[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Pack Leaders... An article in the Review
- From: sheila lieberman <dgshwpromo@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: marhaven@xxxxxxx, MarcatoGSD@xxxxxxx, showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:36:46 -0800 (PST)
As the only true pack leader in this house, I can and will take food away, if
necessary. I teach them this is ok by playing with their food when they first
come to me or when I wean.
I do not snap my fingers for snapping at me, I verbally correct and if that
does not work I hold their mouths shut and praise them for letting me hold
their mouths shut. But most of the time saying ouch is enough. My dogs get
praised for everything they do right. And an alpha roll when needed.
We are a happy pack.
sheila
Carolyn <marhaven@xxxxxxx> wrote:
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.
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.
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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