Dogs try to be our best friends, but
boy do we ever make it difficult
sometimes. Here are some of the
things we do that might make dogs
question whether they want to remain
best buds or cut ties completely Using words more than body
language We’re a vocal species. We love to
chatter away, even at our pets, who can’t understand the vast majority of
what we’re saying. Dogs might be able
to deduce what a few key words mean
— walk, treat, toy, off — and maybe
even learn hundreds of words as some
border collies have done. But they can’t understand human language.
What they rely on to figure out what
we mean is our body language. Dogs
have evolved to be expert readers of
the human body and can figure out
what you’re thinking and feeling before you even realize you’re thinking and
feeling it. But we can easily send
mixed signals if we are only paying
attention to what our mouths are
saying and not what our bodies are
saying. If you go to any beginning dog training class, you’ll see plenty of people saying one thing, doing another,
and a confused dog trying to figure out
what in the world is wanted of them.
For instance, telling a dog to “stay”
while leaning forward toward the dog
and holding out a hand like a traffic cop is, in body language, actually
inviting the dog to come toward you.
But when the dog does, she gets
reprimanded for breaking her stay
command. It’s all so confusing! A great experiment (and something
that will probably have your dog
sighing with relief) is to try to spend a
whole day not saying a word to your
dog, but communicating only with your
body. You’ll realize just how much you “talk” with your body without realizing
it, how to use your movements and
body position to get the response you need from your dog during training, and how involved a conversation can
be without emitting a single sound. Hugging your dog While you might love wrapping your
arms around a furry canine friend, most dogs hate hugs. We as primates think hugs are awesome and express
support, love, joy and other emotions
through hugs. It’s totally normal to us
to wrap our arms around something
and squeeze, and it only means good
things. But dogs did not evolve this way. Canids don’t have arms and they
don’t hug. Rather than camaraderie, if
a dog places a foreleg or paw on the
back of another dog, this is considered
an act of dominance. No matter your
intentions with hugging, a dog is hardwired to view the act of hugging
as you exerting your dominance. Many
dogs will tolerate it with grace — the
smiling face of the family golden
retriever with a child’s arms wrapped
around it comes to mind. But some dogs will feel threatened, fearful, or
just flat out loathe the feeling — and in
fact, a child grabbing a dog for a hug is
why many dog bites occur. Also, the
same dog that enjoys one person's
hug might react entirely differently with another family member who tries the
same thing. You'd be hard-pressed to
find a dog that actually enjoys or
seeks out hugs. This dog is barely tolerating a hug from the little girl. Everything about the tense mouth, eyes and ears say that this is not something the dog is enjoying, and this is a potential safety issue for the little girl. (Photo:Dwight Smith/ Shutterstock) If you’re wondering if your dog hates
your hugs, just pay attention to her body language when you go in for a cuddle. Does she tense up? Lean her
head away from you? Avoid even a
hint of eye contact? Lick her lips?
Keep her mouth closed? Pull her ears
back against her head? All of these
are signs that a dog is uncomfortable. Yes, even the dog licking her lips while
someone snuggles her is not showing
that she is overcome with love, it is
showing submissive, even nervous
behavior. So next time you want to go
in for a hug, pay very close attention to whether or not the dog is okay with
it. After all, you’re putting your face
right next to a set of sharp teeth. Petting a dog's face or patting her
head Do you like to be patted on the head?
My guess is no. Having someone
reach out and tap us on the head, no
matter how lovingly, is not something
most of us enjoy. It’s annoying at best
and painful at worst. And we really don’t want the hands of strangers
reaching toward our face. If someone
were to reach their hand toward your
face, I’m guessing your reaction would
be to pull your head back and lean
away, and get a little tense about the invasion of personal space. Yet most
humans think that dogs like being
patted on the head. The reality is that
while many dogs will put up with this if
it’s someone they know and trust,
most dogs don’t enjoy it. You may notice that even the loving family dog
might lean away slightly when you
reach for her face to pet her. She’ll let
you because you’re the boss, but she
doesn't like it. It’s a personal space
issue for dogs just as much as it is for us. This is why responsible parents
teach their children to gently pet a
dog’s back or rear, but don’t pat, and
definitely don’t go for the dog's face. If
you really want to reward your dog for
being awesome, don’t bang on their head, but give them a rub on their rear
end right by the tail. They’ll thank you
for it! Walking up to a strange dog while
looking her in the eye We all know how powerful eye contact
is. While we view steady eye contact
as important, as a sign of
trustworthiness or focus, we have to
also be aware that eye contact can
feel unnerving, uncomfortable and domineering. It’s creepy when a
stranger looks us in the eye without
breaking contact, especially as they’re
approaching. It’s clear their attention is
zeroed in, but what is their intention?
We have to read the rest of their face for the cues. Eye contact is part of
establishing dominance for many
species, and in humans, we can use
the tiniest of details about the rest of
the face — the softness or hardness of
the muscles around the eyes and mouth — to determine if the stare is
