Humanizing your dog, a big no, no!
You know it really amuses me how people try to humanize there beloved doggy’s. One of the most important things I want to get across is that dogs are dogs–not humans!
The fact is, often, the solution we would use for human issues is totally wrong for solving a dog’s issues. For example, when a human sees a scared or nervous dog, he/she will first offer comfort and consolation.
This would never happen in the animal world and can make the problem worse instead of better, because it reinforces unstable behaviour Encouraging a dog to display such emotions openly is encouraging them to display a behaviour that would be seen as a sign of meekness to other dogs.
You see when dogs come into our homes, they meet emotional energy for the first time. We shower them with affection and babble at them in high-pitched baby-talk, so they see us as excited energy. This is why many dogs don’t listen to their human caretakers. Their mothers never acted this way; where did that calm-assertive leadership go?
We often develop a different agenda for our dogs. We want to make puppies our babies. From day one, many humans forget to fulfil and understand their dog’s needs and instead project their own needs and desires on the animal. Your doing your dog a disservice by not being willing to listen to his needs and wants as well as your own.
There always needs to be a pack leader, in the absence of a clear leader, a dog, even a submissive one, will seek to fill what they see as the vacant leadership role. The dog will ignore the owner, act out, and can lead to serious behaviour issues. You need to be able to establish yourself as the leader of the pack from day one.
A dogs confusion and disorientation manifest in bad behaviour such as tearing up the couch or incessant barking. If we don’t fulfil them as a species, our dogs won’t live a balanced, centred life.
You need to be calm but assertive at all times. It is no good telling your dog off one minute and then fussing it the next. It is no good you giving your new puppy a command in a sissy voice that has no strength to it. Your commands need to be firm precise, affirmative, authoritative and audible.
Learning when it comes to pets and especially dogs is a two way thing. You have to be as much prepared to learn from them as they are you. If you don’t take the time to understand your dog and it’s behaviour patterns then you could end up telling the dog off for something which it is not guilty of.
Understanding and projecting a pack leader’s calm-assertive energy will create a positive and lasting connection between you and your dog. A dog really is man’s best friend, but you need to remember it is a dog and not a human so treat t like one.
