Well, I just hate it when I mess up. And I did… instead of clarifying something I confused it. Sigh. Let me see if I can do a better job this time:
In my last post I talked about saying “Ready” before I lifted Will’s paws to clean them, and how valuable I felt it was to communicate to a dog what you are about to do. Readers responded (so beautifully I might add) with their own examples of the value of communicating one’s intention rather than always just giving a “cue” asking the dog to perform an action. All good so far, and if you haven’t read the comments yet, I’d advise you do so, because there are so many good ideas about how to help your dog prepare for what is about to happen. (I liked them so much I printed them out.)
At the end of the post I labeled this as “meta-communication,” which is defined as “communication about communication.” The example I gave, correctly, was a play bow in canine communication, which is taken to mean: “Don’t take these growls and bites seriously . . . I”m just playing.” A verbal equivalent in our own species is “Hey, I’m just joking!” or “Pay no attention to what I say in the meeting: I don’t necessarily believe it but I’m saying it for a reason.”
Meta-communication is an interesting aspect of communication, and there well may be some good examples of it in our communication with dogs, but the one I used was not one of them. Several discerning readers were right on when they questioned how I was using the concept. “Ready” doesn’t really say anything about how to interpret my next actions or words. Rather, it clues the dog into something that is about to happen. Such a signal is, I believe, incredibly valuable, but it is not an example of communication about communication, it is an example of communicating what is about to happen. Very different things. So, here’s a question for you: Can you think of an example that really IS meta-communication from you to your dog? Here’s one of mine that might be: On occasion I’ll actually say in a very quiet voice: “Will, pay attention now, this is important.” (Does he have a clue what I am saying? Doubtful to say the least, but I suspect that my tone and demeanor suggest to him that my next words need to be taken more seriously than usual.)
Meanwhile, back on the farm: It’s been quite a week. I admit to be a tad distracted by the wonder of spring and a number of other activities, troubles and joys. My sister’s brief visit was exquisitely wonderful, the silo came down with only moderate angst and minor problems (a large wooden feeder got smished, it took 4 loads of gravel and dirt to fill the hold, even after all the cement staves were pushed into it) . . .
. . . waves of avian migrants appeared (from Rufous-sided Towhees to Blue-winged Warblers), the electric fences were successfully moved and tested, buckets and buckets of weeds were rudely jerked out of my flower gardens, time was spent constructing the last exam for my UW course, poor Jim ripped the bulk of his bicep into two pieces, and oh yeah, no surprise to discerning readers, I bought a puppy. Coming home Saturday. Oh my.
Joan says
OH…MY…GOSH what a cute puppy! Congrats! My BC pup Bailey is 9 months old now and has been(of course!)a pain at times, but oh, so much fun… and the getting up every couple of hours and the chewed up shoes,etc. are well worth having such a precious little one in the family. More pictures and details, please?
B. Bolander says
Oh lord, and a tricolour too, the BEST kind. Already has that ultra-serious ‘let’s get to work’ look, too.
Carrie says
Congratulations on the new addition. 🙂
In response to:
“So, here
Shannon says
I give my dog a last warning for an undesirable behaviour, as in “ok mister, that’s your last warning” before a consequence happens such as he gets put outside or has to take a time out (negative punishment, correct?). I agree that it’s probably the tone that my dog responds to rather than the words.
Pup is adorable! What gender? Have a name yet?
Taryn says
Congratulations! Puppy love definitely speeds the healing of a grieving heart!
Kristine says
Congratulations on the adorable new puppy! Yay! That little photo has made my day. I can’t wait to hear all about it.
Michelle says
I had a comment but it totally flew out of my mind when I saw the cuteness that is that puppy. Congrats on your new puppy! Brace yourself! I can’t wait to hear about his/her adventures!
Oh right…the comment.
I think, maybe, this counts as meta-communication but perhaps only because at this point Dahlia seems to know what is going to come next (maybe that’s the point?). I always say “Dahlia, tell me something…” which will suddenly get her to sit up and look at me, ears up, tail starting a little bit of wiggling. And then I follow it up with a “want to” question: walk, ride, go to the doggy mall or go to training class — all of which are exciting for her and all of which results in the expected explosion of doggy excitement.
