What Is A Dog Whisperer?

What Is A Dog Whisperer? That is the real question
A dog whisperer is somebody who has developed a high level of awareness & understanding of the mind & natural instincts of the dog species. This enables human & dog to form a deep connection free of the lots of constraints humans normally put in the way.


Because us humans & our canines are a different species they regularly encounter difficulties in communicating effectively with each other. They cannot sit down with them & have a conversation over a pleasant cup of coffee, like they would with our human friends. But what can they do? I'll get in to that soon after, but you could say that being a dog whisperer means that you have broken down these barriers of communication & have developed a very actual kind of way communication with canines. A dog whisperer realigns his/her methods of communication so that it matches up with & is relevant to canines.

Regrettably all of human-dog relationships in this world are way, lopsided affairs. It is usually us humans endlessly issuing commands or reprimanding our canines, seemingly oblivious to what our canines are actually feeling & trying to communicate to us. Look at it this way - think of a very dominant, overbearing person you have come across in your own life (in my case it was a boss I had a few years back). This person probably doesn't care much for the way you are feeling & what your thoughts are. They need to get their message across to you & tell you off when you don't reach their standards. When you do try to do or say something they fail to acknowledge your attempts or basically ignore you. How do you feel? frustrated.., helpless.. & probably much worse. I think lots of of our canines live in this type of restrictive surroundings every day. Our canines are constantly reaching out & trying to communicate with their human relatives, but somehow it seems to go unnoticed or at least misinterpreted.

The thing is our canines are continually speaking to us in their language. They communicate with us (& each other) through various means using energy, body language, scent, facial expression, the movement of ears & tail, overall posture & voice (barking, growling). As you can see, most of these signals or expressions are non verbal where is humans communicate in a chiefly verbal manner. What a dog whisperer does is acknowledge the difference between human & dog. A dog whisperer takes a step back, shuts up, observes & understands these gestures our canines continue to express to us. When you do this you cannot help but form a deep connection along with your dog as you will understand his desires & needs & therefore can reply in a manner which is appropriate to the situation, & is expected by your dog. You are communicating, your dog to you, & you to your dog - in lieu of merely issuing & enforcing an order & having your dog "do something for you".

When we are in this position of understanding our dogs it's only logical that we are better placed to address their problems and shape their behavior. A dog whisperer treats a dog as a dog, not as a fluffy four legged human. They respect a dog for what it is and work with mother nature and the natural instincts of the canine species. Sadly most dogs aren't afforded this same respect and level of understanding. Many well intentioned "dog lovers" smother their dogs with affection and the best of everything (toys, treats, fancy beds etc.) but this is not what dogs actually crave. A dog whisperer will provide the species specific, very real needs of the dog so they can live a fulfilling, peaceful, happy and well balanced life.

Picture this all too common scenario. You arrive home from a hard day at the office to find that your beloved dog has once again chewed up the cushions that were nicely decorating the sofa. You're angry. In a raised voice you swear at him/her and tell him how disappointed you are. You then throw your shoe at him as you bend down to pick up the mess. As you are blowing off steam your dog is avoiding you, head down low, eyes looking up almost sheepishly, with tail firmly tucked between his hind legs.
At this point many dog owners look at their dog and say "look at the little bugger, he knows what he's done wrong, just look at how guilty he looks". This is the wrong conclusion to make. Your dog doesn't think like that (like a human) and he doesn't have a clue what you are rambling on about. He makes no connection between the chewed up cushions and your mood.

Dogs live in the present moment, so what he is picking up on and reacting to is your angry energy, raised voice and threatening body language. He may have also learned what the consequences are when you arrive home in this type of mood - he was probably waiting for the shoe to come his way! This scenario is an example of how us humans and our dogs view the very same situation from an entirely different perspective. Dog whispering is about understanding and recognizing that these differences exist, then acting accordingly.