There are many ways you can drive a dog nuts \u2014 and you probably aren\u2019t even aware of them. So if you want to be your dog\u2019s best friend, find out how you can fix your annoying habits.<\/p>\n
Dogs try to be our best friends, but boy do we ever make it difficult sometimes. Here are some of the things we do that might make dogs question whether they want to remain best buds or cut ties completely:<\/p>\n
We\u2019re a vocal species. We love to chatter away, even at our pets<\/a>, who can\u2019t understand the vast majority of what we\u2019re saying. Dogs might be able to deduce what a few key words mean \u2014 walk, treat, toy, off \u2014 and maybe even learn hundreds of words as some border collies have done. But they can\u2019t understand human language. What they rely on to figure out what we mean is our body language. Dogs have evolved to be expert readers of the human body and can figure out what you\u2019re thinking and feeling before you even realize you\u2019re thinking and feeling it. But we can easily send mixed signals if we are only paying attention to what our mouths are saying and not what our bodies are saying. If you go to any beginning dog training class<\/a>, you\u2019ll see plenty of people saying one thing, doing another, and a confused dog trying to figure out what in the world is wanted of them. For instance, telling a dog to \u201cstay\u201d while leaning forward toward the dog and holding out a hand like a traffic cop is, in body language, actually inviting the dog to come toward you. But when the dog does, she gets reprimanded for breaking her stay command. It\u2019s all so confusing!<\/p>\n A great experiment (and something that will probably have your dog sighing with relief) is to try to spend a whole day not saying a word to your dog, but communicating only with your body. You\u2019ll realize just how much you \u201ctalk\u201d with your body without realizing it, how to use your movements and…<\/p>\n