October 2018 - Dog International

Frisbees and balls are a great way to stimulate our dogs’ hunting and chasing instincts. These dogs are allowed to express their natural predatory drive and have fun.

Dogs’ tendency to behave like dogs has become frowned upon these days – it is not uncommon that their barking, chewing, chasing, digging, jumping, growling, snarling and biting is labeled “abnormal.” Dogs are suspected to have psychological problems when in fact their only problem is that we routinely assign thoughts and intentions to our dogs which exist in our imagination only. Australian dog Trainer Sylvie Martin of Crosspaws delivers another unflinchingly clear vision of how we humans can greatly increase our own happiness as well as our dogs’ by better understanding and respecting the nature of our furry friends rather than constantly projecting human intentions onto their behaviors, which only leads to conflict and stress for both parties.

anthropocentrism, anthropomorphism, behavior modification, dog behavior, dog training, fear-free training, Force-free training

Dogs aren’t stubborn, just like trees don’t smile. A dog called “stubborn” is almost always undertrained. When we understand that, we can then productively move forward to provide the training they need to reliably respond to our cues.

“My dog is stubborn!” “My dog has an attitude.” “My dog is needy.” “My dog is acting guilty.” Have you ever used one of these phrases? Heard someone else say it? We humans tend to project our human qualities onto other species, including dogs. Dogs aren’t stubborn, mean, brats, guilty-looking, out for revenge, or needy in the sense the word is usually used. When we let go of human-like labels and treat and train our dogs like the amazing, unique species that they are, it deepens our bond with them, sets up realistic expectations, and opens the door to a much happier and cozier existence. Dog trainer extraordinaire, Kristi Benson, discusses what our dogs’ behavior actually means when we label them things like “stubborn,” and how we can set them up for success when we stop anthropomorphizing them.