The words “tell me something” aren’t a command and are meaningless on their own, but she knows that they mean something awesome is going to happen.
Nelson says
Congratulation on the puppy! Amazing how the heart always makes room to fall in love again, despite what always feels like the worst heartbreak ever.
My dogs like to play chase, but for obvious reasons, this can create problems. However, I’m not a complete party pooper so, if I say “I’m gonna get you” in a sing-song voice with a crouch and my pathetic human imitation of play bowing, everyone seems to understand the game is on!
Donna in VA says
Here’s my best idea: I give the command “sit”. If the dog sits, he gets a happy “Good Boy!” (you just did what I wanted). If instead he lays down or wanders off, I say “Uh Oh” in a tone of dread (you just messed up).
Mel says
I’ve been thinking about this meta-communication stuff a lot. I may have an example. I was training my Lab for scent detection work, to find lost dogs and cats. Unfortunately, this required encouraging a lot of behavior that I otherwise would not like to see- she had to learn to open doors, to not leave well enough alone, and to go where her nose led her, preferably dragging me along behind her. At the same time (unfairly to her) she was my obedience demonstration dog- so what does it look like when an obedience demo dog is dragging her owner all over the place?
So I started a ritual for her. I’d put on her vest and suit her up, and then myself, and then I’d say “Are you ready to work?” After I said that, all obedience fluff was out of the window- she knew she was expected to pull and run and follow the scent wherever. The only thing that stuck was that she always had to come when called, no matter working or not (safety first!) So I think in her case (could be wrong) “Are you ready to work” might have been meta-communication to signal her that the most important thing was to find the cat or dog, not to look good to the public eye.
What an adorable pup, too!
Ravana says
Puppy!!!
Okay, that’s out.
And I DO do that kind of meta-communication if I’m reading correctly. When I am going to do something silly (and to a very sensitive dog often disturbing) I will look at him, raise my eyebrows and widen my eyes real big. He then gets all wiggly and waits to see if he can join into the silliness.
Debby says
I am sorry about Jim’s arm I hope he mends well
And I am so happy for you and Will and Jimto have a new member of the pack. How exciting! Please tell us more soon. I wonder how Willie is going to react?
LynnSusan says
Oh my, Trisha, is right!—I burst into tears seeing that little face—happy tears/mourning tears for Lassie,because a new life will follow her paw prints. I always think a new dog is a tribute to the dog who came before—that love just needs to be shared again to stitch back the rend in your heart. Breathe in that puppy breath and be jubilant!
I’m not sure this is an example of meta-communication, but I frequently use the “Look at me” command right before I ask Gracie to do something. It is her attention-getter, and she gamely trots toward me, even if she is interested in a squirrel or deer drops, or some other tantalizing thing, at the time.
Dana says
I have agility dogs and if they are not into what we are doing I give them a few moments to be silly and then tell them it’s time to focus.
Bryan says
Awww…that pup looks like a foster we had a couple years ago. We called him “Chunk.”
Metacommunication occurs in all of our interactions with our dog whether we are explicitly conscious of it our not. The phrase “communication about communication” seems a bit misleading. Metacommunication is not just verbal communication setting up the context for what follows. It is also the underlying cues we give about what we’re saying such as the tone we use or our body language. Saying “bad dog” in happy upbeat tone will probably have a different effect than saying “bad dog” in your serious “you know what you did tone.” The reason is that your tone has changed the meaning of the sounds you are making.
Some of what I read above strike me more as conditioned response interactions. Not necessarily metacommunication. But like it our not, everyone’s using it and our dogs have the horribly difficult time of trying to learn it.
Here’s an explicit example of metacommunication as it relates to my dog Mason: Mason knows that if I say “touch” he should touch his nose to the open hand at my side (the other hand usually has a treat). If I give the “touch” command with both my hands behind my head, it will confuse him. By having my hands behind my back, I’ve changed the context and the meaning of the “touch” command. A meaning he doesn’t know. The open hand gesture is metacommunication and it gives him the context that he needs to understand the command.
