Dogs smell, see, hear, feel and taste things very differently from us humans. If you want to understand the world from your dog’s perspective, you might want to know a few things about their senses. When you understand how your dog senses the world, you can use it to your benefit when you’re training her.
Taste
Dogs’ sense of taste is less developed than humans’. Humans have around 9000 taste buds whereas dogs only have around 1700. This explains a lot!
Fun fact: Swallowing is the most important part of enjoying a treat for your dog. Cut your treats in super tiny pieces to help your dog avoid gaining weight.
Touch
Research by Franziska Kuhne, Johanna Hößler and Rainer Struwe investigated the dogs’ reactions to being touched. They concluded that the dogs liked their chest or shoulders petted, or getting the bottom of the spine just in front of the tail scratched.
Physical contact that involved restraint of some sort, like holding the dog down while petting it or holding it by its collar, produced the most consistently negative responses. Also patting the dog on its head or holding one of its paws caused some negative reactions.
Fun fact: Avoid holding your dog by the collar or holding her down when you’re training her. Use other ways to become the most interesting person in the world for her, so she’ll want to stay by your side voluntarily! To find out what those ways are, check out OneMind Dogs Puppy Training and learn to connect with your dog on a completely new level.
OneMind Dogs Puppy Training is now open for all pet puppies!
With OneMind Dogs you will train your puppy by understanding your dog’s point of view. Instead of forcing human interactions on a dog, you will learn to create a mutual understanding with your puppy: a bond so strong it feels like you have one mind.
