Children need to learn to speak our language. Mothers are encouraged to talk away to babies from the moment they are born to help them learn the language. I guess we're conditioned (or hard-wired) to view this talking as a display of affection.

Dogs on the other hand have their own language - largely body language. The poor little things not only have to learn to live with humans that haven't the first clue about THEIR language but also they are flooded with 'white noise' while they struggle to understand little bits of our langauage. They are incapable of learning the intricacies of our language so why bombard them with it? It's much easier for the dog to learn to understand us if you only use the few words that you need it to understand when conversing with him.

Now if you have a dog that for some reason likes the sound of your voice prattling on about nothing then there's no reason not to do it. But I was gob-smacked to discover that talking was stressing my dog. Making her unhappy. Making her not want to work with me. Making her itchy!!! It really wasn't at all aparant until I stopped talking. I find it hard - it feels as if I'm not letting my dog know I love her. But my dog doesn't see it that way. I think to my dog it's just a huge relief that suddenly we can communicate much more clearly.

That makes so much sense now.
I oftn go for walks with Dennis and yap at him like there's no tomorrow (the neighbours definitely think i'm crackers), but now you mention it it all become clear. On those evenings like tonight when i wear my i-pod while we're out he is so much beter behaved. I just walk and he just follows. Inever have to call him to catch up, which I do when i'm yapping at him. I just normally think he's dawdling. I guess he's not. I guess he just doesn't want to hear my yapping at him!

Yep - I chatter away to my dogs...I also talk to them a lot of the time they are training - I encourage them on and tell them when they are wrong.......what is wrong (IMO) is people who 'nag' thier dogs....Sit, sit, sit, Milly sit, come on, sit SIT SIT!! drive me mad! (Or over use of the dogs name...thats another bug bear!)

But I talk to my guys and I think verbal reinforcement is a big part of my training....Good girl, does not cut it for my guys...it has to eb YES, SO clever, What a great girl,......, yes, thats right,,,yes....GOOD! (Termination word)

Once i trained Nellie & tara to change direction on walks by hand signals, that was quite funky.

I do talk to them but not all the time,

If you talk willy nilly why should they listen to you when you really mean it.???

My worse pet hate is overuse of the dogs name!!!!

i remember taking an agility workshop with a great trainer,we trained our dogs without saying a word to them,it was all by body language,the results were amazing!

so true!! mine is .....sitdown,sitdown,SITDOWN.(i hate the words combined anyway)

...Or....Sit....Sit...SIT (dog jumps up) DOWN....Sit, Sit....Ok (asking the dog to lie down) ..down...DOWN!

Found this interesting-I am always talking to Hatti-sorting out the world, telling her where we are going walking, what i'm having for lunch etc. etc. etc.- just out of curiosity i'm not going to natter to her anymore (which i will find hard to do!!) except for commands to see what happens-should be interesting

oh im always talking to Pepsi, we have such a good bond. But i dont talk to her much on walks unless im giving her directions

I talk to Sasha all the time . . . . she's my therapist . . . . any problems I have she listens too, any gripes at work or at home she listens too . . . . . she always agrees with me, never moans or wants to argue with me . . . . . unlike the rest of the family . . . .