[ SHOWGSD-L ] Pack Leaders... An article in the Review

  • From: "Carolyn" <marhaven@xxxxxxx>
  • To: <MarcatoGSD@xxxxxxx>, <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 15:23:33 -0800

When my dogs start paying the bills and mowing the lawns and driving themselves 
to the Vet and 
Classes and buying and hauling their own dog food from van to the kennel area 
and cleaning up
after themselves.....THEN and ONLY then will I have to tell them to sit while I 
reach for the dish. <G>
ONE growl at me or Frank .....we would pay a visit to the "dog shed".......they 
WOULD be corrected!  
Here we have two "leaders of the pack"    One is named Frank and the other is 
named Carolyn.  
The dogs seem very happy with the arrangement..............we are happy with 
the arrangement.  <G>
No Review here yet, so I'm not sure what the article says.......

Carolyn  marhaven@xxxxxxx
www.marhaven.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: MarcatoGSD@xxxxxxx 
  To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 10:50 AM
  Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] An article in the Review


  I got my Review a couple days ago, and was looking at one of the articles 
  (Starting Your Puppy Right), and I had some concerns.
  While a good article, three things really stood out to me:

  1. Snapping Your fingers on the pup's nose when it is chewing something
  2. Taking away a pup's food dish while it is eating
  3. Never let it win at tug, it'll become dominant.

  Why am I concerned?  Because #1 your hands should only be associated with 
  GOOD things.  It's your fault in the first place if the pup isn't chewing on 
  something it shouldn't, because either you aren't supervising closely enough, 
or 
  you didn't put something out of reach and you should have.  Why not just 
remove 
  the puppy and "exchange" with him?  "This yummy bone is SO much better than 
  that stinky ol' shoe!"

  Concern #2...you can create some mighty good food aggression problems by 
  taking away your pup's food.  Why should I correct my dog if he growls at me? 
 I 
  took HIS food!  I gave it to him and then took it away, and it's only fair 
that 
  he tell me that that's not right.  Growling is a dog's warning system, and if 
  you take that away, they go right to biting.  Who's fault is it?  YOURS!  

  Dog etiquette says that once the leader (I refuse to use the term alpha 
  anymore) is done with something, the subordinate may have their turn, and 
once it 
  is theirs, it's THEIRS.  The leader of the pack won't come back and decide 
"Ok, 
  I want it again, give it up!" unless it's a crappy leader.

  I put my hand in my pup's dish, sure, because there may be times I need to 
  put something in the dish or take something out.  And I touch my dogs when 
they 
  are young (and randomly as they get older) because sometimes people brush 
  against dogs when they are eating something (not every family will crate 
train 
  their dog), and it's just good to have the dog desensitized to these things.  
  Sometimes I forget to add Strauss' fish oil pills to his food, so I tell him 
to 
  sit, I put the pills in the dish, pat him, and he goes back to eating.  No 
food 
  aggression, and I never picked up his bowl or any such thing.

  Concer #3, never let your dog win at tug, it will end up teaching the dog 
  dominant behaviors...is bull pucky.  The game of tug is about two things: 
  confidence and control.  I can tell Strauss "Aus!" at any time, and he WILL 
give up 
  the tuggy, but sometimes, he pulls really hard, and I want to reward that 
  fight, so I let go (other times he does rip it from my hands, he is strong), 
and he 
  parades around with it.  I love it, and I LOVE that confidence.  

  Do I end the game?  Of course I do.  But to never let the dog win?  I think 
  it's bologna, and people shouldn't be told these things that aren't true.  My 
  dog has been winning at tug more often than me since he was 8 weeks old.  We 
  have no dominance issues.

  I probably sound like a jerk...wouldn't be the first time, but these are very 
  real concerns to me.

   - Jackie


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============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2006.  All material remains the property of the original 
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind 
are permitted without prior permission of the original author  AND of the 
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY 
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS 
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY 
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE 
PROSECUTED. 

For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx

VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org
============================================================================

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