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Do
you train the dog or the owner?
This
is a big question and for me the answer is both.
Marcus
Aurelius, roman emperor and stoic philosopher, The guy in Gladiator,
said that if you want to understand something ask three questions of it;
-
What
is it in itself?
-
what
is it in its nature?
-
What
is it in its constitution - How does it think?
A
Dog is a Dog!
It
has the nature of a Dog!
It
thinks like a Dog!
If
the owner or handler becomes confused and starts to treat the dog as a
human, attributing the dog’s actions to human behaviour and
thinking that the dog can “Think” like a human ...
well you end up with a confused dog that does it’s best and
gets it wrong! The dog just follows dog behaviour.
Dogs
are by nature a pack animal and they follow very strong biological
imperatives for survival. Their behaviour is hard wired and can be used
to control them, once it is understood.
Dogs
always challenge the status quo so that they can become either the
alpha male or alpha female in their pack. In the dogs world, only the
Alphas are allowed to breed, and all other pack members are there to
protect the Alpha pair and their offspring.
Dogs
are always working to increase their status within their pack. It is up
to the pack leaders to maintain the status quo.
When
I work with humans I teach them to think and act like dogs and show how
the owners can always win by showing that they are Alpha and the dog is
submissive to them. The techniques are simple and straight forward.
They can not be taught in large groups as it needs one to one
interaction with the dog and owner to achieve results and for the
owners to be able to recognize what the dog is doing.
Just
as a Dog is not just for Christmas but for life, Training an owner is
not just for now it is for life!
I
follow the work of Monty Roberts - The Horse Whisper. He works with
horses respecting the animal and allowing it choice within horse
behaviour. If the horse goes with the herd it is safe and rewarded. The
same applies to dogs.
For
further details contact me on
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