Learning to listen with my animal...

Like many people I haven't learned how to listen to my animal very well... but now I am.  Oh, I can tell when she is upset - and playful - and it is clear when she is afraid, too.  But there are a lot more nuances that I am starting to grasp - maybe I'll even become a better listener with two-legged creatures, too - who knows?

There are high-pitched yips that are playful.  There are odd little yelps when she gets hurt (getting stepped on by accident seems to be her specialty.) There are teasing barks - and losing control barks - when she is playing with old dog Casey.  And there are hound dog howls when she is lonely.  Interestingly, how I use MY voice is also important in what she hears - tone and timbre is much more important than the words - given what she learned as a tiny pup.  So there's no gentle, "noooooo honey" when she has an accident.  That's about as effective as the parent in the grocery store cooing to their child, "now time to sit down." Apparently all small creatures need clear and deep toned commands to stop.  (And higher pitched sounds for play and encouragement.)

In a section called "vocal communication," the Monks of New Skete, NY (who specialize in training German shepherds) write:

A dog, like a wolf, generally vocalizes in one of several ways, each apparently tied to various body postures that communicate different meanings and moods: wimpering and whining, growling and barking, yelping and howling all in a variety of tones... (The go on to note that whining is for attention and should not be encouraged.) A growl communicates threat and antagonism.  It is a warning and may be accompanied with a snarl... Domestic dogs bark any time they are excited. Barks are sharp and short and the tonal quality reflects meaning. High barks are associated with greetings... Warning barks are deeper and alert you that something is up.  The aggressive bark is deeper still and communicates threat.  It alternates with growling to send an unmistakable message. Howling is more common in wolves than in dogs. 

Then they write something that blows my mind and I love it:

A howl is a prolonged tone, lasting from 2 to 11 seconds and may fluctuate over a wide range of notes. Each individual wolf's howl is distinct and seems to suggest that individual wolves can be identified by their howl. Specialists feel that wolves howl for a number of reasons: to reassemble the pact after a hunt, to advertise territory or simply as a collective celebratory rite. Wolves howl both alone and in chorus and when they howl together they avoid unison, apparently preferring chord tones.  Dogs howl much less frequently than wolves... (except when the monks sing.) Evidently the harmonies they hear (in chant) encourage them to join in with their own notes.

What a trip, yes?  Makes me think of the breath-taking music of Paul Winter.

Today Lucie and I practiced walking (on a lease) and sitting.  In a few months she'll get it - now there is a lot of practice and even more distractions.  But that's good practice for me.