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Dog Owners Tend To Forget That Dogs Are Animals
from: Kyle BesserSeveral thousand years ago dogs were initially domesticated for their functional value. Dogs were used as hunting helpers, guard dogs for property and stock, and even as body warmers in cold climates. These basic functions are no longer required by most moden families and the dog's capacity to fit within the family group for the mutual benefit of all its members is stifled and can become frustrating for both the dog and the family members. Without some meaningful functional nurturing, dogs grow older, mature physically, but behave like puppies emotionally, seeking attention and care, totally frustrated, when denied any competent guidance toward filling an acceptable role in the family.
On the human side of the equation, as we become increasingly dependent on verbal skills and electronic communications, a pet is is often the only meaningful daily contact with the natural world. Dog owners tend to use human verbal and physical commands to communicate with their pets, and the opportunity to develop nonverbal communications with their dogs is not provided. Most people mistakenly think dogs must simply be "trained" to learn how to behave properly. When training fails, both owner and dog become frustrated and problems develop. While formal training is an important element in a satisfying relationship, informal training is at the root of most problem behavior.
Dogs learn from, and react to, the way people behave. Movement, stance and sound communicate with dogs. On the other hand, as dogs struggle to communicate with people through their own movements, postures and sounds, they are often misinterpreted or ignored. This only widens the frustrating communications gap for both the dog and the owners.
If dog owners would take the time to understand dog behavior and learn how to interpret their pet's behavior, then use movement, stance and special sounds to communicate effectively, they could live together harmoniously. Once the basics of effective human/canine communications are learned and applied, they play a crucial role in correcting behavior problems humanely and effectively.
It doesn't occur to most dog owners that shouting at a barking dog is, in fact, joining in the racket. To the dog, shouting is the human version of the same behavior. When the dog does become silent, it is because it associates the owner's tone of voice with disapproval and/or fear of impending pain from punishment. Excitable types or those with some prior traumatic experience usually become worse.
In the non-verbal world of dogs, silence means quiet, inaction begets stillness and movement stimulates action. The fact that this patently obvious facet of non-verbal communication must be written or talked about to gain attention among dog owners further points to the extreme verbal orientation of humans. Spoken language is just noise to dogs. It is a tribute to their adaptability that they actually learn the meaning of certain key sounds, which usually comes about through a combination of the dog's intelligence and the owner's consistency when referring to certain events or objects.
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