Bryan says
Funny… I re-read my example, and the first thought was “Hey, all I’m pointing out is another conditioned response.” Mason is conditioned to touch an OPEN HAND at my SIDE when he hear’s touch. My earlier comment about the tone of the voice we’re using is probably a better example. Ugh…communication was never my forte.
Alexandra says
Ouch – I hope Jim heals up soon, that sounds incredibly painful. Congratulations on the new puppy, though, it is adorable.
I am not sure if this is an example or not, but often I say “ok guys” to my dogs when I get up from my computer and go do something else. I think it’s the act of my pushing my chair back as much as speaking… I’ve noticed that Copper tends to leap to his feet the second my rear leaves the chair. That something else might be a walk, agility training, a car ride, a bath for dogs, or cooking dinner, but the dogs certainly assumes it involves them and generally give me their undivided attention.
Anne J says
You’re going to have to write a puppy column. Girl, boy? Name? Where coming from? Relative of anyone we know? He/she is sure a cutie.
I guess my other example was not meta communication, but am having trouble coming up with anything for sure. How about when you tell a dog how to do something as opposed to what to do? For example, I will tell Ben “Easy, Go bye” . The go bye tells him what to do, the easy was telling him how to do the go bye. And he will go slower with the easy that without it.
Ignacio says
That’s one good-looking pup!!!
Don says
What a darn sweet looking pup!!!
Kat says
Before training, or carting or 4-H with TheBoy we’ll say to Ranger, “Let’s go to work.” From the location and what equipment we’re packing he knows which kind of work. If I’m understanding things right he’s receiving two types of meta-communication one the verbal “let’s go to work” and two the visual of the equipment. This communication is followed by a host of other commands and cues relevant to the specific activity. And this meta-communication tells him which rules/behaviors apply. In carting, for example, he’s not to lay down when he’s in harness and sitting is discouraged. One day I suited him up then discovered that something was messed up on the cart and I’d need to fix it before we could set out. I told Ranger to down and wait without really thinking about it–it’s the command I most often use when he needs to stay put in a potentially hazardous situation. Ranger barked at me, one sharp woof, and didn’t lay down. It took me a second to realize why but when I did I told him he was right and a very smart and clever dog then walked him to where I could stand on his leash while I fixed the cart. It’s sort of like the play bow example. Just as the play bow communicates that everything after this is play the combination of “let’s go to work” and the equipment tell Ranger to process all further communications as the specific activity until released by “that’ll do” and removal of the equipment.
Puppy is adorable. I’m looking forward to learning about him and how he fits into your family.
Pike says
Ouch – good biceps healing to Jim.
Now, spring and puppy energy… it doesn’t get much better than that!
Pamela says
Congratulations on the new puppy! I wish you all many hours of joy together.
I think the example of a play bow is the best example of meta communication I can think of with a dog. Since spoken language isn’t their first choice, our attempts to communicate with them about communication in English (or whatever language) are unlikely.
Maybe we should be looking at our body language that communicates something about what we’re saying to a dog.
My puppy Honey would get overly excited when I “yipped” to get her to stop biting me or my clothes. Although I sometimes make barky or growly noises with her when I’m playing, when I want her to stop biting me, I knit my eyebrows and raise a lip before making a little growl. I think the eyebrows and the lip are the meta communication and the growl is the communication.
It’s so effective, I’m thinking of trying it on my colleagues when our next staff meeting goes a little long. : )
Jennifer Hamilton says
Sometimes I whisper my dogs name when there’s a lot going on. That seems to result in both of us focusing on each other and drowning out everything else…at which point I whisper a command that I want her to follow. I don’t know why it works, but it helps both of us.
Here’s a question…is the Premack principle meta-communication? When I say “Ready, Set, Go” am I communicating that I need her to take on the next command with enthusiasm and speed?
