What is communication made of? Today I wanted to start with the basics.
Most trainers focus very strongly on the words we train our dogs with. Some will also coach their clients on the tone in their voice and how it affects their dog. But that is only, at best, half of what you should be using!
Based on Albert Mehrabian’s philosophy, here are the 3 elements of communication and the percentage they make up of communication:
Words: 7%
Tone: 38%
Body language: 55%
When I come across someone who has a great relationship and training with their dog, I often notice that they don’t speak as much with their dog. They mostly communicate through body language. As you can see, that makes up at least 55% of communication between humans – with dogs it is even more than that. I always tell people that it rarely matters what you say, but how you say it and what your body language is saying.
If someone was standing and calmly saying “stop it” with a very limp body language… would you listen or take them seriously? Do you think a dog would?
Do you speak with your dogs all of the time or do you have a fairly silent communication? Tell me about it in the comments!