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EXTREME
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INFORMATION
Joan Sinden's Blog
What′s Wrong with Using ‘Dominance’
to Explain the Behaviour of Dogs?
Dog Greeting Rules
For someone as hung up on dominance
as Cesar Millan, I was quite surprised to read that he lets the dog
initiate greeting and advices the person to allow groin sniffing till
the dog is done. You’d think that someone who corrects a dog for
a
trivial infringement like stepping ahead would pay more attention to
something as major as entering one’s private realm.
True
enough, regardless of species, it is always the subordinate who
approaches a superior, but only after an invitation. Never does an
underling invade space of someone above on her own terms.
If
I’m in a crowd to watch the arrival of a visiting VIP, it is up
to the
VIP to set the rules for a possible interaction. She can ignore me or
shake hands and chat, pass me by or invite me to tea. The VIP signals
if, or if not, I may approach closer. If yes, I do so observing the
correct cultural rituals, and hang around until the VIP decides that
the visit is over. No VIP has the right to disrespect me, beat me up or
order me around, but can completely dismiss my existence, and I presume
that’s what she’d probably do with insignificant old me. A
VIP is
superior and knows it.
In Millan’s world, dogs are allowed
to dismiss all those rules and he calls it leadership.
In
my world, and as a mindful leader, I observe those rules. I decide who
my dogs can greet and for how long. If my dog wants to say hello to a
stranger, she communicates that to me with eye contact. I then check
with the stranger if interaction is wished, and if yes, I give my dog a
release command and she can go and greet.
Greeting should
always be under command control. Once permitted, groin sniffing should
be allowed also, but in reality dogs that feel very comfortable meeting
people often don’t sniff there because they don’t need the
extra
information to feel safe. The need to groin sniff indicates a bit of
uncertainty.
With dogs that are conflicted about a
stranger; switch between feeling curious and insecure, NOT greeting
should be the default behavior. In fact, ideally strangers should be
irrelevant, inconsequential for every dog.
As long as a
stranger has a meaning, the dog is compelled to check him out.
Especially if the owner doesn’t take action and offer clarity and
guidance, she’ll approach and sniff, but that doesn’t
necessarily mean
that she is friendly or relaxed. Decreased distance to the person
increases the conflict a fearful dog is already in, and that increases
the potential for aggression.
It is like someone with a fear
of heights who’s brave enough to climb a ladder but freezes
halfway up.
The stranger handing a treat out won’t make it any better. Quite
the
opposite: the food-motivated dog has even more conflict now, because
she wants the treat, but not the hand that holds it.
But
even if a dog is bombproof friendly, the same
greeting-by-permission-only rule should apply. Unbelievable but true,
there are humans that don’t like even the sweetest of dogs in
their
personal space and might act erratically or aggressively, and then the
dog counter reacts, maybe just with anxious barking, but sadly in our
society it doesn’t take much for a dog to get a
“dangerous” or “attack”
label. For her own protection, a dog should never greet a person, or
dog, on her own terms.
We are a: lots of
affection, a good amount of exercise and no discipline family, but that
doesn’t mean that we tolerate being imposed upon. Our dogs
communicate
with a moment’s hesitation, lowered body and lowered wagging tail
that
they want to interact with us – and wait for the invitation we
signal
with a nod. And that has less to do with dominance and submission, but
with being polite and respecting personal space. I don’t like to
be
bowled over by any other family member and expect nothing less from
Davie and Will. Polite signaling that intimate cuddling or play is
desired is a good habit to have, and good habits are best practiced at
home.
The more of a behavioral issue, the
more rules and rituals ought to be observed. They become less important
if the dog is confident, obedient and well behaved.
Silvia Jay's Blog - Her mission is to educate people
how dogs communicate and what they need from us to live a life without
fear, anxiety and distress.
(click above link to visit Silvia's
site)
EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES
BOOKS & VIDEOS
Redemption:
The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution
in America (Paperback)
 Shelter killing is the leading cause of death for
healthy dogs and cats in the United States: some 5 million are killed
in our nation's shelters every year. For far too long, we have been led
to believe there is no other way. More than that, we have been told
that this killing is the right thing to do.
In 1994, however, one shelter embarked on a
bold and revoluntionary approach to animal sheltering. Although every
national animal welfare agency said it was impossible and every other
community in the country continued to kill animals at an astonishing
rate, San Francisco became the first city in the United States to end
the killing of healthy homeless dogs and cats in shelters. The "No
Kill" movement it inspired has the potential to end, once and for all,
the century-old notion that the best we can do for homeless dogs and
cats is to adopt out a few, and kill the rest.
This is the story of animal sheltering in
the United States, a movement that was born of compassion and then lost
its way. It is the story of the No Kill movement, which says we can and
must stop the killing. It is about heros and villians, betrayal and
redemption. And it is about a social movement as noble and just as
those that have come before. But most of all, it is a story about
believing in the community and trusting in the power of compassion.
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