Listen up! Another coffee inspired article

[poohbearsmom]

We should listen.

We, as dog owners owe it to our dogs to listen and learn.

We are fortunate that most dogs on this planet are what we would call "middle of the road" in temperament. They are biddable and have sufficient drive to be trained easily. Once mature, they basically run on "auto pilot".

These are dogs with good nerve threshold. They are basicly very stable animals, and thrive in most homes which provide them with adequate exercise, basic training, and consistency. Because of their genetic makeup, they are veritably trouble free, and easy to maintain.

Then we have the dogs that possess genetic makeup that is a little different. The temperaments they possess may lean from extremely fearful, to submissive, to strong in nature, to truly dominant, and everything in between.

Just as each human is born with a hard wired temperament, so are our dogs.

It's important to note: A dog is a dog first, and it's breed second. In other words, there is more difference in temperaments within a breed than between the breeds.

In a perfect world, we humans would research canine behavior, body language and breed specific strengths and weaknesses. In a perfect world, we humans would be honest about our abilities, time restraints, monetary restraints, and our own individual temperaments.

1. Lifestyle; what type of dog will fit into MY life properly, given my work hours, energy output, hobbies, etc...

2. Experience. Do I have experience with toy breeds, working breeds, herding breeds, hunting breeds, etc...? If not, what type of research am I willing to put into learning about the nuances of the various breeds?

3. What is my temperament like? Am I wishy-washy? Am I able to be consistent with an animal, even when those big brown eyes are puddling up at me?

4.. Am I looking for a dog because of the LOOK of the animal, or because of what the animal was bred for? For example: I had a puppy student who bought an Old English Sheep Dog pup because he was cute. He was a very dominant, resource guarding, tough bloke, and this young woman was given a run for her money. After a year of nagging the dog, the owner finally realized that the dog had no issues with hurting her, so she stepped up to the plate and got serious about training him properly; i.e. she learned to say what she meant, and she meant what she said!
Today, they have a very good relationship, but it took over a year for the young woman to come to her senses in regards to what this dog was really telling her. She decided finally that honesty was indeed the best policy with her dog, and they are fine today, thanks to the fact that the owner finally saw the light, and realized she didn’t own a big teddy bear, but instead she owned a large animal who was more than happy to take over the leadership position if she wasn’t going to.

5. Am I willing to put the time, effort, and yes, money into training a young dog (pick a breed!) properly? Am I willing to continue training for the first couple of years or more if necessary?

6. Am I willing to be honest with myself in regards to what a good relationship with my dog is? In other words, does my dog listen to me each and every time I ask something of him, or does he blow me off when there’s something more interesting to be entertained by?

7. Am I willing to respect a dog for being a dog? Do I understand fully that dogs do not speak or understand our spoken language until we teach it to associate given behaviors with specific sounds and mannerisms? Do I appreciate the fact that the dog is one of the most magnificent animals on the face of this earth; they can mold themselves to live in OUR world with such ease and finesse, given the fact that our world is completely foreign to them at birth? (Think of yourself plopped down in the middle of Outer Mongolia, bare naked – how would you fare?)

8. Do I really know what to look for in a dog when I’m shopping for one? Am I prone to looking at the dog quaking in the back of the kennel? What about the pup guarding the food bowl from it’s littermates? What are these dogs really telling me?

These are but a few questions that we, as dog owners and professed dog lovers should ask ourselves. Am I giving my dog a fair shake?

This leads me to the nitty-gritty of this article.

Do I listen to my dog when my dog “tells” me something?

If my dog is reactive towards stimuli, do I get to the root of things, and help my dog make an easier go of things, and assist him in changing his responses in a timely and fair and honest manner? Do I help build confidence where none exists, or do I reinforce these fears and trepidations?

If my young dog shrinks back or shows a fear response to people, dogs, environments, do I ignore his pleas for help? Do I wait until the dog ups the ante? When the ante is raised, am I surprised? Do I wait for the dog to begin lunging and biting before I do anything to curb behavior and get things under control?

Most dogs will give subtle warnings when they are uncomfortable. If those warnings are not heeded, they will raise the bar (i.e. HELLO! I’m not down with this!) until we humans can easily understand their intent. Unfortunately, more times than not, it takes a bite to happen before we knuckleheads will listen clearly. Most aggression does not simply pop up out of the blue, but the behavior escalates until we actually listen.

It is a GOOD THING that a dog warns before it decides to bite. Dogs that simply bite first and ask questions later are not safe dogs. There are indeed “bad dogs”. These are dogs that are simply not wired correctly, and they, no matter what kind of help we try to give them, don’t come around. There are indeed truly dominant dogs. These are dogs that only a handful of people are capable of handling properly. These dogs are not in the majority, however.

We must understand that while dogs are extremely intelligent animals, they do not live by our “code of ethics”. They do not possess morality, they don’t know how to read the Ten Commandments. They make decisions based upon what they know and don’t know, and those decisions are linked to survival, not what Miss Manners says.

One hundred years ago, even fifty years ago, dogs were much more utilitarian than they are today. There was always the neighborhood dog or two that ran amok with the kids while playing a mean game of touch football, but dogs were still very much in use as farm hands, hunting partners, livestock guardians, etc…. Today’s world brings about a different use for our four legged friends. They are now much more a part of the family. While there is nothing wrong with that, in fact, I think it’s a GOOD thing, we need to understand that many people forget the fact that a dog is still a dog, no matter what label of designer apparel it’s wearing. When we anthromorphosize dogs to the extent that we no longer treat them like dogs, we have lost respect for what they are as well as the amazing qualities they possess as dogs.

Owning a dog is a CHOICE. Given the political climate surrounding dogs these days, we owe it to ourselves, our dogs, and our dog loving bretheren to STEP UP TO THE PLATE, and do right by our dogs. Education is the key to the survival of the dog in today’s society.

I’m out of coffee

[dipper]

IMHO that was a very thoughtful wonderful post.
Well said!!

Rich

[Sheenagirl]

Thank you for taking the time to write the article.
The article was informative and well written.
I hope people pay attention and incorporate what you have written into their personal lives.

[Ayoka]

Well said.

The corrollary of choice is responsibility and unfortunately people are able to make some choices before they are prepared to acknowledge and accept the responsability for those choices.

[Xena's Daddy]

Bravo!! That must have been some very good coffee!! LOL......
I think you've covered all the bases with this one.

I think EVERYONE who's thinking about getting a dog should start their quest with this article!

MK

[Kawakaze]

Well written, if you convert one ignorant person its a success!!!!

[Cdn1050]

Very well written. I've directed as many dog owners I can think of to this link.

[jakesfostermom]

Elisabeth,

May I have permission to cross post this to a group of volunteers who foster various breeds for our city shelter? I would also like permission to use your name on the bottom if you are okay with that?

Thanks!
Vicki

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by jakesfostermom

Elisabeth,

May I have permission to cross post this to a group of volunteers who foster various breeds for our city shelter? I would also like permission to use your name on the bottom if you are okay with that?

Thanks!
Vicki

Since all forum posts are copyrighted to Rottweiler.net, I suggest we use the thread tools at the top of the thread. You can email, print, etc... by using the buttons in the thread. You may certainly use these functions to share this article.

[jakesfostermom]

Thank you - I hadn't seen the "Link back" feature.......