My German Shepherd can say “I love you”

by Theresa
(Georgia)

I got my dog, Maddie, when she was just a puppy. She is a german shepherd, and I believe she was about two months old when I got her. I was told that she would be smart, loyal, and beautiful. She is all three, and I soon discovered just how smart she really is.

Aside from doing the basic dog training tricks like sit and roll over, I wanted to try something unique to make her stand out from the rest of the dogs I knew. I tried many different things that I had seen dogs doing on television, but nothing really seemed so stand out. Most of the dog tricks that I tried were ones you would see on a training show.

One day when Maddie was being particularly spunky and cute, I said, Oh, I love you! And she barked back at me. It hit me then that I should try and teach her to say I love you . I had already mastered having Maddie sit and stay, so that was the first step to teaching her I love you . I'm guessing the method would be equal to teaching a dog to speak .

I had her sit and stay, while I showed her a dog cookie in my hand. While I lifted the cookie up in the air, I said I love you . I lengthened the sound of it so it sounded more drawn out. At first, Maddie would just bark for the cookie, but I would take a step back when she did that. Then after a few seconds, I stepped back towards her and said the words again.

After about twenty tries, she barked a bit of a longer, more drawn out bark. So I told her she was a good girl, and I gave her the cookie. I then had her sit again, and I said the words again. When she only barked, I would step back again. After a few trial and error moments, she finally barked a long, very clear - I love you .

It obviously did not sound like the way humans say it, but it was close enough. I trained her for about another week before I showed anyone else the trick. Once she was ready, and she was saying the phrase clear enough to understand, I showed my neighbor.

I said, very quietly, to Maddie, Say I love you, so my neighbor didn't know what to expect. Maddie said it, and my neighbor understood what she was saying! It takes some time, but teaching a dog to say I love you can be a great way to have your dog stand out from the crowd!