One night, dog trainer Dianne Canafax awoke to her dog Roofus’ insistent barking and whimpering. It was uncommon behavior for Roofus, but in her sleepy state, Canafax said she thought he was just being “a pill.”

Looking outside the next morning she saw what caused it: A tree outside her window was scratched, bark was peeled off and clumps of black bear hair were stuck to the tree and nearby ground.

“He was trying to tell me something and I just didn’t understand what it was,” Canafax said. “I wasn’t looking at it from his perspective. Can you imagine what he would have thought if I’d have put him in the garage closer to where the bear was, which is what I wanted to do?”

Canafax, who holds “Doglauge” classes the first Saturday each month at Kingston’s Country Pet Shoppe, is a certified professional dog trainer with more than 20 years experience training dogs. She said the reason most canines end up in shelters is because families don’t know how to communicate with them.

“You don’t listen with your ears when you talk to dogs,” Canafax said.

Canafax, who established Kitsap Animal Rescue and Education, spends the majority of her time rescuing dogs from the Kitsap County Humane Society training them to become adoptable.

“She basically gives them a second chance at life,” said Stephanie Stebbing, owner of Country Pet Shoppe.

But Canafax doesn’t only train dogs during her classes at the pet shop and KARE facility — she also trains people.

“My goal is to educate pet owners to understand what their dog is trying to communicate to them. That way fewer end up in shelters,” she said.

Recognizing what creates stress in your dog makes your relationship 100 percent better, Canafax said. “You have to look at the world the way they do. For that you have to understand the difference between human and dog behavior.”

Disney animated dogs like those in “101 Dalmations” and “Lady and the Tramp” set unattainable standards for household dogs, she said.

“People see the movies and want a dog like them because they think that is how they are going to be. But really that’s just Disney creating humans out of dogs.”

Canafax said many people intimidate dogs without even knowing it. The mistakes made are natural to the way people communicate face-to-face; however, canines, which are ventrally oriented, communicate with body language.

For example, when people meet they look each other in the eye and shake hands or embrace. People take this same approach to meeting dogs, often leaning over to pet them, trying to show affection.

“When you watch dogs, they approach each other from the side or back,” she said. “Direct eye contact is a challenge to them. When a dog leans forward they are insinuating an attack.”

The best way to approach a dog is to turn to the side with a hand outstretched and let the dog approach you, she said.

Physical differences also play into how dogs communicate.

Canines, which are more than four times as sensitive to sound than people are, can hear 80 feet away. People on average can only hear at a 20-foot radius, she said.

Canafax said when a dog doesn’t respond right away it could be tuning in to something outside of peoples’ hearing range.

Because of this yelling at a dog can lead to fear, while a whisper or high pitched “baby-talk” can insight a playful will-do attitude.

Sometimes Canafax will even put her forearms on the ground, copying her dogs “play bow” to get him to come.

“I use it as recall and communicate on their level,” she said. “It works beautifully.”

One basic problem many people deal with is chewed up household furniture.

“A bored dog sometimes will chew on one or two things. A stressed out dog will chew on everything,” she said.

This stems from the dogs natural need to feel part of a pack, she said. When a dog is left alone, it feels separated and chewing is a way for dogs to relieve stress, she said.

“Many times I recommend to families to get another dog to keep the first company. The problem normally clears up right away,” she said.

With all the innate differences between people and dogs, communication mishaps are bound to happen but education and awareness are the first steps to bridging that gap, Canafax said.

“I’m surprised dogs are as loving and forgive us as easy as they do,” she said. “They don’t hold grudges.”

Canafax’s education seminars at the Country Pet Shoppe are free and open to the first 15 registrants.

For more information contact KARE at (360) 297-8086 or to register call the Country Pet Shoppe at (360) 297-4165.