Question:
Does my dog really understand me when I talk to him?
Answer:
Normal canine social behavior is surprisingly compatible with human social
behavior because we share many social patterns. However, there are also significant
differences, and if we think of dogs as little furry people, it leads to confusion
which breaks down the bond, and decreases the joy of companionship. For example,
many people like to "share" their food, and mistakenly reward gradually more obnoxious
begging behavior.
Punishing the dog when finding the garbage raided or the house soiled seems natural
to people. But punishment after the fact simply confuses the dog and reduces
its trust and respect for the person. The correct response is as follows: Don't
let the dog see you clean up (pay attention to) the mess. Then, make it impossible
to access the garbage, or start over with a reward-based house training program.
People commonly punish submissive gestures such as submissive urination or excessive
licking. Since the dog was doing these things to reduce perceived aggressors,
the aggressive punishment confuses the dog who tries harder by doing more submissive
urination or licking. The correct response to submissive urination is to ignore
the dog at greetings until it is calm enough to sit. If he is licking excessively,
interrupt the licking by requesting a SIT, then give positive attention for the
sitting, while avoiding the deft tongue.
Rough play like slapping, wrestling or play boxing is fun for some (usually male)
humans. However, this confuses the dog to think that aggression toward people is
ok, resulting in a dog more likely to become aggressive toward people later in life.
Humans often come home, find a mess and make the mistake of saying COME, then punishing
the dog when he comes to the scene of the previous crime. The dog confuses the command
COME with the punishment, and stops coming when called.
Giving a dog what it wants after an objectionable behavior such as whining, barking
or scratching at the door confuses the dog to think that this is what they should do to get to come inside. Then if it doesn't work, the dog escalates until it becomes
punished for something it thought you wanted it to do.
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