How to Build a Great Bond with Dogs

Dogs are highly intelligent animals. They have both the desire and the ability to communicate with humans. Experts have found that a dog with normal intellectual development can clearly express more than 200 different meanings. We have long known that dogs learn through "classical conditioning" — that is, they learn that a certain action leads to a certain result. However, the American psychologist B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) confirmed that dogs can learn to modify and adjust their behavior based on their own experiences and outcomes. This means dogs are capable of making decisions, recognizing and remembering events, and expressing their intentions. This makes our communication with dogs quite complex and precise. The only problem now is that they cannot speak and can only convey information in their own way. Therefore, if we want to communicate well with dogs, we have to make an effort and act as translators. In fact, it is not difficult to understand the basic meaning dogs are trying to express. The key is to understand their ways of communicating. Among their own kind, dogs use a series of signals to communicate with each other, including various facial expressions, body postures, sounds, and scents. They also use their mouths, eyes, ears, tails, and even paws to express emotions. They use these same methods when interacting with their owners.