Amazing Dog Behavior. Theories?

[3GSDMom]

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

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 --->

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?

[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.

[3GSDMom]

Not once did I give any physical clues. No hand signals at all. At all times my hands and body were completely still.

[chocolatepuppy]

I'd say Travis is a genius.

[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.

[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.

[Freedom]

They just continue to amaze!

[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

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. ???

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

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 --->

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?

[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.

[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 (which kind of proves my point )

[3GSDMom]

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

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