Amazing Dog Behavior. Theories?

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03-14-2007, 02:26 PM
3GSDMom

Amazing Dog Behavior. Theories?

Ok, so my Trav boy has never heard a word of German in his life. (It's a shame since its his native tongue :p )

But one day I went up to him and said "Platz" (Meaning 'down') and what does he do? He lays down!

So then I'm like...Hmm what else? I tell him "Sitz". He listens. But thats an easy one, it sounds just like Sit. lol

So I show my dad, I put Travis into a sit and tell him "Platz" and he does it! My dad thought maybe that Travis just knew what came after sit and assumed that I would tell him to lay down next. So I decided to test that. I had him in a stand and told him "Platz". And what does he do? He lays down! He doesn't even sit first, he goes straight from a stand to a down. At this point my parents and I are amazed. Our faces probably looked something like this ---> :eek:

So then my dad tries it "Travis, Platz" and Travis listens. My mom goes into the other room with Travis, he's in a stand and she gives him the command "Travis, Platz" and he does it!

So I get online and tell my friend about it. (She teaches her GSD in German) and she thinks maybe we are accidentally signaling to Travis? So I have my hands behind my back and just stand there and casually say "Platz" and he does it!

I promise that prior to that incident I never uttered a word of German to him. I do occassionally give him commands in Spanish but never in German. Typing up this post, I turned around and gave him the "Platz" command and he happily complied. LoL.

So yeah....He's no genius, so how did he know what "Platz" meant? Was I unknowingly using some kind of body language that told him what to do? My hands were behing my back, I was standing up straight and stiff, not moving, I wasn't even making eye contact with him. How could he have picked up a signal from me?

Explain? :D
03-14-2007, 02:55 PM
cali

it was not until after saying it several times that you tried with no body language correct? you were probably giving him some sort of non verbale cue before, but by the time you tried without any verbale cue he had already figered out what the word meant, so it didnt matter that you were no longer giving any non verbale cues.
03-14-2007, 02:58 PM
3GSDMom

Not once did I give any physical clues. No hand signals at all. At all times my hands and body were completely still.
03-14-2007, 04:04 PM
chocolatepuppy

I'd say Travis is a genius. ;)
03-14-2007, 04:15 PM
Canis-Lupess

It was probably total coincidence. If you give a dog a command they've never heard and they aren't sure what to do, they'll often try and do something they've already learnt. It might be total chance that he chose the laying down action and then figured thats what he was meant to do being as you didn't correct him in anyway.

There's no way he could have known any other way. Even humans couldn't do that so I very much doubt that dogs can.
03-14-2007, 04:56 PM
binka_nugget

Is it possible that the way you say "platz" sounds like "down"? Not the words themselves.. but the tone? When I give my dogs the "down" command, it's very quick, authoritative, and a bit lower than most commands.
03-14-2007, 05:03 PM
3GSDMom

Quote:

Originally Posted by binka_nugget

Is it possible that the way you say "platz" sounds like "down"? Not the words themselves.. but the tone? When I give my dogs the "down" command, it's very quick, authoritative, and a bit lower than most commands.

That makes total sense :)
03-14-2007, 05:22 PM
Kalei

Hey what would it hurt to believe that Travis is a genius!:D I think he secretly has been taking german classes;) But on a serious note, the last person that replied was probably right...but I"m still going to believe he is a smart Harry Potter dog that is magic and knows german...hehe its so fun:)
03-14-2007, 05:23 PM
Freedom

They just continue to amaze!
03-14-2007, 06:34 PM
3GSDMom

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kalei

Hey what would it hurt to believe that Travis is a genius!:D I think he secretly has been taking german classes;) But on a serious note, the last person that replied was probably right...but I"m still going to believe he is a smart Harry Potter dog that is magic and knows german...hehe its so fun:)

LOL you are too funny.
Once you live with him you will know that he's no genius ;) He is a very intelligent dog but sometimes he does the dumbest things. lol
03-14-2007, 06:36 PM
Kfamr

I was going to say something along of the lines Ashley said.

Sort of like when I tell Kiara to stay for a tennis ball and then fool around with her by saying words similar to her release word - "Okay!" If I say ojay, ofay, olay, etc. in the same tone as "OKAY!" she goes after the ball. ;)
03-14-2007, 06:40 PM
3GSDMom

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kfamr

I was going to say something along of the lines Ashley said.

Sort of like when I tell Kiara to stay for a tennis ball and then fool around with her by saying words similar to her release word - "Okay!" If I say ojay, ofay, olay, etc. in the same tone as "OKAY!" she goes after the ball. ;)

I do agree with the tone thing. It has made the most sense so far. :)

Someone on another forum said that they could say a complete nonsense word and their dog would comply if it sounded close to another command, however I try that with Travis and he looks at me like I'm an idiot. LoL. Sometimes I think he's smarter than me ;)
03-15-2007, 09:16 AM
pitc9

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kalei

Hey what would it hurt to believe that Travis is a genius!:D I think he secretly has been taking german classes;)

There are on line classes to learn a different Language!! :p
Maybe he also knows how to use the computer!! :D

Good Boy Travis!
03-15-2007, 04:04 PM
3GSDMom

Quote:

Originally Posted by pitc9

There are on line classes to learn a different Language!! :p
Maybe he also knows how to use the computer!! :D

Good Boy Travis!

