A dog has 5 senses. A dog needs all these senses to be stimulated and impressed by means of the circumstances around and get various emotions in the order to feel and live a full life.
A dog with a lot of positive emotions and impressions in its life feels healthy, vital, interested in life, it makes good socializing with other dogs, pets, people and the owner as well.
Sense of Touch
Dogs are very sensitive for touch. This sensibility is genetically inherent and individual for each living being. Due to this feeling animals have a channel of communication based on touch. As well as wolves, dogs touch each other, lick each other lips, mothers lick their puppies. Thus, on the one hand, they make social contacts stronger, and on the other, they produce hormones to support inner harmony, good mood and feeling. That's why our dogs need caress. But we mean absolutely not that caress, which ladies give to their tiny dogs in enormous amounts. Dogs should not be caressed all the time, it is terrible for them. It goes about short, episodic, tender caress of a dog. For dog it means: 'It is me! We are the members of one flock! It is very good to have you by my side!' For dog not to feel lonely it is enough to sit by its side for some minutes and caress whispering some tender words ones or twice a day. Sometimes a dog comes up itself asking for attention. Do not ignore it. Spend a couple of minutes to caress it. You will admit, that this short contact gives a lot of pleasure and happiness to your dog and you as well. As the result, you relax, get a good mood, and there is a tiny feeling of happiness deep inside your heart. Caress a dog by slow, light moves.
The best parts to caress are chin and chest. This way is the most natural. Sharp moves, that as 'gang up' on a dog, may scare it and even cause aggression. Many dogs hate it to be embraced and caressed on a head. They turn off, lick itself, or just turn sight off. These are the sights of reconciliation. If the owner does not react these sighs, a dog may lose patience and start aggressive actions. It is extremely dangerous when this 'caress' is coming from a child! But taking into account that we are people, and we cannot go along without embraces, showing our love to our dogs, in many cases they use to it and bear it well.
Sense of Smell
It is very important for a dog to smell. The dog brain smell area is so
huge, that we can call it the most important sense of a dog. Smells are
not only give a dog main information about the surrounding world, but
also a lot of vitally important positive emotions, and excite its mental
activity. This quality is the base for creation of a separate course of
training, that pointed to develop mental abilities of dogs and cure of
its psychic.
In daily routine we often give something to a dog to smell. If you come
home with full bags a dog will be interested to smell it over,
investigating everything you have brought. Bring your dog to different
places where it can get new smell impressions and diverse feelings of
natural smells, for example, into the woods, garden or park. While such
smelling investigation a dog should be walked off leash or on a long
leash that would allow a dog to move free and smell everything it needs
without limitation of its moves. I often watch a dog walking on a short
lead (3-5 ft) pulling on a leash all the time trying to smell ground or
subway. But the owners, without understanding their dog, crying at their
pet and pulling their leash to keep a dog closer. If they would take
into account the natural dog's instinct to smell free and took a longer
leash, they would eliminate the problem immediately. It would be perfect to walk a dog off leash in a free area to make it run enough an to play interactive games with rubber balls on rope.
Many dog owners have no patience to wait until their dog smells an interesting area of ground over. they pull on a leash and cry at a dog, or just pull a dog behind. A couple of seconds needed for a dog to smell something interesting will not spoil your plans for a day. Of course, if I spend 2 hours walking a dog in the woods off leash and on the way back home he still wants to smell everything around I can command 'No!' and show that we have to go. Because there are a lot of smells and a dog can be willing to smell really long! The most important point I care of, is to create harmonious feeling of my dog that it is satisfied with smells. Then at some moment or situation I can command 'No!' because I am sure that my dog gets enough impressions for his sense of smell.
Walking a dog in a city, be attentive, that a dog reacts very sharp and negative to city smells, that are unnatural for animals (like car exhaust). That's why do not demand strict obedience of a dog in city surroundings. It is a very stressful situation for a dog. I try to avoid walking a dog along a highway.
Sense of Sound
Dogs have incredible sense of sound. Moreover, they interpret sounds of a
definite pitch and tone. That's why high, long tone sounds means praise
for them. Low, short sounds are interpreted by dogs as aggression,
discontent and act as a brake for dog actions. Frequently repeated
sounds of medium timbre stimulate a dog, make its actions quicker.
Squeak and yelp irritate a dog. That's why we should talk to dog with
glad mood. This tone may serve as a praise in any situation, while low
tone may be expression of your discontent. For example, if I want my dog
to stop hunting a fly, I tell him sharp and with a low tone: "RI-LEY!"
At the same time I call him to come by frequent tapping my leg and ask
him to sit. I do the same to stop his trying to crawl on a sofa
(breaking actions with a strict low tone and asking to do an alternative
action).
Once upon a time I met an owner of a blind dog who asked to help her to settle a contact between her and her dog. She understood the principles of control over the tone of voice and its pitch and learned to get understanding with her dog very quickly. Her whispering in combination with a command 'Sit' made a dog to be quiet when it was excited. Moreover, she learned to support her dog in difficult and dangerous situations. Thus, the blind dog succeeded to break its fear to walk on stars.
It is important for dogs to hear your talking to them! It may be a rare, but calm talking of the owner or a simple describing of some situation. But it should never be a strict long and harsh crying or yelping on a high pitch! Medium timbre and calm soft voice. A dog will listen to you with attention and understand that you are communicating exactly to him/her, and it will be important for a dog to understand what do you want to express.
Dogs does not like loud music, because they hear it much cleared and louder with their incredible sense of sound, than we, people. Take it into account, when you switch on the radio or music at home. Respect a dog will to stay alone far from irritating sound of music or your loud guests.
Dogs are quite irritated with city noise. Do not walk your dog along a highway. If you appeared at a highway, try to understand dog's stress and do not demand strict obedience. Dog may be scared, irritated, and its nervous system may be overloaded with the stressful situation of so many unnatural smells and sounds.
Strict, rude voice of an owner may scare a dog and brake its actions.
But somehow some dog owners suppose it is the way to talk to a dog! At
least, we have to believe that dog owners and trainers will learn the
main information about dog senses and understand that they themselves
cause bases for misunderstanding with a dog trying to get dogs obedience
without understanding their feelings.
Sense of Sight
Variety of sight impressions is important for dogs as well as for us, people. Take your dog for a walk in the woods, park, field. Let it see the nature in all its natural manifestations, images and colors. Let it see other dogs, animals, insects but not only the city and home walls. It is proved that dog brain structure is identical with the human brain and they react to the rays of light the same way we do. That's why color therapy is used for dogs with the same success as for people.
Dog eyes have different structure from human sight. Dogs cannot see objects on long distance. They better see moves on long distance. that's why if a dog is on a long distance from you, it is better to move if you want your dog to see you. Dogs cannot see clear in darkness. That's why even meeting a familiar dog in a darkness, your dog may become aggressive and alert until the dog will come closer for recognizing. I admitted, that in darkness my dog gives more bright sighs of reconciliation. For example, if in a day light they lick and turn their heads, in the darkness they may lay down waiting for an other dog to come closer. Dog owners should understand it and do not punish a dog for sudden stop or irritation.
Sense of Taste
Dog need to taste different food with various tastes, and these tastes should be natural. As well as you cannot eat the same food for several days. Plain feeding, especially with canned food or dry food is the reason of many diseases of digestive system and psychic problems of a dog.
