DogSpeak: Improving communication between you and your canine Discussions
You know that clear communication is key to developing strong relationships. Envision meeting an individual that you will need to live with for 15 years. You each speak a different language. So, what do you do? You learn each other's language. The individual I am talking about is your dog.
Canines and primates express themselves very differently. We even use different body parts to "talk." But once you know how your dog expresses himself, communicating becomes much less complicated — and frustrating. The key is knowing what to look for in your pup, and using that same body language to "speak" to him.
 | Renee: You have just said yourself, you don't know what a dog is trying to say to someone. The woman didn't do anything malicious, but remember that dogs don't communicate the same way people do. Her error was to approach a strange dog (in a strange setting that was probably pretty stressful to him) in a manner that's pretty intimidating to dogs. I didn't watch the clip but from reading about it I believe she either grabbed his face or leaned over him to pet him. Either one of those are no-no's in dog-speak. Most dogs will try to get away from the scary person (fight vs. flight) but that dog was not in a position to get away so he chose to fight. It's unfair to say that he's an awful dog when you only use human standards to judge what is awful and what is not. As people we are capable of understanding dog behavior. Dogs are not as advanced as us and so it is unfair to expect them to understand human behavior. As the superior species (intelligence-wise anyhow), it is our responsibility to communicate with them in a way they understand. Also, you say that once a dog bites a human, he should be put to sleep. That's also rather unfair as you're essentially saying that dogs should never be allowed to defend themselves when they are scared. Dogs aren't like people...they only have certain tools at their disposal. A person, for example, can punch someone, shove someone away, kick someone, slap someone...we have options. Dogs don't. Their option is their teeth. Just like people, dogs have thresholds. Some dogs have a very high tolerance, some dogs have a lower tolerance. For example...if someone is really making you mad, it might take more for you to punch this person in the face than it would for the guy next to you. That doesn't mean the guy next to you is a horrible person...it just means you're different. It's not animals being treated better than humans, it's that animals can't be expected to understand the human world the way we understand it. Think about it this way...how many mistakes would you make if you were expected to live by dog etiquette? After awhile you'll probably catch on and get most of it right...but you'll never be perfect and you'll eventually meet a dog that has a very low tolerance for mistakes. Is it right to say that you are awful for not understanding or awful for behaving the way it is natural for you to behave (in a human way)? 2 days ago by SDNB |
| I am no dog lover or even would know what a dog is trying to say to someone. But why is it when an animal does something wrong to a person the animal lovers of the world always try and find something wrong that the human did. The anchor woman that was bit by that awful dog on national television did nothing wrong. I have seen many dogs looking at people with their tongues hanging out and never proceed to bite that person. The owner was hanging onto that dog and that dog should have been trained enough to know that he was not to bite anyone! That poor woman has to endure people like you making it seem as if it were her own fault. No dog should ever bite a human being. Once it does, it is dangerous and should be put to sleep. Sorry, I am sick of animals being treated better than humans. 3 months ago by Renee |
| Also consider peofessional animal communication as an option for understanding behaviroal issues. We go in, speak with you pup one-on-one, get to know what they are expereincing when they are doing the certain behaviors. Knowing from their perspecitive can make a world of difference to both the pet and the pet parent. Offering them solutions instead of forcing them to do something that is counter to their normal intution is very productive in many forms of training with all breeds of animals. See animalhealings.com/testimonials.html for the results! 12 months ago by Animal Healings |
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