You chose to bring a dog into your life…why? Companionship? Security?
Responsibility Relationship Relevance Respect Reward Refreshment Regulations Response
1. Responsibility
For whatever reason you chose to bring a dog into your life, you are now responsible for the physical; emotional and mental welfare of that living being. The dog, Canis lupis familiaris, is not human – and therefore needs to be taught human expectations and social behaviours. You are asking a dog to fit into your human world and be compliant about it. The way you do this will determine whether your dog will be a great companion; will protect you; will live in harmony with you and any other members of your family be it human or non human… it’s really up to you.
“It’s all so strange here in the human world – I don’t know who is who and what is what! The two-leggeds have different sounds coming from their mouths – I can’t understand them. Sometimes they make me go away from them and put a barrier so I can’t be with them…why? Did I do something wrong? I hope they teach me the rules so I can belong.”
2. Relationship
Once you begin ‘communicating’ in a positive and effective way with your dog, your relationship strengthens. Your dog begins to understand that when you are around, good things happen and you can be trusted.
“It feels so nice when my caregiver spends time with me – we do all sorts of things together and she makes me feel like I’m her best friend. I love it when my guardian shows me how to behave and makes it easy to understand, even without using her voice. I feel secure and accepted – I belong!”
3. Relevance
What are you expecting of your dog? Companionship? Assistance? Protection? Competitions?
Training a dog to happily comply with a request will be beneficial in all circumstances- eg a visit to the vet can be very pleasant for all concerned if the dog is comfortable to sit quietly while the vet checks the dog’s heartbeat or teeth.
“I know why I’m here and what my job is – I know where I fit in. I am content. I am so happy to be able to do the job I was brought here for…. I’m good at my job.”
4. Respect
It’s very important for the relationship of you and your dog to establish an ethos of mutual respect. The idea of leadership is NOT domination or control but one of fairness; consistency; forgiveness. A good leader is gracious and kind; fair and firm; understanding and trustworthy. When you establish that ethos you will reap the benefit of a loyal and trustworthy companion.
“My guardian has earned my respect – not because he beat me with a stick or chained me to a fence but because he’s shown me that I can trust him with my life. My guardian provides me with what I need- food; shelter; companionship; boundaries. I know where I stand with my guardian… I never have to doubt that he leads me on the right path…he holds my life in his hands. I don’t have to feel afraid that he will hurt me or neglect me.”
5. Reward
We all love to enjoy life – life is meant to be enjoyed. That means that part of enjoying life is having FUN! There is so much satisfaction and enjoyment in seeing a dog have fun, especially if the fun is shared with human. Dogs can make us laugh and smile – there are great benefits to our emotional and physical well being. This is also true for the dog.
“What a day I had today! My guardian taught me how to jump over sticks; go through a tunnel; walk on a ladder- WOW! I felt that my guardian was having such a good time and I did too! When we came home my guardian lay down on the floor with me and gave me a good massage and brush- mmmm, we both felt calm and relaxed.”
6. Refreshment
There’s the old saying – a change is as good as a rest – ‘change’ prevents boredom and destructive behaviour. If a dog has different things to do it will be less likely to seek its own form of entertainment which isn’t always a positive one from the human perspective. To a dog digging a hole is fun – but perhaps the spot chosen is inappropriate to the human’s expectations. Train the dog to dig in an appropriate area where human and dog can be happy with- this is called ‘compromise’ and works very well in relationships.
“If I’m shown what to do and where to do it I can be happy… if I have different fun things to keep me busy I don’t have to worry about choosing something that is not part of the rules and making my guardian unhappy with me. When my guardian leaves me for a while (hopefully to bring back a bone) I can play with my treat ball that has some yummy snacks in it. It also takes my mind off things over the other side of the fence.”
7. Regulations
Training your dog to behave appropriately will prevent your name being recorded as an irresponsible dog owner by the shire. Too many dogs get into trouble because their owners failed to provide appropriate direction and allowed the dogs to wander the street or harass other dogs and people.
“They call this place ‘Death Row’. Tomorrow my life will end and all because I wanted to get out of the four walls I was in day after day. I was lonely and bored, the sounds over the fence scared me and I wanted to see what was going on in the world. The four-leggeds took me to their place and just left me there, all alone. If only I could warn the others!”
8. Response
Dogs love to please and feel secure when shown the ‘right’ way to behave. They will be happier to receive a pat from a visitor than to be yelled at, grabbed by the collar and shoved outside. Basic manners need to be taught- dogs aren’t born already programmed with human expectations. When a dog is taught the appropriate behaviour of greeting a visitor or meeting dog friends at the park, the owner will feel confident that the dog will respond to her request.
“I love it when friends come over, they like to pat me and say what a good dog I am. They really don’t like it if I jump up on them and I don’t have to because I just have to sit down and they pat me! Easy hey! I’m really glad my guardian showed me how to do that.”