Susan S. says
Ok, in regard to Bryan’s example, can’t the communication be spoken & the meta-communication be silent? We know that dogs are usually more attuned to our body language than to what we say. I think how I look at my dogs conveys to them how serious I am about what I’m asking/telling them to do, & it can be a communication about not just one command but about several. I might straighten up a little, look right at them, make my eyes big, & then say “come here, sit down, & stay” & they’ll know I mean business. I’m aware of this now that my old dog is almost deaf. Since they both know hand signals, when I want them both to do the same thing I often tell them silently, & my bearing toward them determines how quickly they respond.
Liza Lundell says
Congratulations on the new puppy! My newbie is just over 4 months now. You are gonna have some kind of fun!
Maggi says
Meta: more comprehensive, transending
I think that a meta communication could be a verbal or a physical sign that there is more communication to follow..regardless of what form the latter occurs in.
For example:
For my easily startled and slightly reactive dog, Cracker, I am constantly on the lookout for ‘the man who appears suddenly”, “the dog that you SHOULD be calm about” , “the canada geese that make you bark” or the “good friend of yours”.
When I see any of these things, or know we are coming upon them before SHE does…I say
“Who’s that??” in a happy but not too excited tone. She doesn’t know WHAT she will see, could be a scary could be a happy thing, but she gets prepared and is then less startled by the appearance of the “thing”. The next cues from me would be specific to the ‘thing’ itself and give her a clue as to what I expect from her…be that “look at that!” or “Go say hi” or ‘Let’s go!”
It is to her a signal something will happen (usually paired with food for classical conditioning) rather than having the visual startle occur.
It’s still a work in progress. I have developed eagle eyes AND eyes in the back of my head..maybe I’m turning into a dog myself? LOL
Maggi says
Oh dang, I forgot the C in transcending..obviously the eagle eyes don’t work for proofreading….
cathy says
You mentioned “I’m joking” as being a meta communication in our species. Although it is slightly different from the above usage, we’ve had two dogs with whom we’ve used the phrase “It’s a joke”. Accidentally or on purpose, we taught them a slightly different meaning for the term with different results. It’s hard to remember exact situations, but with Max, an extremely “verbal” dog, the phrase meant that something I just led him to believe would happen isn’t going to happen. Like the human going over to the leash and then deciding not to go outside and saying “It”s a joke”. I’m sure the context and delivery had something to do with it, but he didn’t like that term at all.
With Biscuit, we’ve used “Its a joke” when something unusual and funny happens and his reaction is a happy one. Like if the cat tried jumping up on something and fell off or if there was a big noise or if we are playing fetch and the ball lands on top of a table . There is that moment of surprise for all of us and then relief and then “It’s a joke” to let him know it’s OK. Another time we often use it is when he gets to do something unusual and fun, like getting to go OUT through the front gate and coming IN the house with us through the garage instead of just meeting us inside at the kitchen door. That’s a “joke” at our house. The phrase is probably more for the humans than the dogs, and I’m sure there is a lot of nonverbal communication going on but it has been a good one to use with a not so confident dog like Biscuit.
Amy says
Congratulations on your puppy! I’m looking forward to reading about your trials and tribulations in puppyhood. I added an Aussie puppy to our 1 adult Aussie household. I’m in great company now.
I have an inadvertent metacommunication example between me and my 2 dogs: Over the weekend, when we weren’t paying attention, our 4 month old Aussie hit a jackpot by jumping onto our dining table and inhaling a big bowl of pasta salad. Since then, she has been eyeing and trying to countersurf for any other goodies. We have gotten better about interrupting her or calling her off when we see signs that the little wheels in her head are spinning. My metacommunication to her is “Poppppyyyy…” Which means, “don’t make me come over there to physically remove you.”
Our 4yo Aussie is incredibly attuned to my emotional life. She is always trying to make things better for me when she senses tension. Sometimes she picks up my tension before I’m aware of it. Her best trick to soothe me is to hop in my life and to put her head firmly against my neck – a great carotid massage.
Tonight, when she heard my annoyed voice to our puppy, who was countersurfing,she went over and gave her a firm correction by growling and snapping at her. Our puppy has avoided the dining table for the rest of the night 🙂
So, I indirectly sent metacommunication to my adult Aussie, who effectively and directly communicated to our puppy to knock it off. Yay!
