[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Nature or nurture and the "Dog Whisperer" says.....
- From: Karen M. Carloni <kmc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:35:16 -0400
On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:26:01 -0700 (PDT), Cinosam GSD
<cinosamgsd@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> it's important to recognize the difference manmade
>problems and a brain that is not wired correctly
Even a dog that is genetically wired up wrong in the brain
can be helped by the right trainer. My one and only GSD is
living proof of this... or she will be once we are done
with her rehabilitation. She's been working with our
trainer on a board and train situation for about a month
now and is already 150% better than she was when we sent
her to him. She will never be truly "cured" because her
behavior is caused by poor genetics. But she WILL be safe
with the general public and in control of herself and her
emotions, in spite of her fear and the demons in her head.
The gains she has made were not achieved through cookies
and love by the way. They were made by tightening up on
our handling and leadership skills as well as forcing
(yes... I said FORCING) her to be neutral in the face of
other dogs and strangers. Nothing else is acceptable!! She
is being made to face her fears in baby steps until she
can conquer them. The goal is to create a dog that
defaults to it handler in all situations and under all
conditions... especially fear-producing ones. The dog
needs to learn that, whatever it is, the handler will take
care of it and its none of the dog's business.
As I said before, our dog will never be "cured," but she
can and will be safe. Good management should take care of
the rest. It will probably be something we will have to
work on with her for the rest of her life. But she'll have
a good quality of life where before, she had none.
And yes... I realize that there are good GSDs in rescue
and dying in shelters everyday. Please don't think that
didn't weigh heavily on our decision to keep and work with
this dog. I told our trainer the same thing. But we simply
don't believe in throwing away a dog if she can possibly
be helped. Maybe some of you will think this was the wrong
decision. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that.
--
Karen C.
Email: kmc@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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