What are the most common actions we take as humans that damage our dogs’ “Value of Life?” Often as humans we make mistakes and learn from them. But what mistakes do we make when looking through our dogs’ eyes? What we don’t see is a lot of the mistakes we make may actually be the cause of our pups’ behavior problems. Our pups know we are not perfect even though we strive so hard to be.
The first on my list of our mistakes is one of my favorites, Barking. This is one of my favorites because the training process to curve unwanted barking creates a super bond between you and your pup. In order for us to understand our mistakes with barking we first need to understand why our pups bark. This is a simple little article put out by the American Kennel Club. Learning to Speak Dog.
So what mistake do most of us make when our dogs bark? Imagine every time you tried to talk about something you were excited about and someone yelled “Shut-up!” as soon as you started to say something. Life wouldn’t be much fun then. Barking is one of the biggest reasons we humans yell at our dogs. I could see two dogs talking to each other and one of them says, “I can make my owner speak on command. Watch! Woof!Woof!” Of course, the owner responds, “Shut-up! Pup!” Dog just made his point, “See, works every time! Hee-Hee!”
Unfortunately, in a lot of households 90% of the communication the pup hears is negative feedback. “Get out of that!” “Don’t Chew on That!“ “Get Off The Cat!” If this is the only feedback they receive it will make it harder for them to figure out what we do want. Ask yourself, and be honest, how many times a day do you tell your pup they are being good? If you think about it not often enough. A simple “good Rover” even when they are just sitting there doing nothing. The feedback they receive is positive and helps them to figure out what we are wanting them to do.
The next one is the dreaded ‘Recall!” Let’s paint the picture. You are enjoying a nice summer day on the back porch watching your pup play. Rover goes to the back of the yard where you have freshly planted roses and starts digging them up. First reaction: “Rover No! Come Here!” and Rover comes to you immediately. When Rover arrives you scold him for digging in your roses. So here is Rover’s side of the story. “It was a really nice day and the wind was blowing all kinds of great smells my way. I started to chase this flying thingy that landed on my nose and ended up next to this really cool dirt. It was so soft and cool when I put my paws in it. I wonder how far it goes?” “Rover Come Here!” “Oh there is my owner yelling for me to come back. It must be something wonderful if they are yelling for me that loud.” “Why are you still yelling at me, I am here now and where is my treat?”
So where was our mistake in this scenario? Instead of scolding Rover for digging in the garden and we should have praised him for coming to us when called. Even though we did the Recall because Rover was into something he wasn’t supposed to, he came when we called him. So the next time Rover is enjoying himself and gets called in he will be thinking “ Oh No! I remember what happened last time I came back when I was having fun. You made me go inside and take a nap. I think I will stay out here a little longer and see how far this dirt hole will go.” In this scenario when correcting Rover for digging and not praising for coming when called takes away the value for Rover to want to come back to you. So the next time you do a Recall, your pup will not have any interest in coming to you.
How can we go wrong on a simple walk down the street with our pup? Believe it or not, most of us make several mistakes on a simple walk.The first and most important in my opinion would be Sniffing. We get to see the outside world on a daily routine, but our pups only get to see the world when we take them. This is one of the reasons they get so excited when they see us grabbing the leash. When they are out for a walk they are taking the scent of the world in through their noses. When they stop and they stick their nose to the ground they are inhaling everything that has come across that spot. When we see what they are smelling, we are like “EEW!! That’s gross! Leave it alone!” What they think is “MMMM BACOOON!” With our busy routines we are always in such a rush, and we forget to “slow down and smell the roses” This is exactly what our pups are trying to get us to do.
That brings up the flip side of the coin, the pups that are Pulling us down the street. It isn’t a big secret that Pit Bull Mixes are one of my favorites to work with. Anyone that has ever had the pleasure of working with a Pit Bull Mix will know how much they love to pull. There is even a sport for PitBulls to pull, but nobody likes to be pulled down the street when it is supposed to be a nice relaxed walk. I know what you are thinking. “How can we be wrong? We aren’t the ones pulling.” But in fact we are pulling. If someone were to come up to you and grab your arm your first reaction would be to pull away. It is the same when our pups pull we react and pull back then they react and pull back harder, next thing you know you both are pulling each other walking in the same direction. There are several great training methods to teach a pup to stop pulling, but what about those pups that love to pull like Pit Bulls for example. That’s easy. We teach them to pull on command! How, you ask? Tug-of-war (most common), pulling a sled in the snow, pulling a skateboard (careful – road rash hurts!), or even pulling you on a bike or in a wagon are all ways to accomplish this. Please remember safety for you and pup is top priority when teaching pulling. Seek out a professional trainer. T&D Forever Home Training
In conclusion, we as humans HAVE to change the way we communicate with our pets. If 90% of the feedback they receive is negative then they will never learn what we are wanting them to do. If we flip the script and give them more positive feedback when they are doing good behavior, it teaches them the house rules and good manners.
By: Derek Traughber 5/3/21