Dana says
Congratulations on the puppy and the joy it’ll bring!
carla says
What an adorable face! Congrats!
Great discussion too.
Teri says
What a tease! A few puppy details please :o).
Would just using our dog’s name be considered meta-communication? I don’t always use his name before a command but I do find when in a more excited state that using his name before the command gives better results then just saying the command. Kinda like a little step to help activate the brain to hear the next words.
Jana says
Well, I don’t know if this is an example you’re looking for, but with Jasmine we need to qualify many of our actions. She is really reading into everything we do, particularly when it’s about time to go for a walk etc. She know when we’re THINKING walk without moving or saying anything at all. But she also jumps on any slightest clue which might mean that finally we might be getting ready. It gets so bad that even certain way I run fingers through my hair, certain way I put away a cup gets her all excited. Every such time I need to explain that we are not quite going yet.
This happens with her a lot. Is that what you mean?
Melanie S says
My first thought when I read this post was to wonder if Tone of Voice is meta-communication or just plain ol’ communication. If a direction/cue/command is given in a bright, happy tone, or delivered in a deeper, firmer, ‘brisk’ tone are those tones meta-communication or just straight out communication about the attitude or state of mind of the speaker?
Liz F. says
When on quiet trails that intersect roads, I say, “Road,” to my off-leash dogs, in a very slow, serious voice. Through ritual, we have established this to mean settle down, slowly approach road, and no one go anywhere till I cross first (at which point I give the commands “Okay, quick,” aka release and run!)
I’m enjoying thinking about all the nonverbal communication examples given here, lots of food for thought.
What a week, and what a cute little pup!
I’m as excited as everyone to read more.
Liz F. says
Oh, just thought of another possible example: when petting my dogs, I often say, “Love Nala, or Love Helix,” with the hopes that I can teach them our word for that glorious concept of love. What I think this might actually do is set my touching apart from other contexts like grooming. So hopefully they take “Love” to mean: thank heavens she’s not going to start poking and prodding, this is for my enjoyment only!
DebraS says
Congratulations on your puppy. What a beautiful face.
Jane says
You are wicked with that “I bought a puppy” as if an afterthought. But you made up for it with that photo. What else is there to know?
I think most of the examples are just plain cues. I think the closest we come to meta-communication (if it exists with dogs?) is tone of voice or body language IF we are using identical cues but different tones to mean different things? So if I say “hey, get back here” as a dog squirts between my legs out the door, they, turn around and come back in. But if I have a wet Jack Russell and a towel (I am not the housekeeper many of you obviously are), and I say “hey, get back here” with a different tone and body language, they know it’s a free-for-all and they can tear around the house like maniacs with only an occasional swipe at they fly by.
BUT- that probably doesn’t count either because to dogs, our body language IS part of the cue, so I have technically changed the cue by changing my tone. This is a tough one!
Can’t WAIT for more puppy pics!
Scott says
While training my dogs group commands, I had issues with them understanding when they should obey the command and when it didn’t apply to them; so, learning what group name applied and which didn’t, I guess was part of it, but also some of them would hear the command and not pay attention to the identifier of who it is I expect to obey.
I started saying “Listen Up!” before I gave any group names before the commands. To me it means, “pay attention because I’m going to be giving a command to one or more of you and you need to listen carefully so you don’t get it wrong”. Who knows what they think it means, but it definitely helped. When I say it, they all look to me, but they don’t necessarily stop what they’re doing or change position. It’s not as structured a command as “Watch”.
em says
Lovely pup!
I hate to be a party pooper, and I mean this in the most respectful way possible, but I think this conversation is getting a little silly. Don’t get me wrong, I think that it is both productive and helpful to discuss various ways to clarify our actions and communications with dogs, but I think that it may be time to eighty-six the ‘meta-communication’ label. Most of the examples above are pretty clearly (I think) just communication- even in the examples that might qualify as ‘meta’, what is gained by thinking of them that way? Dogs don’t do a lot of abstract thinking. Of course they are capable of understanding nuanced communication-the dozens of examples to this post and the last one demonstrate that. I don’t believe, however, that dogs have the capacity for epistemological analysis of language (or anything else). I suppose that it is interesting to think about just how abstractly a dog is capable of thinking- can you say to your dog “pay no attention to what I am about to say.” ? Can he ever truly understand that? If so, what does that say about they way his mind works and how can I use that knowledge to improve our communication?