LOL

My friend and I joke that he called her German Shepherd up to get the meaning of those words :D
03-15-2007, 11:45 PM
crow_noir

That is a good theory and has a lot of credibility.

Reminds me of when i read "The other end of the Leash." So much in there was on par with my own thoughts.

I'm glad someone brought up tone of voice even if this doesn't happen to be the case in this instance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binka_nugget

Is it possible that the way you say "platz" sounds like "down"? Not the words themselves.. but the tone? When I give my dogs the "down" command, it's very quick, authoritative, and a bit lower than most commands.
03-15-2007, 11:52 PM
crow_noir

He he... that reminded me of King.

S.O.'s best friend's fiance was over one night. She grew up in Quebec her whole life. French is her native language. She started speaking to King in French and he listened to everything she told him to do. As far as signaling... Almost the whole time she was staring him in the eyes and holding his head in her hands. Just speaking in conversation. She was amazed. "You taught him in French?!" No, I don't even speak any French. So she took him over to the side of the yard and stared straight ahead at a bush and said it all again. He listened to every single thing she told him to do.

I had joked for a year previously that it was a possibility King's father was French Canadian despite what we had been told. ;) That night i figure that had confirmed it. LOL :D

Try reading "Kinship With All Life" by J.Allen Boone. It's a short book and an easy read.

~ ~

Another possibility is the home that he came from trained the pups with German commands. ???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Travis_gsd27

Ok, so my Trav boy has never heard a word of German in his life. (It's a shame since its his native tongue :p )

But one day I went up to him and said "Platz" (Meaning 'down') and what does he do? He lays down!

So then I'm like...Hmm what else? I tell him "Sitz". He listens. But thats an easy one, it sounds just like Sit. lol

So I show my dad, I put Travis into a sit and tell him "Platz" and he does it! My dad thought maybe that Travis just knew what came after sit and assumed that I would tell him to lay down next. So I decided to test that. I had him in a stand and told him "Platz". And what does he do? He lays down! He doesn't even sit first, he goes straight from a stand to a down. At this point my parents and I are amazed. Our faces probably looked something like this ---> :eek:

So then my dad tries it "Travis, Platz" and Travis listens. My mom goes into the other room with Travis, he's in a stand and she gives him the command "Travis, Platz" and he does it!

So I get online and tell my friend about it. (She teaches her GSD in German) and she thinks maybe we are accidentally signaling to Travis? So I have my hands behind my back and just stand there and casually say "Platz" and he does it!

I promise that prior to that incident I never uttered a word of German to him. I do occassionally give him commands in Spanish but never in German. Typing up this post, I turned around and gave him the "Platz" command and he happily complied. LoL.

So yeah....He's no genius, so how did he know what "Platz" meant? Was I unknowingly using some kind of body language that told him what to do? My hands were behing my back, I was standing up straight and stiff, not moving, I wasn't even making eye contact with him. How could he have picked up a signal from me?

Explain? :D
03-16-2007, 05:28 AM
Ginger's Mom

This reminds me of my neighbor's dog when I was in High School. She was bragging to her brother about how smart her dog was, how "puppy" knew what she was saying. Her brother said, she doesn't know what you are saying, she is only responding to your tone of voice. He then said to the dog "do you want a piece of sh*t?" The dog happily jumped up wagged her tail and ran into the kitchen. :eek:
03-16-2007, 06:12 AM
Pawsitive Thinking

Maybe you used the same tone of voice???

I know with my two horrors I can be telling them that they are the most stupid, annoying mutts in the whole world but if I use a kind tone they are standing their wagging their tails :rolleyes: (which kind of proves my point ;) )
03-16-2007, 12:12 PM
3GSDMom

Quote:

Originally Posted by crow_noir

He he... that reminded me of King.

S.O.'s best friend's fiance was over one night. She grew up in Quebec her whole life. French is her native language. She started speaking to King in French and he listened to everything she told him to do. As far as signaling... Almost the whole time she was staring him in the eyes and holding his head in her hands. Just speaking in conversation. She was amazed. "You taught him in French?!" No, I don't even speak any French. So she took him over to the side of the yard and stared straight ahead at a bush and said it all again. He listened to every single thing she told him to do.

I had joked for a year previously that it was a possibility King's father was French Canadian despite what we had been told. ;) That night i figure that had confirmed it. LOL :D

Try reading "Kinship With All Life" by J.Allen Boone. It's a short book and an easy read.

~ ~

Another possibility is the home that he came from trained the pups with German commands. ???

It is much more likely that his breeder talked to the pups in spanish. As they spoke spanish fluently. Which would easily explain why he can understand a bit of spanish. ;)

Tone is what seems the most likely. As i certainly wasn't using any hand signals or even moving for that matter. Also, I wasn't even maintaining eye contact with him.

For now, I'll pretend that our bond is so amazing that he knows what I'm thinking ;)

I'll be sure to check out that book. I'm always looking for something good to read :)