Mary Allen
There are dogs who curse their domestication. The reason lies with the people who first allow them things and then want to turn them off again. How is the dog supposed to figure that out?
You have to hand that to dogs: they think and act clearly, consistently, and logically, even though humans are often clumsy and make mistakes. First, the owner lets himself be dragged along on the much too short leash, then he suddenly begins to jerk on it. He brings the four-legged friends into contact with uninvited fellow dogs and is angry when they are barked at. And then there are the sticks and balls that the dogs have to chase after – for the pleasure of humans, who lose their joy when the hunting training is applied in practice as soon as the four-legged friend has spotted the game.
The man knows and uses it mercilessly: Dogs are unique, they allow a lot to be done with them. They eat what is carelessly placed in the bowl, take walks in a hurry when there is so much to sniff, are not allowed to go any further if people are having boring conversations on the way, they guard the house but are reprimanded when they bark because someone is at the front door.
Anyone who allows all this to be done with them must be socially adjusted. Or to put it another way: if dogs were as social as humans, biting incidents would be the order of the day. Not least because dogs are often violently punished without even knowing the reason.
Punishment measures by their owners are difficult for dogs to understand because the punished behavior that people define as “undesirable” is often a simple, canine need, a natural action or reaction. When dogs dig for mice, chase cats, wallow in freshly removed cow manure, grab a sock lying around and hide it somewhere, snatch a piece of cake from the edge of the table, jump onto a person’s bed without being asked, all this has an external or internal trigger. There would be countless more things to list that people can get angry about instead of taking a deep breath first so that they can then smile about it and about their unique dog.
The Multi-Stage Program “Storage”
Sometimes these canine pranks become habits. And so the question arises, which dog trainers often hear: “How and where do I stop this behavior?” The (ironic) answer: “It’s best where you did it.” However, there is definitely a way that people can “switch off” such “undesirable” behavior. This is a multi-stage program:
> As an immediate measure, you avoid, if possible, that the dog can continue to practice the behavior in this form. Examples: Look ahead, dodge, change the situation.
> The human learns to deal with it if the dog shows the behavior again. Example: If the dog barks for five seconds during a 45-minute walk, the human should enjoy the other 44 minutes and 55 seconds.
> You look for the cause or the trigger of the behavior. At the same time, a behavioral expert is consulted. Together you clarify important things and make the first changes: health (possible clarification from the vet), daily routine (stress level, enough rest periods), physical and mental workload (too much, too little?), nutrition.
> If the behavior has not disappeared as a result of the measures taken, a planned training or learning session for humans and dogs can begin with all the information. Basically, the same applies to dogs as to humans: if you have a problem, you help them – and don’t stab them in the back with punitive measures.