@leighxxxx Please stay around. I'm interested in your training story and contributions just as I'm interested in @Jo Laurens contributions and stories. If you were all in Tasmania, I'd invite you down to the local pub for a drink or two. We would all stay there until the mood had changed. I've finally find a case in which I would be prepared to implement flooding! You can bring your dogs too. Since our quarantine laws would require your dogs to be housed by the government for a lengthy period, the flooding experience could go on for quite a few weeks!
I agree with other's posts. Please stay. Your posts are very helpful and informative. This really is a great forum.
god I call my dogs names all the time! It in no way affects my superb relationship with them. I would go as far as to say they are terms of endearment..though an outsider might not think so. Total agreement with you @leighxxxx
It might be a case of the written word on the internet not being able to convey just how things are said - as in - 'little blighter' could be a term of endearment or it could be said angrily. But I think when someone calls a pup 'bad tempered', it goes a bit further. At the very least, it should be clear how it could be interpreted in that way. It is a very well-known 'thing' in positive/reinforcement based dog training, that the labels dogs are given, affect the way they are treated. If you think of a reactive dog as 'disrespectful' or 'angry', you are going to behave very differently than if you think of a reactive dog as 'afraid'... So, whether or not this is happening in this situation, it is worth pointing it out for anyone else reading... This doesn't make it any less of a problem, though? As I said, many posts ago - puppies need to start out NEAR their attachment figures until they feel safe. Then they will be content when experiencing greater degrees of separation. If you are finding he is crawling on you from the front seat when you are driving, there are really inexpensive car harnesses which attach to seat belts and will restrain him, so he can be comforted by you in the car. Once you have associated the car with calmness and quiet, you will then be able to move him back to where you want him to travel - and this is highly likely to continue, then. It's a shame that you weren't able to hear this useful advice and took offence to something else I said, instead.
Echoing edzbird, I agree, terms of endearment. Ariel’s been called everything from Butthead to Princess, and both of us know neither of these are true! She’s the best thing that’s happened to us in years, and we have an outstanding relationship with her. I left the forum last year for a similar reason, and missed a lot of sage advice, laughter and cyber friendship. Please reconsider and stay around.
I believe this to be a very important topic. Of course we all love our dogs to bits and don't believe for a moment that they are little ****s but that doesn't alter the facts. And the fact are that using labels like stubborn, or naughty and a real hindrance to training as they throw the emphasis for responsibility for a dog's behaviour from the owner to the dog itself. Some of the most dramatic changes I ever see in human dog training relationships is when people learn to stop using negative labels about the animal they are referring to. We all do it from time to time. It's normal, but it isn't helpful. And it's very easy to slip into the habit of thinking of a dog as being difficult or challenging. Even if that hasn't happened to you yet, it is surely worth reducing the risk by avoiding these kinds of labels. I am learning to do it less and less and I recommend it as an effective strategy. One reason that stopping these labels helps us to train our dogs is that as long as the dog is deemed responsible, we are not looking for a solution that we can control. As soon as we remove the responsibility from the dog and place it on our own shoulders, we are forced to think of a way that we can improve the situation. It's actually very freeing! I know that it can be hurtful to have it publicly pointed out that we could maybe improve on our own behavior. I don't like it much either! . But we are all human and prone to errors. And taking on board the information and advice that Jo so clearly and expertly provides here will give all of us a real advantage in our training.
I have a somewhat different view. One should observe the dog's behaviour. If there is a sudden change in my dog's behaviour my first reaction is not to cast the responsibility on my behaviour. I ask instead, is there some medical issue that the vet should evaluate.. Once the vet is given the all clear, I'm on board with your perspective. I ask at least two things 1. What payoff is she getting from the behaviour? Why is the behaviour happening? 2. What can I do to help my dog understand what I would like her to do?. Accordingly, I think one can attribute some of the behaviour to the dog, at least that are driven by medical issues. The vets have a role to play. Not all responsibility ought to be shifted to we owners until the medical side is accounted for. I am certain that you don't need to be reminded of such, it is pretty obvious. But I have been surprised by the number of posts on this site that overlook the importance of consulting vets on some issues.
It’s a hunting vest. Humans and dogs wear them in Canada while hunting. We don’t hunt at all, but it offers very high visibility so I can easily see her in the woods, especially with a snowy background.
