One last comment, for now, about our relationships with our dogs. I had mentioned in the last post that I believe that dogs do better if they see us as what I call "benevolent leaders," in the sense of good parents or good teachers. Here's my thinking: Dogs are dependent upon us, granted some more than others, but most of our dogs have no control over when and what they eat, where they spend their time and who they spend it with. They can't open the door to go outside, they can't leave their social group to go find another one that they like better, and they can't provision themselves with their preferred food. They have to know, at some level, that we hold most of the cards. We are able to open doors, we are the ones who can open the cabinets and get out the dog food and we decide who Read More
Dog Training and the “D” Word
I'll start with the bottom line. I don't use the word "dominance" when talking to people about training their dogs. There's just no profit in it. Even given that dominance is about "priority access" and "social freedom," but not about how to get it, I still see nothing but the potential for confusion and misuse. Given that in general parlance dominance means "total control," and that it is so often it is equated with force (completely inappropriately), I avoid the term as if it were toxic. Which is exactly what I think it can be in this context. Look at all the absurd uses of the concept sent in by readers. "Expressions of dominance" include: A dog sitting with its back to you, forging in front on walks, jumping up on people, pulling washing off of a clothes line (one of my personal Read More
Unexplained Fears & Lambs Coming Out of Our Ears
I'll be working on a post about social status and dog training this week, keep your eyes peeled. Meanwhile, something happened on Saturday that related to our discussion about fears . . . I mentioned last week that Willie has become fearful of being in the bedroom with me at night. He is better, although he still leaves the room when I get into bed, but he is not slinking out anymore as if he saw monsters sitting on my shoulder. (And yes, by the way, it appears that whatever scared him is associated with me--all of his tongue flicking and slinking was directed toward me, but only once I get into bed. The issue seems to be specific to Trisha + Bed = Scary. (Oh lordy, one could construct a lot of jokes out of that. Sigh.) Speaking of unexplained fears, here's an explained one that might Read More
Spring Frost & Big Bellies
Next week I'll start writing about social hierarchies, the "D' word and dog training. Eeee Hah! But for now, it's Friday, I get a weekend without 4 hours a day of grading papers or doing grant reviews for the first time in a month. Ooooooooooh, there'll be lots of gardening and cleaning of house and playing with critters and eating and exercising and cleaning up the house and watching of golf (yep, no kidding). Some sad news: Something happened a few nights ago that scared Willie so much that he won't sleep in the bedroom anymore. He goes upstairs with me, and as soon as we both enter the room he begins to tongue flick and flatten his ears. He then slinks out of the room as if it contained monsters. He sleeps in the adjoining bathroom, and slips back into the bedroom sometime during the Read More
Dogs & “Dominance” –What’s a Person to Do?
If you've been following the bouncing ball, we've been talking about how the concept of "dominance" and social status may or may not relate to dog behavior. Now I'd like to summarize a bit and discuss how we might handle conflict between dogs within the household. After all, whether you buy into it or not in relation to dogs, the proper use of the term "dominance" is as a form of conflict resolution. First, some comments of my own in relation to your excellent additions to this inquiry: WHO CARES? A few of you mentioned that you don't care about labels, and so why waste time worrying about what to call a behavior? Why not just reinforce what you like and train out what you don't? I can see the logic here, but as a few others mentioned in the comments, I just can't leave it at that. I am Read More
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