We've only had Tanner a month (my SomethingOrOther mutt), and I've learned she's very sensitive to the tone of my voice. I'm a very animated person. If I get excited, my voice is LOUD. While people understand when I'm happy-excited because I'm talking, I have to remember how voice translates to dogs.
Tanner gets very upset if she senses I'm upset or stern. At one point when I got frustrated after a several days of trainining when she wouldn't sit after she sat on command previously, I said very sternly, "Tanner, SIT!" She crawled up to me and rolled over on her back.
"Tanner, SIT!! I think she may have been abused at her previous home - she looked like she expected to get hit, with her eyes bulging out and her ears back, and she was cowering.
I didn't move my hands like I was going to hit her, but I've learned I have to keep a very calm, soft voice when training her. I've learned she's
very good with calm voice commands, and that's what I should be doing, anyway.
So I'm having to train myself to train my dog.
