Thursday, August 11, 2011

Something to thinkabout!

Chris and I were training this morning,
so this is fresh in my mind.
Whoever is pack leader is the one in control, 
it is as simple as that.
Midnight and I often have a problem with this, particularly around the house.
There is someone else having the problem too -- Nacho. 
She has always been "top dog", 
it has been interesting to watch the relationship between the two dogs.
Nacho shows her status by always being in front, 
when they go to the front door.Midnight straddles her,
but is always just a little behind. 
He is giving his support to the pack leader.
Things are changing, Middi is three times her height 
and more than twice her weight.
The big boy wants to play with her all the time,
I have always left Nacho to tell him where to go [and she did!]
Yesterday Chris watched them "playing" and pointed out that he is now bullying her  -- 
she is now too small to stop him when he gets rough!
When Chris is working with Middi and me, she is definately still the pack leader. 
With me it is because I respect her superior knowlege  
and Middi knows about "consiquences"!!!!

Today I learned something I had not thought of,
When I went out the front door I very carefully made Middi walk behind me, as I had been taught.
Chris then followed behind to close the door, 
seemed good to me.
"Thanks, said Chris, you have just made me inferior to Midnight,
in his eyes, he is superior to me!"
This of course will change the next time she comes but it has given me something to think about. 
In future, I will make Middi "stay"
until everyone, including Nacho has left the house.
Makes sense when you think about it!!
There is so much to learn.




What a clown!!


Until next time ----- who is BOSS???

2 comments:

  1. Hi Anne,

    I just thought I'd mention why we were taught to have our service dogs "go through" the door first - as a general rule. We also teach them to "go behind" if we have a special reason.

    Here are the reasons we in the US have for having a service dog go through the door first:

    1. It puts the wheelchair user in control of the door. Even if you cannot use your hands or limbs, your motorized chair can push it open and shut if need be. This helps you have more independence.

    2. It allows you to keep your service dog from being hurt by the door bumping against him. If you are in front of the dog it is often impossible to do so.

    3. It allows you to see what your service dog is doing and maintain control through eye contact. The more your dog focusses on you, the more control you have.

    4. Many service dogs help pull manual wheelchairs. In order to do this, they must be able to back through small spaces including narrow doorways.

    5. Some ervice dogs are trained to "spot" your sides as you go through the doorway and all should be able to alert you to any dangers.

    6. One of the best reasons for having the service dog respond to the command "go through" by exiting the doorway ahead of you is that, the dog then turns to face you and waits to see what you want it to do next. For example: I tell Kendall, "Go through." Kendall goes through the doorway and immediately turns to wait for me to tell him what next. Sometimes I say, "Step," and he puts his front paws on top of my feet (or footplates) and I remove his leash. Often I say "Back," and he backs through a narrow space. Most often I say "Left" or "Right," and he goes to the side I need him to be on.

    I hope you and Chris will consider these ideas, as "Go through," can be a very useful command.

    Please consider that if you are "top dog" your service dog's only concern is to do what it is trained to do and to follow your commands. That is the only subbordination you need to be concerned about. When you give over control to the trainer, that is by your direction, and when the trainer is through training, you must be in control. His loyalalty and bond must be turned over to you.

    God bless.

    U..U

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