Again, I’m sorry about being a pooper, but I guess I’d like to see a discussion that was more focused on the practical aspects of canine/human communication, even if it doesn’t fit within the category of meta-communication.
Kat says
Would this count as meta-communication? As I was leaving this morning to take TheGirl to her class I stopped to pet Ranger for a moment than said “I’m gonna go take her to French.” Go is one of Ranger’s key words, “let’s go to______(fun place) Wanna Go (fun place) Shall we Go, and probably others and for those he bounces to his feet ready to go but when prefaced by I or Me (time for Me to go) he doesn’t. He knows that plurals probably include him and singulars do not so the word at the beginning tells him whether he should react to the rest of the sentence. Does that make the plural or singular at the beginning of the sentence meta-communication–it communicates to him whether it is something he should react to or not?
Janice in GA says
Hooray for puppies!
Karissa says
Congratulations! Words cannot express how much I’m looking forward to upcoming posts about the new addition. 🙂
Cora says
em–it’s ok to be a party pooper, but probably without meaning to, you brought up another dreaded ‘meta’–that would be meta-cognition, which is thinking about thinking. i got a little kick out of the irony.
loved the sweet puppy face! details, please!!!
Mihaela says
Congratulations on the adorable new arrival!
May he have:
1. A solid GI tract.
2. Flawless joints.
3. A great love of thunderstorms….
As for the meta-communication: I think I inadevertently trained some of that with one of my dogs. I kept saying “Ready, Freddy?” with an excited voice(her name is really, Chloe!) every time we were getting ready to play on the agility obstacles or go for a walk. Then, as a result of the happy and excited look on her face whenever I said that, it has become our signal for “something great is about to happen; I’d better keep my eyes on mom!”.
Liz F. says
I think it’s great to ask whether or not meta-communication is important/relevant…
I also think that the “silliness” factor might be the product of perceiving too much anthropomorphism in this discussion. That may be the case, but I would argue that being anthropomorphic has some place here (to what degree I don’t know.)
I think the point is that it can be very helpful to give little warning bits of information to dogs, be it in tone or body language, when one doesn’t want to be perceived as harsh.
The waters are of course murky because we don’t know when we sound like Peanut’s parents or when we are actually making sounds that the dogs recognize.
I’m not sure I’ll bring any clarity but here are my thoughts on my earlier post:
One of my dogs is not wild about petting or handling. Sometimes if I reach out to pet her she’ll flinch slightly, even my approach is gentle and directed at areas I know she likes. (She is cuddly is the early am and late pm only. It is during these times that I’ve tried to load the word “love” with associations of being joyfully touched.) My example above of “love” was anthropomorphic for a variety of reasons, but if I say this to my dog she is less jumpy, more content. To throw in a quote from Trisha, I agree that “love means never having to say anything at all,” and I don’t really believe I”d ever actually teach my dogs a word for our concept of love. It’s just the word that comes out the easiest. The word could be pet or scratch, instead, it would make no difference.
In this circumstance, I understand my touching her as the primary communication, with “love Nala” as a preface to let her know my intention.
Michelle says
Congratulations Trisha, Jim and Will on your new addition! Teddy Tay is thrilled for you too and is sending you puppy kisses!
s says
that puppy is ADORABLE – I look forward to many more pics to come! I hope he and Will are best buds!