friendly or not. And even then, it’s still
creepy to have a stranger stare at us!
It feels the same way for dogs. When
you look a strange dog right in the eye,
unblinking, you might be smiling and trying to warm up to them but the dog
is probably reading it as an act of
dominance or even aggression. They
might display a submissive response —
looking away, doing a little wiggle for
pets, rolling over onto their backs — or they might start backing up and
barking. Either way, for most dogs, a
stranger looking it right in the eye
while approaching is not a comfortable
situation. If you want to say hello to a new dog
in a way that is comfortable for both of
you, approach with your body angled
slightly (not with your shoulders
squared toward the dog), your eyes
slightly averted, and speak quietly with a gentle voice. All these body language
cues of friendship will help a dog
understand you mean no harm. The
dog might still want nothing to do with
you, but at least you didn’t approach in
a scary way that could cause a defensive or aggressive reaction. Not providing structure and rules Dogs want, need, and love having
rules. You might think having strict
rules makes life boring or unhappy for
your dog. But dogs really want to
know what’s what according to their
leader. And really, it’s not so hard to relate as humans. Children thrive
when they have a consistent set of
rules to follow, and they do less well in
environments that provide them a free-
for-all. Think about polite, well-
balanced kids you know, and the spoiled kids who lack social skills or
throw temper tantrums when they
don’t get what they want. Which set of
kids are the ones with consistently
enforced rules and boundaries? And
which set tends to be most consistently happy? With dogs, it’s
pretty much the same thing. Rules
make life a lot more predictable, a lot
less confusing and a lot less
stressful. And speaking of confusing, dogs don’t
understand exceptions to rules. They
don’t understand that they’re allowed
to jump on you when you have leisure
clothes on but not when you have
work clothes on. They don’t understand that they’re allowed on the
couch after a bath but not after coming
in from a romp in the mud.
Additionally, saying “No” for breaking a
rule but not actually doing something
to help the dog stop the behavior and learn the rule doesn’t count as
enforcement. Dogs thrive when they
know where the boundaries are, and
when you spend time enforcing
consistent boundaries with positive
rewards, you also are building up their trust in you as a leader. You’re setting
up conditions for a very happy dog! Forcing your dog to interact with
dogs or people she clearly
doesn’t like Just like so many other social species,
dogs have their favorite friends and
their enemies. It is easy to see what
other dogs — and people, for that
matter — that a dog wants to hang out
with and those with whom she’d rather not associate. Yet, there are a lot of
dog owners who go into denial about
this or simply fail to read the cues their dog is giving them. It is common
for overly enthusiastic owners to push
their dog (sometimes literally) into social situations at dog parks when their dog would rather just go home. Or they allow strangers to pet their
dog even when she is showing clear
signs of wanting to be left alone. It is important to note that there is a
difference between positive
encouragement with shy, fearful, or
reactive dogs. Taking small steps to
encourage them out of their comfort
zone and giving them rewards for any amount of calm, happy social behavior
is important to helping them live a
balanced life. But knowing the
difference between gentle, rewards-
based boundary pushing and forcing
an interaction is vital to your dog's safety and sanity. When dogs are
pushed too far in social situations,
they’re more likely to lash out with a
bite or a fight. They’ve given cue after
cue — ignoring, avoiding, maybe even
growling — and finally they’ve had enough and give the clearest message
of all with their teeth. What is possibly
even worse, is that their trust in you
as a protective leader is eroded, and
they have an even more negative
association with a park, a certain dog or person, or a general social setting.
So do your dog a favor: read the body
language she gives you when she
doesn’t want to be around certain
other individuals and don’t force it. Going for walks without
opportunity to explore and smell There are walks, and there are walks.
It’s definitely important to have a dog
that knows how to walk obediently on
a leash. However, it’s also important
to allow a dog to have some time to
explore her surroundings while walking obediently on a leash. Dogs see with
their noses, and they place as much
importance on their sense of smell as
we humans place on our sense of
vision for interpreting the world around
us. It’s probably safe to say that dogs appreciate the smell of a tree trunk the
way we appreciate a beautiful sunset.
Dogs loathe not being able to take in
their world for at least a few minutes a
day, and too often we humans are
focused on going on walks for the sole purpose of exercise or potty breaks.
We trudge along the same old route,
often without any variety or sense of
leisure, and in too much of a hurry to
get back home again. The sense of smell is how a dog takes in the world, and sometimes they're simply desperate for a chance to take a good sniff. (Photo:Csehak Szabolcs /Shutterstock) Do your dog a favor and dedicate one
of your daily walks to having a "smell
walk" — going slow and letting your dog
take in the world with her nose. Go
somewhere entirely new, explore a
different neighborhood or trail, let your dog sniff at a spot until she gets her
fill, even if it's for minutes at a time
before moving forward. For helping
your dog know the difference between
a walk where she should be obedient
and stay beside you, and a walk where she is free to explore, you can have a special backpack or harness that you
