Most dogs seem to understand simple words such as sit, fetch, stay, eat, outside, ride and treat. Dogs are intelligent animals and studies have shown that dogs can understand words and gestures. Researchers that study canine intelligence have found that dogs may understand over 100 words or more. I also recently read that dogs may possibly be able to count. You may read the following article entitled Dogs' Intelligence On Par With Two-year-old Human, Canine Researcher Says for more information.
Dogs may respond to what they associate the word with. A dog may understand what the word “beef” is because when he was learning the word he would actually get a piece of beef when you said the word. Dogs can associate a word with a specific object or an action or event, such as going out or taking a ride in the car.
Another way that dogs seem to understand us is through our body language. Studies have shown that dogs pick up on human gestures or our tone of voice. It is not only important about what you say to your Poodle, but also how you say it that will help you to communicate. Your pet may be sensitive to your tone of voice. Dogs can usually understand whether you are speaking to them in a happy, sad or angry manner.
Dogs can be very good visual learners like when they learn commands with hand signals in training. Dogs can recognize people's facial expressions. Smiling when you are happy with your dog's training may be a positive reward for your Poodle. If your body language matches what you are trying to communicate to your Poodle it may easier for him to learn and understand.
