Soule: Two Important Words Your Dog Needs To Hear

Click Here to Learn the Words Your Dog Needs to Hear.

The three full-sized Scottish Highland cows with enormous horns circled the paddock. We had just bought these cows and needed them to get in the trailer to bring them home. That was our goal, but the cows had a different goal: to stay out of the trailer.

Having bought lots of cattle, I know that planning is the key to success. When the owner of cattle I’ve purchased says, “I’ll lead them on with a bucket of grain. They’ll follow me right in,” it’s a plan that rarely works.

Sometimes, an owner thinks words will persuade cattle to enter the trailer. At one farm, the owner’s daughter stood outside the pen babbling to the cows. “It’s OK, Bessy. I promise it’s OK. You’ll be fine, Wilma. Just get in the trailer. It’ll be fine. You’ll love your new home….” and on and on as the cows dashed around the pen. They were unpersuaded, and the prattle was annoying me. So I asked the chatterbox to get a halter from the barn – a half-mile away.

The cattle were loaded when she returned from her pointless errand. Quiet does work.

Cows communicate non-verbally and occasionally with vocal moos. A nod of a cow’s horns is a signal to move back. A swishing tail means the cow is annoyed. That’s how cows communicate, and words get in the way. Working with dogs is similar. If you wonder why your dog doesn’t obey you, maybe you're using too many words.

Click Here to Learn the Words Your Dog Needs to Hear.

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Carole Soule is the owner of Soule Coaching. Carole trains cows, and now she also trains dogs and their owners. She can be reached at carole@soulecoaching.com.