If you want your canine to obey your commands, you may believe that a firm voice is a solution.
According to a new study, however, owners should abandon harsh language and communicate kindly with their pets.
Researchers discovered that dogs responded more accurately to commands when their trainers used a sympathetic voice as opposed to a harsh one.
It is believed that a more pleasant environment relaxes canines, which improves their performance.
The team, comprised of researchers from the Wolf Science Centre at the University of Vienna and the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, observed the behavior of nine mixed-breed canines during 135 training sessions.
Each canine participated in fifteen five-minute training sessions, three with each of the five trainers.
While the pronunciation of commands, such as “sit,” “stand,” and “roll,” was standardized and always spoken in a neutral tone of voice, trainers spoke to the canines differently during the remaining training sessions.
Each interaction was categorized as ‘nice’ if it involved a higher tone, exaggerated affection, or a laugh. ‘Neutral’ if there was little variation in intonation; or reprehensible.
In sessions in which more reprehensible language was employed, the dogs displayed more negative emotional indicators. Such as less tail wagging and less time spent next to the trainer.
However, they also performed poorly, exhibiting fewer precise responses to commands.
According to research author Melissa Bravo Fonseca, a reprimanding tone may affect the dog’s performance.
She stated, “Based on our results, we believe that positive speeches created an environment in which the animals could interact in a relaxed manner, thereby facilitating obedience to commands.”
The use of pleasant speeches has the potential to increase the social responsiveness of the receivers by attracting their attention.
However, stress can damage animals’ cognitive, emotional, and cognitive performance.
“In other words, animals that are stressed or tense will not respond adequately during the sessions.”
Therefore, a tranquil environment may enhance performance.
While all of the dogs used in the study were already familiar with commands (i.e., the training sessions were compliance assessments rather than new learning), study co-author Professor Angelica Vasconcellos believes that similar results would be obtained when teaching dogs new skills.
She concluded, “Our findings suggest that a friendly voice during training promotes performance and positive emotional responses in dogs.”
