In a study done by an international team of researchers found that when people listened to their own voice in a headset altered in real-time to sound happy, sad, or neutral, their emotional state changed accordingly to how they sounded. Dr. Petter Johansson, a researcher from Lund University and one of the study’s authors “The voice is one of our main channels of emotional expression, and the results of this study indicate that when we speak we do not just influence others but also ourselves,” he continued, “In a sense, we listen to our own voice to find out how we feel.”
In many international cultures they tend to use an angry, aggressive, irritable or condescending tone of voice when asking them to do something. I have also noticed the tone change in males versus females.
When we use a negative tone while training and interacting with our dogs can actually decrease your general sense of well being as well as can influence the way you perceive your dog. Tone decided how you feel not only about yourself but especially your dog while training.
Could how you talk to your dog affect your perception of your dog?
By Using a irritated, demanding or aggressive tone, you could actually create an image of your dog who is stupid, lazy, defiant, or downright despicable. But when you use a respectful, upbeat tone of voice you then create an image of a trusted friend. How you perceive your dog is how you shape your relationship and bond with your dog.
Does your tone of voice affect your dog’s emotional state?
The best scenario is to use a happy upbeat tone of voice, a good training plan and the correct reinforcement to motivate a dog. This will produce perky ears, eyes confidently focused on you and an expression related to the anticipation of something good happening. On the other side a threatening tone of voice can produce a slew of appeasement gestures and stress signals. These include ears pulled back, paw lifts, lip licks, yawning, frequent blinking, looking away, tension in the face, a suddenly gaping mouth, a head lowered similar to hunching, a chin raised up in a submissive posture, fidgeting, frustration related behaviors, vocalizations and/or acting goofy. As I have always said to all my clients all dogs are different and will vary how they look when they feel uncomfortable as well as how they feel when they are confident and motivated. Some dogs can actually habituate to the sound of an angry voice, while others do not.
The best thing to do is to observe your dog’s natural behavior and to try to achieve in their training the same expression that their dog makes when he’s enjoying himself or relaxing.
But there is also Body Language
Most dogs find it intimidating to be leaned over, as well as having visual cues done extremely close to their face especially in an aggressive manner. Interestingly, these are the same behaviors that make most humans feel uncomfortable as well. This is just my opinion, but I also believe using intimidating body posture also affects our own state of mind negatively as well as affects the way we see and experience dogs. On the left the Border Collie has a natural ear position, while on the right the dog has pulled his ears back and lifted his chin.
Reasons to consider using a positive tone of voice:
- Fairness. If the dog finds an intimidating tone of voice punishing, there is no way for him to avoid it by doing the right behavior, as the punishment comes before he knows what you want him to do. Instead, you can get your dog to want to do what you want him to do, by motivating him with Positive Reinforcement.
- It could be affecting your own mood.
- You could be giving off a negative vibe to other people around you. Most people find an aggressive, irritable or condescending tone of voice a negative experience even when the tone is not directed at them.
- It could send a message to others that your dog might not listen to you if you do not use an intimidating tone