To teach your dog to come when called, encourage them by saying “Scruffy, Scruffy, come!” While clapping your hands as you run away from them.

Dogs like to go in the direction we face, notably where our toes are pointed. Hence the ‘run away’ technique. Simply turn and face the opposite direction to encourage your dog to return and come to you.

But what if your dog see’s something and runs for the hills? Yelling “Scruffy, Scruffy, come!” will only fuel the fire.

Again, short repeated notes encourage activity and in this situation we want to discourage it.

Use a short sharp note like “No!”. Once your dog has stopped you then redirect their energy to you with “Scruffy, Scruffy, come!”

Nows your chance to use one long, continuous note to calm your dog, just as animal handlers all around the world would do.

How to calm your dog

“Goooooood boy, Scruffy, goooooooood boy. What a gooooooood boy you are”.

What does not help in calming your dog is slightly anxious, short and choppy versions of “Good boy, good boy, good boy” while your dog is straining the leash.

More times than not, these words are accompanied by equally choppy petting that arouses even more.

Leash pressure? Affection? Anxious tones? Disaster!

It can take a conscious effort to make sounds that reflect what you want your dog to do rather than how you feel inside.

And this is why we need to learn to separate our own emotional state from the one we want in our dogs.

There’s a bonus, though: speaking in long, steady tones can help calm you down, too. And don’t forget to breathe. Long deep breathes slow everything from your speech patterns to your dogs response.

If you want to soothe or slow your dog, replicate the “Eaaaaaasy” of a racehorse jockey calming his horse before the race.

Mimic the “Steeeeaaaaady” of a sled dog driver as his dogs enter a tricky turn.

It’s no different to how parents all over the world speak to soothe their babies. But remember, you must be calm and sound calm. A soothing voice is one of lower pitch.

Pitch

Marine drill sergeants don’t belt out orders in high, squeaky voices. So why do the same with your dog?

Low, gruff tones may get soldiers to attention, but they’re not going to calm a young, frightened child. Dogs and humans share this interpretation of high and low sounds.

In both wolves and primates, a low pitch signifies authority or confidence. Simply saying a signal in a lower voice than before can mean the difference between your dog ignoring you or obeying.

So practice saying “No!” or “Stay” in a low voice rather than a loud one and letting your voice rise when praising your dog or calling “come”.

If Scruffy ignores your sweet signals to come, switch up to a low, growly “No” and then call “Come” again, just as before.

The Bottom Line

How to communicate better with your dog comes back to simplicity, consistency and separating your emotional state from the sounds you make to communicate with your dog.

• Use short repeated words and notes like smooches and claps when you want your dog to speed up or come to you.
• Use one long, continuous flat sound to slow or soothe your dog.
• Use a short, sharp and directive sound like ‘hey!’ to stop a fast moving dog.

All information in this post has been referenced from the book The Other End Of The Leash written by Applied Animal Behaviourist and dog trainer Patricia B. McConnell.