Cody & Duchess Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Yesterday I was out running with Cody. Once we got to the trail - he was off leash. We are out west - when he is off leash, I can see a great distance. It is a ridge line with sloping fields on both side with no roads around. (Did not want you to think Cody is in any danger). Question, I realize that I talk to Cody a lot. Not loud - sometimes supplemented by whistles (from my mouth) or clicking with my mouth like you tell a horse to giddy up . I am telling him he is a good boy when he is doing what I want, or moving him from one place on the hill to another. I do this because I feel it makes a connection between us. We are a team experiencing the run together. When you do agility or sheep - do you give the command and wait for the response or can you chatter? My feed back to Cody is in as low of a voice that will work with him able to hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth77 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I think I talk too much to Meg and not topics related to training all the time. I could tell her what I am going to do or have done. At dog class they said to be careful about chatting too much and try to restrict the talk to commands. That is hard to do when we are together all the time. It will be interesting to see how much chat goes on in other BC households. Yesterday I was out running with Cody. Once we got to the trail - he was off leash. We are out west - when he is off leash, I can see a great distance. It is a ridge line with sloping fields on both side with no roads around. (Did not want you to think Cody is in any danger). Question, I realize that I talk to Cody a lot. Not loud - sometimes supplemented by whistles (from my mouth) or clicking with my mouth like you tell a horse to giddy up . I am telling him he is a good boy when he is doing what I want, or moving him from one place on the hill to another. I do this because I feel it makes a connection between us. We are a team experiencing the run together. When you do agility or sheep - do you give the command and wait for the response or can you chatter? My feed back to Cody is in as low of a voice that will work with him able to hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 When you do agility or sheep - do you give the command and wait for the response or can you chatter? I've been told to shut up while doing both, so... Actually, I do believe you can talk too much, at least in stock work and agility. Too much chatter, and the dog may start to tune you out. You want him to really pay attention when you DO have something important to say. Now, chatter around the house or while we're just goofing off, that's different to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninso Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I chat to my dogs all the time--but usually only about things that involve them! I'm not one to give my dogs a play-by-play of how my day went. If we're working, I make my commands clear--one simple command, and wait for the response--but I am liberal with praise and encouragement. I think my mostly-blind dog Lok has started to really appreciate verbal direction and encouragement more than he used to. When I first adopted him and started working with him, he seemed to find the high, squeaky, happy voice annoying. But now, for whatever reason, he really seems to like when I talk to him, especially in a soft high-pitched voice. I'm not sure if it's his increasing blindness or just that he's come to like it. My deaf dog . . . I talk to her all the time, too, but it doesn't make one bit of difference. I think you can chatter at your dogs too much. If it gets to a point where they're tuning out most of what you say as irrelevant, that could affect their response to commands, I imagine. But I think our border collies like to hear us talk, more than other breeds. Lok, at least, always listens with interest and tries to figure out if what I'm saying has any meaning for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Meier Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I guess I would only worry about it if Cody is not responding to specific words/signals when he really needs to. Sometimes when your dog gets used to you chattering all the time he may not be able to distinguish between what is meaningful and what is meaningless chatter. Also, does the chattering distract him from his task, if you don't say anything does he stop what he is doing to seek your approval, looking to see if he is correct via the noise. With the stock dogs I can't have that, they need to stay on task, respond when I give them a command and know that by me not saying anything that they are right. They can learn to ignore things that I say that hold no real meaning. The noises that have no meaning are the ones that don't get enforced when the proper response is not granted to me, or I'm not expecting a response so I just don't follow up. I use Good Boy/Girl, or "That's it" alot when I am helping others, I am not expecting a response from the dog and actually discourage it, it is more of a marker for the person watching so that they understand that I like what I am seeing, I also explain that to anyone watching that I don't want my dogs to stop and respond, nor do I want to solicet a response from them, to them the words are just meaningless chatter that really is not meant for them. I probably need to stop that habit, but it seems to make the people watching happy to get feedback from me when I see something I like. So, with that said, if it is working for you and Cody and it makes you and he happy don't worry about it, enjoy your dog. If you feel he is a little "Lack Luster" in the response department you can ease back on the extra talk and make sure that all the noises you emit have meaning. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 We talk to Scooter often, as does anyone who visits. Something about those soulful eyes and that face and the way he cocks his head like he's really interested in what you're saying to him. Seems like the most natural thing to do. I know some people who can't carry on a conversation as well as Scooter! LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I talk to Poke more than Ceana because he seems genuinely interested in what I am doing. I don't necessarily tell him how my day went, but I will talk him through what I am doing. I often will hand him something to sniff, say the word for it and then show him what I am doing with it. He seems to really enjoy learning what I am doing, even if he doesn't quite get why. He'll often follow me around while I am doing some sort of chore and tilt is head in the "?" sort of way until I "explain," my actions. He picks up a lot of words this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I don't do any serious work with my dog, but I talk to him constantly. That's how we always treated our dogs, growing up. I mean, I don't say, "I think I'll watch Oprah now..." but I do say, "Let's go upstairs," or "Wanna come on the couch" or "That's yummy, isn't it?!" Things that pertain to my dog's life. I think Buddy has a much bigger vocabulary than dogs whose owners don't chatter to them. And I think a lot of dogs love the interaction. I was out with my neighbor's dog last night, just talking and chattering to her ("What a good girl you are!"), and she just looked at me with such adoration - I think some (most?) dogs know the chatter is a form of attention, and like that. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody & Duchess Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 One last word - my husband laughs at me when I tell Cody or Duchess to do something - they do it promptly and I say thank you - what a good dog. He thinks it is funny that I thank the dogs. They are my buds.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 One last word - my husband laughs at me when I tell Cody or Duchess to do something - they do it promptly and I say thank you - what a good dog. He thinks it is funny that I thank the dogs. They are my buds.... LOL! I always say thank you to Scooter when he does something I want him to do! He seems to appreciate it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCDreamer Posted July 23, 2009 Report Share Posted July 23, 2009 I talk to all of the dogs around the house, because a lot of the time, I'm home alone with them while the rest of the family is working. When I'm training, though, I keep it down. I don't want them to think I HAVE to be talking to them in order for them to work, ya know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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