Training in multiple forms of communication is very important to successful service dog training and placement. We train all of our dogs from minute one using 3 forms of communication simultaneously. We combine a verbal directive, a hand gesture, and body language. Training with all 3 forms at the same time has a variety of positive influences on both the handlers and the dogs.
First, as service dog providers we don’t know what the end recipient of a dog from our program will be capable of. If they are unable to speak, a dog trained primarily using verbal cues will have a very hard time doing its job. What about if a person does not have hands? What if they are paralyzed? In order to guarantee a successful and effective placement a service dog should be able to communicate fluently with its person in any way that is easiest for them. At the end of the day we are here to make someone’s life easier, not more complicated.
Second, using multiple forms of communication makes training faster and creates a much deeper understanding in both the handler and the dog. Far too often we rely heavily on spoken word communication. I watch as a dog owner is yelling sit while the dog watches confused. Instead of attempting to teach our dogs spoken language why not instead just “talk” dog. Dogs primary form of communication is body language. The way that they move their shoulders, hips, and eyes are far more expressive than a bark. We can use this to our advantage to create strong relationships between our dogs and our handlers. So instead of relying on just one form of communication which may lead to incomplete or mistaken understanding we use spoken words, our language, body language, dog’s language, and hand gestures, which lies somewhere in between. When using all three at once the dog understands what we are looking for and we start to understand what the dog needs as well. This quickly and successfully creates fluency with both parties and builds the foundation upon which any and all tasks can be added.
Third, once the dog starts to truly understand the handler’s body language they will be more apt to consistently check to see what the team’s status is and can react accordingly. This grows the bond stronger as the relationship continues conditioning the dog to change its priority to its handler first and its environment second.
Once the dog and handler are communicating fluently using all three form simultaneously we then remove one during training now only using two at once, then only using one at a time. This helps the dog prepare for whatever form of communication their recipient is most comfortable. As humans we tend to gravitate towards spoken word but we also use our hands fidgeting, or rolling our eyes and crossing our arms. By teaching our trainers how to pay attention to and use all of our forms of communication while training we can speed up the training process and have much more effective placements. Why not use every positive tool at our disposal.