay »

love the royal treatment, fundog (as does dottie, i bet! :lol: )

i also often wonder how dogs know before we "know" we 're going to do something. i think surely it must be down to them being better at body language than us...even though you were still in your pj's fundog, it may have been something simple like a glance at the door where the leashes are, or a deep breath to prepare for getting changed and go? then again i think phoenix may be right also and they can just read our minds!

mbpandmom, i can totally imagine the "woodle" noise :lol: gypsy has only just recently started vocalising with us (she has been with us near on a year and completely shattered my preconception of "yappy pomeranians" as she is so quiet!)
Erica
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by Erica »

I've not had this problem personally...I'd rather be soaking wet than have to clean up a doggy accident (ever had a puppy get bad diarrhea in his crate, then roll around in it? It was DISGUSTING and not even my dog ;-; ), but Opal is fairly blatant about when she needs to go outside. She walks up to you, turns around and stands with her butt closest to you, looking over her shoulder. It's hard to miss. ;) But so very polite!

Amadeus, whom I dogsit, once woke his parents up in the middle of the night by getting on the bed and pawing at the covers...they ignored him, and he threw up on their bed. Oops!

Then there's my cat. I've had a Pavlovian experience with her...she has a sensitive stomach and throws up often, and often on my bed while I was asleep. :| I used to wake up only once she'd started heaving, but now I wake up if she even starts licking her lips, which is a precursor to the barf attacks. Not sure if I'm happy or sad about this, haha.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
chay
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by chay »

Erica wrote:I've not had this problem personally...I'd rather be soaking wet than have to clean up a doggy accident (ever had a puppy get bad diarrhea in his crate, then roll around in it? It was DISGUSTING and not even my dog ;-; ),
trust me, i'd rather be soaking wet too - and i WAS, after taking her in the yard the first time (where she pee'd AND pooped! i thought i was clear! :lol: ). our normal routine is garden walk > door open (she either comes inside or potters around while i am in the shower, whatever she feels like) > THEN leashed walk outside before i leave for work and she gets back in bed with OH - we just didn't get to that stage this time around and there was poop to pay :oops:
jacksdad
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by jacksdad »

Jack tries to let me know when he NEEDS to GO NOW. which I appropriate considering his gut issues right now. every now and then we miss communicate and it's clean up time but we are getting better. problem is his "pay attention to me" and " GOT TO GO NOW" "dance" is to me almost identical...still trying to work out the accent :lol:

But I am getting better and I think Jack understands I try because when he suddenly gets restless in an odd context or time I will say "need potty break" and he ear will perk up and go forward and he will look right at me or jump. I tested this out once when I knew he didn't need to go, and his response was to ignore me. it's not 100%...there have been a couple false positives and a couple of no warning accidents in the house, but we try.

I absolutely believe in listening to your dog. Not just on bodily function needs, but other contexts as well. I belong to a local informal training group. just regular people getting together to work on training with their dogs. A lot of the group likes to work on heel to music stuff and they have a whole routine they do...anyway one member was walking her dog on a path in a slightly wooded area. suddenly her dog refused to move forward. rather than forcing or viewing it as disobedience she turned and they went home. But then went back out with a friend, but left the dog at home and went back up that same trail...100feet up from where the dog refused to move forward the was a freshly severed deer leg...a mountain lion kill.

got to love the Great Pyrenees dogs and their protective instincts. she says once everything fell into place she felt silly for forgetting that a year ago roughly the same place they had found signs of mountain lion kills AND her dog chased off a mountain lion... :shock: yes, we have confirmed mountain lions in the area by the local university researchers verse people who only think they saw one.

So listening to your dog does have it's benefits beyond not having to clean up pee/poo in the house.
ladybug1802
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by ladybug1802 »

Oh wow Jacksdad.....yes dogs definitely have instincts well beyond our own and we shoul;d definitely listen to them. Where is it you live?

Dylan communicates with me all the time and I do try to always listen although there are of course times I dont know what he wants! But if he doesnt need to go out, a cuddle or a play tends to satisfy him!

