All Canine Command clients are taught three types of posturing-command, correction, and recall. Posturing in the dog training context means learning how to use your facial, vocal and body movement to communicate effectively with your dog. Posturing is critical for human-canine communication since dogs are incredibly sensitive to human facial, vocal and body movement! Their hearing is four times more sensitive than humans. They can detect our movement from far away! They can read our infrared heat (cells at the tip of their nose) as well as chemical/pheromone emissions (vomeronasal organ at the roof of their mouth). All of these super senses make them finely tuned to decipher our mood and emotions well beyond the capability of any human.
Now new research by animal behaviorists at the University of San Paulo, Brazil confirms the existence of an incredibly intimate behavioral evolution between dogs and humans. The researchers concluded that “Facial communication plays a crucial role in the social cognition of several animal species and the ability to rapidly distinguish between positive and negative facial expressions may be fundamental to success” …. “This is particularly relevant to domestic dogs who live in mixed species groups with humans, a species that relies extensively on visual signals for communication.” The research team has found that dogs can accurately match recorded human speech patterns with corresponding facial expressions.
Canine Command clients learn to use congruent posturing (consistent and matching facial/vocal/body language) around their dogs which are markedly different when giving commands versus corrections versus recalling. Effective owner posturing supercharges the communication and bond between the owner and his four-footed friend!! It’s gratifying to know cutting-edge research is validating Canine Command training methods!
