Owning a Dog is a Two Way Street

My sweet neighbor recently gave me a book about pups, since she realizes I help manage a dog rescue. The quote by Callie Smith Grant on the back of the cover is perfect and reads,
"if this hound could like us, well... maybe we could trust ourselves."
Now, here's the rub. This only becomes a reality, when we approach this concept in reverse. Dogs need to respect us, like us, but not see us as assets, a doggie treat if you will. They need to see us as leaders—and this only happens when we begin to trust ourselves, guiding them in a confident, calm manner.

This concept, the reason why wolves first started coming to our camp fires in the first place, must be understood before you become a dog owner. In other words, dogs are a two way street. In order to truly enjoy their affection, you must be a leader—or get off your biscuit and begin learning how to be one. For some of us, we are not confident, not feeling cozy in our own skins or maybe we are impatient. These traits are sure fire signs of failure and must be worked on, so that your dog will trust you and listen. For example, let's talk about the items I must work on, in order for me to be successful with pups. I am confident, but have a horrible temper. If I am working with a new dog, I realize, if I do not remain calm, the dog will not listen. In short, the dog is making me a better human, while I work on showing the dog how to follow my commands. It's a symbiotic relationship that is always improving, never perfected, but the pursuit is more rewarding than any other.

Dog loyalty is not the default, but the genetic triggers are there for families willing to put in the work to unleash the love and loyalty. Once experienced, you truly begin to trust yourself. Furthermore, your relationships with family, work and friends will improve as well. If you don't believe me, just try it. Yes, it's a great deal of work, but worth the effort. In our program, we call it becoming a Humble Warrior.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fostering Saves Lives

Image
Fostering saves lives, but it's not for the faint of heart. As much as we need good fosters, wimps need not apply. In fact, you must have a pretty high tolerance level—or what I like to call a grit level. For example a wimp with a grit level of one would be a family who gives up on a pup, when it decides to potty on their new carpet. Conversely, a grit level of 10 would be someone who just got bit in the face, but decides to carry on anyway. For our cause, we need you to be at grit level 4 or better. Now, I do not want discourage anyone who wants to step up and foster a pup. However, if you decide to throw your hat in the ring, don't do it to make yourself feel good—or to get a pat on the back. Do it because you realize the dog needs you for the period it will take to get adopted, no matter how long this might take. Yes, no matter how long. In fact, on average, it takes just over 4 months for these furry animals to find their forever home. You must endure barking, jumping, a...
Read more

Dog Behavior and How it Should Guide Adoptions

Image
Recently I have been scrutinized more than usual for being too difficult on potential adopters. I can always take the heat, but at the same time I attempt to keep an open mind, wondering if I could soften my tone or water down the scrutiny. But here is the issue. It's our organizations responsibility to ensure that once a dog is placed in a home that the environment is safe, secure and loving for both the pup and the family. In order to facilitate this decision, we focus on dog behavior. The more the potential family knows or is willing to learn, governs directly in how successful they will be with the chosen dog. In other words, if a family has only ridden a moped I am not going to let them have a Harley Davidson—especially if they are not wiling to learn how to ride it correctly. To me focusing on dog behavior is common sense and all rescue facilities should make it standard practice. However, the hard truth is, most do not. Also, city, county and state dog shelters are so ov...
Read more

Let Your Pup Decompress

Image
By Gary Newcomb Gary is a contributing editor and works closely with The Little Red Dog as a volunteer and trainer. His own company PawsRMade4Walkin.com works with families who currently have problems with their pups. You can also listen to Gary every other week on our Podcast, For The Love of Dog Please Welcome Fido To The Show! When you adopt a dog, there will be a transition period where the dog is settling in and you are getting to know each other. Those first days and weeks are going to be the foundation for your new life together. Imagine being taken by people you don't know, driven somewhere you've never been and told it's your new family and home. Many dogs experience the same nervousness you and I would in the situation. When you bring a dog home, they need time to decompress. Allowing them the time and space to get back to a calm state of mind, and comfortably get to know the new environment. During that time, try to keep everything calm and soothing f...
Read more