A while back Cara recommended a few books on her blog, including The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell, Ph.D. I finally started reading it and it’s really making me think about how I interact with my dogs! I’m only about 1/3 of the way through but have already learned a lot about how much what I say and how I react to my dogs undoubtedly confuses the heck out of them.

Even though I know what I’m saying when I talk to my dogs, they may not have a clue since, as she points out, dogs don’t communicate in the same way we do. Duh! It makes perfect sense but we continue to communicate with them in OUR way rather than working with them to bridge the gap in communication styles. It’s quite interesting, and eye-opening.

When I interact with my dogs I may be sending a totally different message than I intended based on how I say something or with my body language. At one point, Ms. McConnell suggests videotaping oneself with their dogs to see what’s they’re doing when they interact. I’m not able to do that but I am trying to be more aware of what I’m saying, how I’m saying it, and what I’m doing with my body when I interact with them. I’m finding out that I don’t always use the same words, the same inflection in my voice, and my body language isn’t consistent – aspects of communication that she addresses in her book. There’s no way I can pick up on all of the minute details they do, but I’m hoping I’ll at least be able to give them some better, more accurate clues as to what I want.
I’m trying to do some of the things she suggests – and hopefully it’ll improve the way my dogs and I talk to each other.

If you’ve read the book – please chime in. I’d love to hear what others have to say. And if you haven’t read it yet, check it out on Amazon – The Other End of the Leash

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