When we have children, we are quick to start reading to babies, providing them with educational experiences, socializing them, even taking them to an educational pre-school. We would not lock them in a dark closet and expect them to come out when they are 2 years old as a well adjusted child. In the past 2 to 3 years, I have seen this phenomenon happening more and more with our puppies.
“Come” is the most difficult of all behaviors to teach dogs. From my experience, that is primarily because we humans use this word/command in a non-specific manner. We use “come” to mean, get in the car, heel, turn around, get out of the car and a plethora of other things. While we may understand the “concept”, dogs don’t. They must have a specific meaning to each command. We must have a clear picture in our head of what “come” should mean in order to teach it and have reliability in performance.
I am approached daily about dog owners wanting to eliminate behaviors in their dogs that are “instinctual”. An instinctual behavior is one that comes hard wired in the dog when they are born. The behavior is hereditary from the parents and ancestors. All dogs possess what is called “prey drive.” This is instinctual behavior passed along from the wolves for survival. In a very basic description, prey drive occurs when the wolf smells or sees game, then follows either the scent or vision, attacks the game, shakes it, kills it, and eats it with the pack.
We hear of so many world famous competitors come from Sun Valley. They were born here, raised here and rocketed down the slopes of Bald Mountain, or skated the Sun Valley rinks to hone their skills to perfection. We wait breathless to cheer for them in the Olympics and World events and throw glorious community events to salute their victories! Few other communities can boast such remarkable champions!
If you have ever visited my website, you will find a page called “No Bones About It” which is my two bits of free advice and how I arrived at this newspaper column title. This is where I tell it like it is without any sugar coating. I talk about having two puppies, especially from the same litter: “Two puppies (especially siblings) are not better than one, unless you don't want to have any relationship at all with your dogs.
If you have ever visited my website, you will find a page called “No Bones About It” which is my two bits of free advice and how I arrived at this newspaper column title. This is where I tell it like it is without any sugar coating. I talk about having two puppies, especially from the same litter: “Two puppies (especially siblings) are not better than one, unless you don't want to have any relationship at all with your dogs. They will love each other, bond with each other, and leave you out of the loop. The only one that really benefits from you taking two puppies is the breeder or the shelter.”
So much talk today that the domestic dog is no longer anything like his ancestor, the wolf. Many believe that because of domestication, the dog no longer shares any wolf behaviors. On some level, behaviors have changed so the domestic dog can live with humans. Dogs have become much more biddable meaning they want to learn, work with, and be trained to live in our society. It is highly unlikely that wolf will accept training to live in our society.
My first German Shepherd was a rescue named Hattie. She had been abandoned in a backyard when her owners moved to California. Many locals remember her from different activities we did. She was a certified pet therapy dog that visited nursing homes for nearly 10 years. She was ARDA certified in air scent Search and Rescue, and held competitive titles in obedience and agility. Hattie was featured in Elise Lufkin’s book, SECOND CHANCES. It seemed there was no end to what Hattie could do. She was indeed, what the German Shepherd should be – a Jack of all Trades.
Fear is one of the most common reasons for aggression in dogs. Fear can be genetic or it can be acquired because of a traumatic incident. These days, there are many ways to treat fear aggression in dogs. Sometimes the prognosis is better than others. When fear is genetic, meaning it is a personality trait passed down to the dog from its dam and sire, it is much more difficult to remediate.
There have been so many horrific events in our lives recently involving mass shootings and terrorism. It is so hard to imagine how anyone could be so cruel and determined to ruin the lives of others in such a selfish act. Aside from that, here we all are, in our homes this morning, heading off for the day’s events whether it is work, family or a day of resting and healing. All our lives differ on so many levels.
Now back to work part time. Please call to schedule.