Sharon Benjamin says
This may or may not be an example of meta-communication. My 12 yr. old dachshund Oscar can be very bossy, insistant on “feed me now!”. Sometimes he will whine and throw his head back and do all he can to get my attention. It can get very loud and very pitiful sounding. I go in the other room and totally ignore him. After he has been quiet for quite a while, I call him to me and tell him to sit. He obeys and I say I want to ask you something…he gets very attentive and I ask “are you hungry now?” and he will respond by a little jumping, but follows me and waits patiently without any noise for his bowl. I will also use this “come here I want to talk to you” when I am going to go in the car or for a walk or passing out treats. Outside if I say this he will coming flying to me and then sit quietly until he hears the “good news”
Carolyn says
Yay for puppies! A baby girl or boy? Potential names?
Shaya says
I agree with several commenters that tone of voice, body language, context and equipment are the main metacommunication signals for our dogs. Perhaps this explains why dogs have a hard time generalizing? They were reading the metacommunication signal of “sit” in kitchen means butt on the floor so “sit” in the living room makes no sense.
I also think metacommunication signals can indicate to the dog when they do or don’t need to respond to something. For example, when getting my dog, Tom, out the door I usually say “sit” but any behavior will do. Even standing quietly gets rewarded with a leash being clipped on. But, sit means butt on the floor when I’m going through his trick routine. Not the best training, I know, but it works out okay for us. I think tone is often used in this way with more commanding tones meaning “do what I say now” and gentler more suggestive tones mean it’s not as crucial to do the behavior unless a behavior is trained specifically with a certain tone.
Or are those just definitions of cues? I think it’s really hard to have metacommunication with other species who don’t share language.
Hillary says
So…I teach Interpersonal Communcation at a local college and one of the topics we cover is meta-communication. While there are a lot of topics in class that I relate to communication with animals, meta-communication has never been one of them! I have always thought of meta-communication as being almost strictly verbal, but two way verbal communication is not easy with animals. 🙂 I suppose one example of nonverbal meta-communication in humans would be if you were having a conversation within a small group where two people share a look of “Huh?” regarding a third person’s communication. That’s the first example that comes to me off the top of my head. Maybe within a dyad, it could be one person stumbling over a word and one or both people laughing or giggling or giving facial expressions relating to the stumble? Otherwise, meta-communication is generally verbal, I think. It is a conversation (or at least a sentences) about communication. It requires an ability to think and process that may not be present (or at least not expressible) in dogs.
In animals, it seems like nonverbal meta-communication should be possible, but I can’t think of any examples of when I meta-communicate with my animals. Commenting on the way my dog is communicating with me? Commenting on how I am about to communicate with my dog? Maybe my dog giving me a look of misunderstanding when I am being difficult or inconsistent? I think the human play-bowing to the dog in order to communicate “everything I do from here on out is play” might be the best example.
Such a puzzle!
Jill says
Congratulations on the new pup!!!! I am the proud mom of a 3 yr old tri and I’m so proud of how far this boy has come in the last 14 months. Your books and blog have been so helpful and to date I don’t think I have totally messed him up. We work every day trying to figure out whay works best for us and the best way to get there!
Julie says
This is so interesting, as the discussion has made me review how our 6 yr. old and I communicate. We do a lot of non-verbal, both hers and mine, but I’m not sure if it’s meta-communication. I can say her name and give her “the look” and she stops to wait for information as to what is wanted; she can move in a particular way, and I know she’s going to be delayed a bit while she checks out something interesting.
When we’re walking off-leash, I can say her name to get her attention, point to the place I’m going, and she’ll arrive there at the same time. She was never “taught” this, she just understood.
The only other behaviour that might meet the definition is when we’re leaving our house, and she’s not going. She was a rescued puppy-mill dog, with lots of anxiety issues at first – but saying “…. is going to stay” calmly and evenly before she gets “wound up” works to calm her; instead of wiggling and barking, etc., she goes over to her chosen place (where she can see our outside doors), sighs, and lies down. If she doesn’t hear those words, she gets excited! (It took about 3 months to get the meaning over to her, but after that it’s been unfailing.) We didn’t “train” her to go lie down, she just chose to do so, once she understood what the words meant.
Your book (The Other End of the Leash) has been invaluable; it helped us (the humans) to understand the dogs better, and everyone has benefited. The dogs trust us more, and we them. Thank you so much for that foundation.
Jesus Ridge says
Are you ever going to teach a basic retrieve?