Is teaching a dog commands such as sit, heel, roll over, play dead ect. teaching a dog language?
No, you are simply teaching the dog cues that initiate specific behavior that has been connected to those cues. Dogs primary languages are body language and scent. Verbal language isn’t a communication form for them in normal setting but they can be taught to connect a verbal or more easily a body cue to elicit specific behavior… in the case of obedience training, ‘sit’ means to put their butt on the ground or it can mean something entirely different if you use it to mean something different… say you use ‘sit’ to mean ‘come’ — then when you say ‘sit’ the dog will come to you… He doesn’t comprehend the language at all but just connects that if you say the word and he offers a specific behavior that he gets rewarded for that specific behavior. My dog has learned that ‘platz’ means to lay down on the ground and remain there… I don’t know German nor does my dog but she knows that when I say that particular word the behavior that she needs to do and that is to down instantly and re
In a form it is a “one way’ language of sorts – but it’s more properly called association. The dog is associating the desired command with the signal you provide, whether a hand signal, a sound, a stimulus (electronic collar), your body stance/position, or your verbal commands – or a combination of the above. Another form of association – we think the dog is a genius because he differentiates between when the lady of the house comes home vs. the man of the house coming home. In reality, the dog is discerning the difference in vibration/noise patterns of the separate cars they drive and associating it with the appropriate family member.
