Publish at January 10 2023 Updated January 12 2023
I adopted two dogs this spring of 2022 and since then I have been growing in my dog training skills in unexpected ways. I never expected such an adventure...
It all started with the arrival of 6-month-old Lisa in our home.
Lisa is a Dutch shepherdess who wanted to go to school but didn't have the typical profile.
In fact, after an unknown journey, she ended up in a schoolyard (she's very playful) before joining our home after a passage from the pound to the LPA...
In contrast to my husband, this was the first time I was fostering a "big dog" and I wondered where to go for knowledge outside of intuition...
So I started by contacting a dog trainer in my neighborhood and there, the questioning gave way to pressure...
"Your dog is 6 months old, ma'am, it's more than time to start his education or else he'll take over you!"
Since the 1950s, the idea has been widespread that since the dog is a descendant of the wolf, it would be necessary to observe how it functions between conspecifics in order to set up healthy human-dog relationships.
Or, ethology, like all sciences, has advanced since that time and we now know that the dog is not descended from the wolf but has a common ancestor with it, just like humans and apes!
"According to Ian Dubar (2006): "Learning from wolves to interact with domestic dogs makes about as much sense as saying "if we want to be better parents, let's see how chimpanzees do it!" (B. Eaton p64)
Moreover, the studies of wolf pack behavior in the wild - let's not forget that dominance theory was built on observations of captive wolves - show more cooperation between conspecifics than hierarchy. (B. Eaton)
Even if "dominant" behaviors do exist in dogs, they relate only to conspecific relationships but do not apply to other species. It has since been known that the dog is more of an opportunist who seeks appeasement more than conflict. (cf Turid Rugaas the appeasement signals)
According to the dominance theory, you will get the respect of the canine hierarchy as long as you implement a certain number of life rules such as "always eat before your dog", "go out of the house first", "don't let him get on the couch but always have a higher position", etc., etc.
This human-dog theory was deconstructed by Barry Eaton, a dog trainer specializing in deaf dogs who spent an enormous amount of time observing animals, linking it to ethology research to lay the groundwork for an adaptive communication style.
With the best will in the world, basing education on this theory of dominance can only lead to a somewhat violent way of doing things since it implies a "hierarchical demotion program" that will affect the dog and also the human... Indeed, it hurts you since you find yourself in a posture that does not necessarily resemble you and that implies an educational method that, in the end, does not correspond to you...
From my experience, this method of education was based on two things: encouragement and fear (especially through the sounds of the chain "education" collar snapping during a "shoeing" or those tin cans filled with rocks thrown violently to the ground to teach the dog to refuse bait.
Fear, precisely, gave us clues about Lisa's past, since it was expressed in her in an extremely strong way. For example by a flight or prostration at the time of an abnormal or strong noise. This manifested itself in a somewhat laughable way as she was even afraid of a guitar when its strings were vibrated...
We especially observed this fear-terror when Maya arrived two months later!
Maya is a 6-year-old German shepherdess who experienced the great trauma of being abandoned by her owners who could no longer care for her. She was taken care of by an association in my area which uses foster families before the dog is permanently adopted. This allows a more "qualitative" follow-up or even a partial re-education for animals with a complicated past.
Given her somewhat "matriarchal" behavior, Maya has had to be used for littering. She tends to reframe Lisa, who is younger and a priori unweaned.
At first this threw us off since Lisa would howl in this type of situation. This is manifested by the fact of grabbing her by the neck and shaking her very strongly.
The association "reflex adoption" then put us in contact with a caring educator.
This is a whole new universe that has finally opened up to us...
Yes, dog education, just like the relationship with living beings, is evolving. And that's just as well! No, the dog is not trying to dominate me but to live serenely, even if he climbs on the couch!
Dog training, it's also a market and there are a plethora of channels on YouTube or otherwise that promise you miracle solutions and quite often based on this background of dominance that needs to be questioned (esprit dog, educ-dog)
Other ways of looking at the living being that is the dog exist and new methods are emerging, like here in Belgium.
A method of dog education based 100% on benevolence
Thus, participating in the education of a living being, whatever it may be, is a real life choice. The dog has needs other than eating and sleeping. He is deeply connected to his "attachment human" as Audrey Ventura calls it.
The dog is not only an opportunistic being, he is also a freedom-loving being. His needs are also physical and sensitive. Living in the city, he has to be content with a walk on a leash in streets where car traffic is more or less dense.
In France and especially in Belgium, there are more and more "dog parks". These are parks reserved for dogs accompanied by their human. These parks are more or less large and sometimes wooded, they are also fenced. The dogs can walk, trot, run as they please, meet their fellow dogs and thus maintain a mode of communication which does not correspond at all to what the human "interprets" often...
Humans are quite often illiterate regarding the language of the dog. The dog has an essentially body language. He "reads" us this way too. No need to tell him our life and make long sentences...
The Norwegian Turid Rugas has thus deciphered these signals. She called them "appeasement signals" since, in most cases, the dog will implement them for two reasons: to appease himself or a fellow dog (or his illiterate human!).
Turid Rugas worked with horses before becoming interested in canine communication. The horse, too, is an emotional sponge and is used by humans for individual or team coaching (equi-coaching).
Let's go back to dogs, two examples of widespread illiteracy: when the dog licks its nose, it does not show that it is enjoying itself, the image is quite often misused in marketing. Especially for so-called "dog food specialists". The dog food would also deserve to be considered...
When the dog licks his nose, he doesn't say "ummmm I'm enjoying myself" but rather "what you're doing there is stressing me out". Same thing when he yawns. Yawning is more a signal of stress than fatigue in dogs.
After extensive observation of dogs and cross-referencing the information with ethology research, Turid Rugaas has highlighted full canine generosity. Dogs are masters in stress management, since they have a whole communication system dedicated to it!
Canines have this faculty to emit signals intended to soothe themselves and the other, fellow dog or human. Amazing, isn't it?
Bottom line, what dog training teaches us is mostly to take the time to observe and learn and also that :
In the same idea, I rather like this quote from singer Jacques Higelin about raising his children:
"I don't raise my kids, I raise myself with them"
Sources
Barry Eaton (French Edition 2010, 2021 ) La dominance, mythe ou réalité Les Éditions du Génie Canin https://www.decitre.fr/livres/dominance-mythe-ou-realite-9782952809542.html
Turid Rugaas (French Edition 2009, 2022) Calming Signals. The Basics of Canine Communication Canine Genius Publishing https://www.decitre.fr/livres/les-signaux-d-apaisement-9782952809535.html
Audrey Ventura (2020) The Dog, This Animal That Escapes Us
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08M8RJG9J/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
You might also like:
Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster
From the Syrian refugee crisis to the West Africa Ebola outbreak, humanitarian emergencies have reached unprecedented dimensions and proportions. As need for humanitarian aid grows, how can efforts to alleviate human suffering evolve with it?
Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster
From the Syrian refugee crisis to the West Africa Ebola outbreak, humanitarian emergencies have reached unprecedented dimensions and proportions. As need for humanitarian aid grows, how can efforts to alleviate human suffering evolve with it?
Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster
From the Syrian refugee crisis to the West Africa Ebola outbreak, humanitarian emergencies have reached unprecedented dimensions and proportions. As need for humanitarian aid grows, how can efforts to alleviate human suffering evolve with it?
Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster
From the Syrian refugee crisis to the West Africa Ebola outbreak, humanitarian emergencies have reached unprecedented dimensions and proportions. As need for humanitarian aid grows, how can efforts to alleviate human suffering evolve with it?