use only for smell walks. Just make
sure it is something very different from
your usual collar and leash set-up so
the different purpose for the walk is
obvious to your dog. These walks are a wonderful opportunity for your dog to
get some of the mental and sensory
stimulation that keeps life interesting
for her. Keeping a tight leash, literally Just as dogs are amazing at reading
our body language, they’re amazing at
reading our tension levels even
through the leash. By keeping a tight
leash on a dog, you’re raising the level
of stress, frustration, and excitement for your dog, and conversely, for you.
I know what you might be thinking: “I
don’t want to hold a tight leash, but I
have to. My dog is the one pulling, not
me!” But this is why it is so important
to teach a dog how to walk on a slack leash. An amazing amount of energy is
transferred between you and your dog
through that little strip of canvas or
leather. By keeping a loose leash,
you’re letting your dog know that
everything is fine and dandy, that there’s no reason to be worried or
tense. With a slack leash you’re
saying to your dog that you are calm
and have everything under control so
your dog is free to be calm as well. On
the other hand, by keeping a tight leash you’re sending a message to
your dog that you’re tense, nervous,
on alert, ready to fight or fly, and your
dog responds in kind. Just as you
don’t like your dog pulling you around,
it doesn’t feel good to your dog to constantly be pulled and thus cued to
be on alert. They’re also well-aware
that they can’t get away from you even
if they think they need to. A dog that
walks on a tight leash is more apt to
bark or be reactive in even the most mild of social situations. But a dog that
can walk on a slack leash is more
likely to be calm. This is a difficult
thing to master, and something the
majority of dog owners can
commiserate about, but it is so important to having pleasant walks
with a relaxed dog. Being tense Tension on the leash isn’t the only way
a dog can pick up how you’re feeling.
You can tell when a person you’re
around is feeling tense, even if you
don’t realize it. Dogs have the same
ability. The more stressed and wound- up you are, the more stressed and
wound-up your dog is. And dogs, just
like us, don’t like that feeling. You might roll your eyes, but the next time
your dog is acting frustrated and
tense, check in with yourself — have
you been feeling that way for the last
few minutes, for the last few hours, or
the last few days? Your dog might just be acting as your mirror. If you need a
reason to meditate, helping your dog
calm down is a great one. Being boring You know that feeling of being stuck
hanging around someone who is totally
boring? Think back: remember having
to be with your parents while they ran
grown-up errands? None of which
revolved around a toy store or park, of course. Remember that feeling of
barely being able to contain yourself,
of wanting to squirm and groan and
complain. You couldn't take part in the
adult conversation, which was boring
anyway, and you were told to sit still and hush. But oh boy did you ever
want to just moooove! Just run around
the block or something to break the monotony. That's how your dog feels
when you're busy being that boring
grown-up. Dogs abhor it when we're
boring. And it's hard not to be! We get
home from work and we want to
unwind, to get a few chores done, to make dinner and sack out on the
couch and relax. But that's about the
most annoying thing we could do to
our dogs who have been waiting
around all day for us to finally play
with them. If your dog is making trouble — getting
into boxes or closets, eating shoes or
chewing on table legs — she's basically
showing you just how incredibly bored
she is. Luckily, there is a quick and
easy solution to this: training games. Teaching your dog a new trick,
working on old tricks, playing a game
of "find it" with a favorite toy, or going
out and using a walk as a chance to
work on urban agility, are all ways to
stimulate both your dog's mind and body. An hour of training is worth a
couple hours playing a repetitive game
of fetch in terms of wearing a dog out.
While of course exercise and walks
are important, adding in some brain
work will make your dog happy-tired. Even just 15-30 minutes of trick
training a day will make a big
difference. Teasing This should be obvious, and we won't
spend too much time on it. But it's
worth pointing out because too many
people still think it’s funny. Don't bark
at a dog as you pass it on the street.
Don't wave or talk to a dog that is barking at you from behind a window
or door. Don't pull on a dog's tail. The
list can go on and on, but in short,
don't do something you know makes a
dog mad just because you think it's
funny. It's not funny to the dog and can lead to some serious behavioral
problems — and, perhaps deservedly,
you getting to sport some new dog-
shaped teeth marks. Further Reading If you'd like to learn more about how to
be a better friend to your dog, try
these great book recommendations. For example, in "The Other End of the
Leash: Why We Do What We Do
Around Dogs" professional behaviorist
and trainer Patricia B. McConnell goes
into excellent detail about the species
differences between primates and canids and why dogs don't appreciate
our hugs, as well as many other great
ways of understanding a dog's
perspective about the world.
Meanwhile, in "Inside of a Dog: What
Dogs See, Smell, and Know" by Alexandra Horowitz, you'll get a
chance to see the world through a
dog's eyes and learn so much about
body language, the importance of
scent, and other things that will help
you know more about what your dog wants out of life.

What's this?

Interesting piece

[quote author=MrAkias post=33298175][/quote]


Will it be a crime if you paraghraphed this your thesis?

Paragraph it pls