Women Who Own Dogs

6 Dog Ownership Questions & 6 Unique Answers that may surprise you.

          Despite the numerous books on dog training and behavior, the almost mushroom-like growth of national pet supply stores offering dog obedience training courses and the increased number of celebrity canine trainers on television, I continue to receive questions from clients that reflect a profound lack of knowledge or naivete regarding canine behavior.

“Will spaying or neutering my dog make it calm down?”

          Answer: No. A dog’s personality and temperament, two key components of a dog’s psychological profile, cannot be altered by a medical procedure.

           "What steps do I need to take to gain control of my alpha dog?”           

          Answer: There is no such thing as an alpha dog because dogs are not wolves or pack animals - they are scavengers. Do you doubt that?  Next time you view a National Geographic special being firmed in a third world village, take note of the number of dogs milling about waiting for a hand-out or an opportunity to steal an unguarded food morsel. They work alone and don't need an Alpha dog or pack to help them  find food.  

Out-of-control dogs, often misdiagnosed as alpha dogs, typically belong to owners who fail to establish house rules that provide a dog with behavioral boundaries. These same owners will sometimes deliberately or inadvertently allow the family dog to become a decision maker, opening the door for many unwanted, aberrant canine behaviors to foster and develop.

“Can I use a squirt bottle or a can filled with pennies to control my dog’s jumping-up behavior?”

Answer: No. A human implement used as a disciplinary tool can trigger some dogs to attack or display fear when the object is later used for its intended purpose.

“If I give my dog human food, will this cause it to beg at the table?”

Answer: It is impossible for a well-trained, uninvited dog to beg at the table. But don’t refrain from occasionally giving a dog (away from the table) unprocessed human food (chicken, fish, beef, grains, vegetables and fruits). They have been eating what we’ve been eating for more than 8,000 years.

                                       

“My husband dislikes having our dog sleep in our bedroom, but several national canine celebrity trainers promote the idea. What should I do?”

Answer: The important issue that needs to be addressed is how any canine professional can theoretically offer canine behavioral modification advice when so many unknown factors such as the dog's home environment, temperament or health profile is unknown.  Before venturing an opinion or recommendation, I believe it is imperative for any canine training professional to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Observe the dog in the home to determine if the environment is conducive for supporting its needs. How might a national canine celebrity be expected to do this? To my knowledge, no in-home consultation service is offered at any national pet store either, yet these facilities offer group training sessions and puppy socialization programs without first ascertaining this vital information.  My hope is that this will one day change. Ultimately, consumer dollars decide the success or failure rate for book sales or businesses offering, in my opinion, less-than-stellar advice or services.     

• Conduct a canine psychological profile to determine the dog’s temperament and personality. This information aids the trainer in determining if the dog is mentally prepared to receive training instructions and then possibly better predict how a dog will react in a familiar or alien (public) environment.

• Recommend client lifestyle changes and create house rules that will enable their client toward providing consistent and predictable guidelines to their canine companion; and establish acceptable rules of conduct that will enhance the human-canine bond.  

“My dog failed obedience class at a local pet store. Now what do I do?”

 Answer: Your dog didn't fail, nor did you. Group training classes are conducted with the implied assumption that all owners and their dogs are the same. You know that defies common sense, don’t you? This one-size-fits-all approach to training a dog also negates several important, undeniable facts. Dogs participating in a group training session will vary in breed affiliation, and like their owners will also vary in age, personality (a physiological trait often displayed when a dog is in a familiar or comfortable environment), temperament (a psychological trait often displayed when a dog is in an unfamiliar environment, e.g., public park, or someone else's home)  as well as physical and mental ability. How could this hodgepodge of human and canine characteristics, traits and the distractions possibly be conducive to learning?