|
Location: UK
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,602
|
|
Originally Posted by
Nippy
Thats interesting GSDLover, because I think we had let her become top dog when we first had her, because we felt sorry for her and because at times she seemed so sad. In other words we spoiled her.
So I think now we must stick to all the rules we were trying to enforce before we went away. Be a bit firmer in her training and maybe we will win in the end. What do you reckon?
I am with you in your thinking. Though I know through past posts, many would respectfully disagree.
It's so so easy to feel sorry for a dog and therefore cut extra slack believing you're doing the right thing, when, in actual fact, you may well be sending out the completely wrong signals. But then you get into what is and what isn't acceptable behaviour from a dog? For example: To the person with no neighbours, then garden barking isn't an issue. To the person with old neighbours, it's an extreme issue, to those with dog loving neighbours, it might still be an issue, but perhaps not so much, etc...
A dog will, in my view, ultimately get away with what it can get away with. Without malice or intent at all, but they don't have the same values as we do. Their values are simple in comparsion to ours. "This is on the floor, looks interesting, I'll chew it.".
I am firmly of the opinion that a dog can have too much of a good thing. Very much so in fact, and it's the core of my own training principle. I also believe we often stifle our dogs too much at times, seeing them being on their own as somehow cruel or heartless. As I write this very post, for example, my GSD is laid at the bottom of the stairs, minding her own business and getting some time to herself to relax, without having to worry about me or my well-being. (She can quite easily walk up the stairs if she wants to but clearly she's made the choice to spend some time alone.) Unlike some, I don't see that as cruel or heartless, nor a reflection that she perhaps doesn't like me. In fact, on the contrary, I see it as a real pleasure that she feels confident enough to not need to cling to us. I know full well that if I went downstairs now, and grabbed the ball, then she'd leap into play mode, with ears pricked up.
So, for me, it's a case of giving your dog what it needs but giving it on terms that are acceptable to me, my partner, visitors to our house, and to our neighbourhood at large. Clearly, seperating yourself from your dog has had an effect, and I dare guess that it's quite a marked effect. You'll also note as well, I guess, that if you call it, it still comes running, still wants to play, etc. etc. It hasn't been negatively affected at all. It's just learned that it doesn't need you to be right by its side 24/7 and, more importantly perhaps, that you can be relied upon to return!