If he needs to go out into the garden in the evening, he will come and sit just by the sofa, so he can see me, and just stare at me. If I dont pay attention he will do a little 'stampy paws' dance and then start doing little squeaks....so I then say "do you need to go do wee wee?" and he will then jump up and trot to the back door!

He does sometimes come and tell me in the middle of the night if he needs to go out too.....but he doesnt do anything majorly obvious...he just comes by my bed, puts his head on the side ofthe bed and stares at me, wagging his tail, until i open my eyes! If he does this I know he wants to go out and then after he will go back on his bed downstairs and go to sleep!
jacksdad
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by jacksdad »

Monterey bay area of California. in the specific town I live in, on my side we see coyotes, skunk, raccoon, possum and sometimes pig and even bobcats. On the other side of town they are closer to the rural side of things and see all that plus the occasional mountain lion. The area I live in is hardly rural. But we are right up against a coastal mountain range and have a couple of fairly large state parks that are heavily forested. But the area is heavily populated, better part of 300,000 in the county I live in.

back in the 80's California passed a state constitutional amendment to ban mountain lion hunting. back then their numbers were very low. today, their numbers are very healthy, but there is no legal means to address their growing population. Other than humans, they have nothing to keep them in check, so our two species are starting to collide more. what to bet on who will win when push finally comes to shove?

The San Fransisco Zoo a few years ago had an out of the beaten path en-closer for study of Mountain lions. these are some absolutely gorgeous cats. I hope California can get it's head screwed on right before they start having issues due to our abundance of "kindness", limited food/habitat verse their population and our continued encroachment.
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Nettle
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by Nettle »

My dogs stare at me to wake me up if they need to go out. It's most unnerving :shock:

If it's getting near dinner time and I don't seem to realise, one of two dogs will be elected to approach me. If the terrier, she'll get on my lap and mime eating. I'm not kidding. She licks her lips, chews and swallows. If the youngest dog, she'll bat me with her paw and mime eating.

After being fed, each in turn will come up to me, lick its lips and smile a big open-mouthed grin (that wuz GOOD) or else burp (thank you dog).

Sometimes I swear they' plant suggestions in my mind - let's walk the dogs - let's walk the dogs-

Out and about they are the world's best communicators - they really get into my head, telling me what they hear, scent and see, especially if in work mode.

Jacksdad, that's some wildlife you have.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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JudyN
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by JudyN »

Nettle wrote:After being fed, each in turn will come up to me, lick its lips and smile a big open-mouthed grin (that wuz GOOD) or else burp (thank you dog).
Jasper does that, too. Comes up to me and says 'Thank you for my tea, Mummy, it was very nice,' like a well trained child, whilst wiping bits of chicken carcase onto my lap and then licking them off.

One night he would not settle, pacing round the room, staring at us, and I admit I got pretty ratty with him. Eventually, on a whim, I picked up his bed and moved it from my side of the bed to hubby's side. 'Thank f*** for that,' Jasper said (not in so many words) as he settled down to sleep, happy at last. I've often wondered if he felt more secure on hubby's side as my side is nearer the door, or if it's just draughty my side, but he's slept on hubby's side ever since.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
jacksdad
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by jacksdad »

ya, until I got Jack I had no idea. since most animals move around at dusk and just before sun rise and at those times I asleep or just not out and about...pre Jack I think I could count on one hand the number of sunrises I have experienced, exception being when camping of course.
Suzette
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by Suzette »

Nettle wrote:My dogs stare at me to wake me up if they need to go out. It's most unnerving :shock:.
Oh gosh Nettle, my golden retriever did the same to me many mornings. It's so unsettling to wake up to two large, brown eyes just inches from your own, staring quietly at you! :lol:
My avatar is Piper, my sweet Pembroke Corgi. b. 5/11/11
bendog
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Re: Listening to your dog...

Post by bendog »

Ben will wake us up at night if he wants to go out too.
He sleeps on the bed but if he needs the loo he hops off and comes to the side and whimpers.

If he wants to go out in the day he will sit and look at us until we say "Do you want to go out?" and then he'll go nuts so we let him out.
Its quite easy to tell.

He also tells us when he's lost a toy under the sofa and needs us to get it for him.

B
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