Are we Doing a disservice to our Dogs by humanizing them?

I am appalled that training tools are even a subject of Petitions, laws, debate to be honest. Those are my dogs in rapture of destroying a book. It's totally ironic its a Positive style of training, add the factor these are Malinios, high drive, working dogs, mother and daughter. "awe that's so cute mamma and baby having fun". Hell NO! Not acceptable behavior at all. But that is what I see. Others see bonding over fun stuff.

UGH! Enough people, stop putting your assumption of emotion into your dogs, just stop; they do not function as we do. Their world is black and white. based on instinct not emotion. I need; food, water, sex and to survive. That is it. they do what it takes to survive.

To please us yep that's in there. we domesticated them after all. So we are a provider of their primal needs. In return they are loyal.

We have taken the loyalty to far and paired it with our emotion of love. Why? Because we want them too. We dress them up, carry in bags, use as a status symbol...we created a monster and are not willing to admit our fault in it.

We allow them to rule our homes, once it was a privilege after a good hunt to lay by the fire as a reward. Now they hog the beds we sleep in and cause us to have sleep deprivation because we don't want to disturb them.

Due to their basic frustration, they have developed human classified issues. My Favorite Boarding Boy at the right is showing off his "collection" to the "pet" owner, to me, it's an OCD bad issue, you can not touch any of those treasures of his Ever! They are his, and he will defend his ownership to the end of time if allowed. Umm NO. Not an exceptionable behavior in a dog at all. No I am not going into how to fix it. It is an example of what we allow our dogs and what we presume causes the behavior.

This is Resource guarding to the umpteenth time. Bad and very bad. But to those who humanize its a collector never mind the fact you will get bit if you approach or touch any of those items. Dog says Mine, you say, awe how cute can I have one? ...no; all teeth and vocals, or a bowed head hovering over the items. Oh big boy you want to play keep away ok! OK STUPID I'LL PLAY...Bite, you pull away and it is game on! Tug a war with your arm....have fun. See you in the ER. Mind you this is a high drive working dog, he respects few people in his life, i'm one of the lucky ones.

Folks stop humanizing things on four legs, they see it as free pass. They are dogs, meant to do a job and serve. keep them at that level.

I am not saying keep them off the recliner watching the game with you, I'm saying let them know they need to be invited into the chair, it is a privilege, a reward to be next to you. NOT a Right!

Quit applying human emotional process to them they are not that complex. Honest they have basic needs and that's it. So what if studies say they release good cortisol when they hear your voice. It's just means they recognize it, not that they love you, it means you have provided them with a need they had and they respect that. Nothing more or less.

Now to my point. we have humanized this creature to the point they are uncontrollable, unpredictable, and so fearful with out a opportunity for the choice of fight or flight. We blame fear, we blame noise, we blame environmental stresses. Pfft fuck all that, it is our fault we project our own issues on our dogs.

Here is the deal, if you are scared with your dog, it will go on high alert. Taking up your slack. You see a threat they do too x100 more then you.

So they are now our fur children, feeling our fears and insecurities, they become these uncontrollable beats reactive to all things we fear...and we wonder why and want to fix it now.

Or we give up and surrender the animal, drive it down the freeway to the next county because "it's a no kill" shelter county, well I hate to tell you, they do kill, it takes quite a bit these days but once the dog is deemed not adoptable, life is over, probably for the best.

Now, toss in pushy 100% positive training philosophies that claim they are science based...forget putting pressure on the animal, it is inhumane. If I hurt it it will become fearful of me. Well shit I want my dog to fear my wrath! I want it to listen to what I tell it to do for it's own safety. I want it to act correctly when I let it play with other dogs and have fun. But it darn well better come to me when called for it's own good and check in. Oh wait, if I call my kid, it better respond or feel my wrath...hrrrmmm

Tools help me get to that point. So you make your dog a human in your household, it now terrorized you and your household with its wants of the furniture, rooms etc. Eats your Furniture, tears up a couch, wants nothing to do with a kennel, hates loud noise like fireworks..OMG what do I do, I've got to get it medicated...Not the answer...oh I cuddle with them when the big bad world closes in! But it still doesn't work. I need help!

Ok, have you tried to do some basic obedience with your dog out in the big scary sounds? Oh you don't think your dog likes the cold or wet, because you don't? Please... they do not care about the outside world if you are there with them, put on a coat and a hat, lazy ass.

The exposure and teaching alternate behaviors with their fear causes the other side of the brain to rule over the fear we created by coddling it. Oh honey don't be scared mommy /daddy is her to protect you. Dogs are not kids you are feeding the fear just stop it. yes I read the new study that tried to debunk this..hush, I don't care, not a kid it's a dog.

I want to kill the person who said they have the mentality of a three year-old, it has given us permission to treat them like kids.

Now this is a photo of my tool box, slip collars, e-collar, pinch collars, greyhound collars, StarMark collars, clickers, anything you can think of (bonkers and shaker cans are in a different basket). When I train. I start with a a slip lead, if that does not get a result desired I move up the ladder until my tool gets the result I am looking for in a dog. The dog tells me what works, for them. Just like a reward the dog picks what holds value.

Honestly I should not publish this, because un-humanizing dogs and getting them and their two legged pets to find balance in their relationships pays my bills. Call me I can balance you your and your dog! 904.832.0161 West of the West Side in Jacksonville Florida

But honestly folks don't start signing petitions, about tools you perceive as painful. To have balance you must have both the good and the bad. It's also just a perspective of which is which....