Mary Allen
So-called helicopter owners are appearing more and more on the horizon of the dog world. However, your desire to protect the four-legged friend from any potential danger does not help the dog – on the contrary.
As soon as another puppy from the puppy playgroup approaches the bitch Luna, her owner intervenes briskly: “Luna, Fuss!” In order to protect the young bitch from possible injuries, the owner constantly calls her puppy out of the game. She is also careful at home. Even months later as a young dog, Luna is not allowed to climb a step alone.
There are now many so-called helicopter keepers (see box) like Luna’s owner. “Most of them are women aged 40 or over and often their first dog,” says Manuela Albrecht, dog trainer, and psychologist from Wittenbach SG. In her puppy class, she notices more and more overprotective behavior. «Even in puppy kindergarten, the dog is defended against conspecifics. Every dog is seen as a potential threat.” Such owners often mean too well when they turn to the animal. “Most of the time, the dog took the place of the child. The fear of losing him is great. Because today the dog is a complete family member and sometimes even a life partner.”
In particular, small breeds are heavily betüddelt. “But I also know owners of Labradors, Flat-Coated Retrievers, and Bernese Mountain Dogs who helicopter a lot.” Male owners are not immune either, says Albrecht. You think a certain type of person gravitates towards helicopters. “Many times these people are naturally anxious, hurt, or disappointed people.”
In the Protective Role
Helicopter owners often like to justify their attitude with what is happening in the world. The list of potential dangers that dog and owner can expect every day is truly frightening: poisoned baits, car accidents, biting incidents, falling downstairs, abuse. “Unfortunately, such reports are piling up. Of course, owners want to spare themselves and their dog such suffering.” The maternal instinct often forces those affected into the protective role. “As soon as someone succumbs to the maternal instinct, it becomes difficult to work with him and his dog,” the dog trainer knows from experience.
Furthermore, reparation can play a crucial role. “Many owners who have taken over a dog from abroad or who have had a bad attitude want their four-legged friend to only experience good things from now on.” In addition, the helicopter can be reinforced by a certain level of expectation. «Puppy owners often feel pressured to get the new addition to the family used to as many things as possible in the first few weeks. They drive the bus, get on the train, walk along the highway, use the vacuum cleaner. Of course, things can go wrong there.”
Contacts and Experiences
So that nothing happens in the future, the owner packs his protégé in cotton wool. A vicious circle begins. “If a dog encounter goes wrong, the next one is prevented even earlier, the dog soon no longer sees dogs or associates fellow dogs with a bad feeling.” Due to a lack of contacts and experience, the dog does not learn the dog language. Especially coarser contacts would often be missing completely. “If the dog is bumped into, it reacts completely incompetently.” The four-legged friend runs the risk of becoming deprived – fearful or aggressive towards any stranger. In the worst case, the animals can become mentally or even physically crippled.
Experiences of any kind are very valuable for a dog’s life. “Only in this way can the dog achieve a certain degree of environmental security.” Albrecht, therefore, advises owners to place fewer conditions on the animal. “We should allow our dogs to have their own experiences.” This also means that dogs are sometimes allowed to decide what to do.
For helicopter owners, distance from the dog is often the first step towards treating their four-legged friends in a more species-appropriate manner. “If you leave the dog with a trusted person for a day or while on vacation, you quickly realize that one will very well survive without the other.”