http://offtheleashdogcartoons.com/scoops/why-not-to-put-a-raincoat-on-your-dog/ This is quite an interesting article. I have always put a coat on Penny and will continue to do so, however this is a very interesting argument for NOT putting coats on dogs, and may help to explain why some dogs freeze or hate to have anything out on them.
Re: Why NOT to put a raincoat on your dog IMO that's a dreadful article. Although comparing wolf behaviour is a useful insight into our canine ancestors we're over 10,000 years past that into domestication. Wolves don't travel in cars, wolves don't get served meals in bowls, wolves don't wear collars, don't get taken for walks on leads, don't live in comfy warm houses. Wolves don't get bathed, showered or cleaned up with towels either. There must be thousand things we ask of our dogs that wolves do not experience. The article pays no acknowledgement to just how amazingly well dogs do and have adapted to our human ways and desires. Nor does it take into any account how we reprogram and acclimatise our dogs to all these strange things through positive associations. And doesn't his point about pressure on the back or head apply to dog harnesses too? If we extend his same logic comparisons further then we should all start practicing our alpha-rolls, and go back to punishment/dominance based training. All the related things that modern canine behavioural sciences tell us we should not do because they are outdated and debunked ways of thinking. Aren't we wayyyyyy past talking about wolves and dominance theories anyway? But hey, I guess his new book won't sell many copies if it doesn't purport to have some radical new thinking to offer The part about selecting what colour and design of coat the dog should wear obviously rings true. Of course that's a human affliction, imposing our own tastes and desires on an animal, but we hardly need a "cognitive expert" to tell us that do we!?
Re: Why NOT to put a raincoat on your dog I wasn't impressed by the article either, on the whole, although I do think there is a point about recognising when a dog is "closed down" and not mistaking this for a dog that is well behaved, and this is an important point. [quote author=JohnG link=topic=9554.msg137804#msg137804 date=1421599045] And doesn't his point about pressure on the back or head apply to dog harnesses too? [/quote] I'm not sure the general point in the article is valid, but harnesses and head collar can make some dogs "close down".
Re: Why NOT to put a raincoat on your dog Gypsy wears a jacket when she's working. We spend two weeks putting it on only at meal times. Then only local walks where we know she'll be relaxed. It's really important that she has positive associations with her jacket, as if anything untoward happened in the early days she'd 'blame' the jacket. Of course, the jacket is a precursor to the harness she'll wear when she's a working guide dog. Guide Dogs are very happy in their work, you see their tails wagging all the time, and they would refuse to work if they didn't like it. Those who dislike it don't pass the assessments anyway. Here is Gypsy in her jacket. She asks for it to be put on these days Here is Stanley who has just qualified, looking very proud in his harness (I think he looks a lot like Gypsy)
Re: Why NOT to put a raincoat on your dog Some outdated ideas about wolves there, based on the wrong idea that wolf society is based on dominance, submission and hierarchy. If dogs hate being covered why does that Golden Retriever, pictured in the article, look so content lying under the doona?
Re: Why NOT to put a raincoat on your dog Article about the 'dominance' model: http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=1705.0
