“Sorry, boy, I don’t speak dog…” I often joke when Cooper barks at me. Granted, most of the time I know what a certain sound means because, just like any dog person, I can read the signs, from a smily or annoyed facial expression to the way the tail moves, but admittedly, it feels like there is always something else to learn.

I mean do you ever wonder about dog psychology, hidden meanings of their actions and the effect our voice and words have on them? Well, our pups may not understand the words as such – at least, not from the very start of our relationship, but they can sense the sounds and respond to them the way only dogs could.

They say there’s no apparent proof to that, but any words beginning with “P”, “T” and “K”  attract dog’s attention and increase sense of awareness because they sound like a shot.

Although “D”, “G” and “B” words are also of a same “shot group”, they increase dog’s alertness without meaning potential danger.

Words that start with “R” often resemble a softer form of growl and a signal or potential agression while hearing something beginning with “L”, “M” or “N” will cause a sensation of calm and reassurance.

Words starting with “H”, “S”, “Sh”, “F/Ph”, “Ch” and “Z” cause excitement and attention and “J” is the one that stimulates brain activity and ability to analyse the situation and actions.

And whenever you follow the more “harsh” letters with a vowel/vowels except when it results a sound “e” as in “green”, “fig”, “lean” etc., it will soften the overall effect on dogs senses.

So it’s a bit like a secret trick to use when picking a name for your pup, training  or comforting him, or even knowing how to make friends with any dog. So good.