My name is “NO NO BAD DOG” Whats yours? (Goofy)
 
Just a funny example of how our dogs interpret what we say to them.
 
When I used to call my dog back I would keep repeating the request adding on more words and getting louder every time I called her back, ‘Come Jessie’  ‘JESSIE COME’  ‘JESSIE COME HERE NOW!’
How does the dog know which one means ‘come over to me’?
 
There are so many different ways that we try to communicate with our dogs and it can get very confusing for them.
It can be tempting to keep repeating the request and to get louder each time we say it. How does the dog know which is the correct request?
 
Thinking about the way we use words to our dogs can help us to give them a better understanding of what we want them to do.
 
‘Sit’      ’Sit’      ‘Sit’   Does that mean the same as ’Sit’?  and adding a down ’Sit down’  Oh no!
 
We have a tendency to keep repeating the request even when the dog has started or has done what we asked. 
 
Well, I am guilty of doing this myself, it is human nature to want to repeat ourselves if we don’t get the right reaction the first or second time we ask. 
 
BUT how confusing would it be for us if someone was speaking to us in a foreign language and kept adding on more words to the same thing, kept repeating the same thing and then started shouting at us!
 

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Date: 07/01/2026