Tone of Voice Key When Teaching Your Dog to Come When Called

“Daisy! Get over here! Daisy! DAISY!”

I often hear my neighbor angrily screaming for his dog when she won’t come back to him. The pitch of his voice is deep enough to cut through closed windows, and if the windows are open, it sounds like he’s in my house. Noise pollution aside, I wish my neighbor would rethink his recall strategy.

Consider this … if someone angrily shouts your name, are you eager to respond?

Now I’m not suggesting that you need to sing to your dog in order to get him to respond to a recall, but I am saying that your tone of voice conveys much more than you realize. A dull, flat tone will probably elicit a lackluster response from your dog. A grumpy voice – like my neighbor’s – certainly won’t encourage a joyful canine response. In fact, I’m not surprised that Daisy takes her sweet time returning to her person. Based on his tone, who knows what awaits her when she gets back to him? Maybe if he had taken the time to adequately train Daisy to come when called he wouldn’t wind up so rage-y and bitter sounding. (Blaming her, I’m sure, for his training shortcoming.)

Think about the tone of voice you use when communicating with your dog, particularly when you’re calling him. A happy voice (plus thorough training) works wonders.