Childhood fears, I had many.Most of them were easy for me to get rid of. vampires, witches, bats, the stranger.But getting rid of my fear for dogs was never easy.Because in my childhood, dogs were real. they were stray, they were fierce, they would bark, and they would bite.My husband's TV entertainment of dog shows on TV was my cure.Gradually as I started to understand dog behavior and language, I started to get very interested in dogs, even wanted one for a pet.Maybe a season of watching The Dog Whisperer did it.By then I was seeing dog fangs as smiles, short barks as greetings.Jumpiness as play, sniffs as kisses.Or the loud barks from the neighbor's fence as "hey guys, I want to run with you!" Maybe.On the trail where my husband and I run, no longer do I take cover behind his back when I see a dog.I would happily pet the friendly ones with their tails wagging and bodies wiggling.Great dog body language.Like two basset hounds named Bonnie and Clyde.And Hannah and Sophia, two pugs, a tan and a black.They liked me because I was always ready with the petting-greeting for them.Dogs who seemed to look like charging up to me, I'd confidently meet with my two palms spread out to them.It's like telling them I got nothing to hurt them.I think that was one of the principles of dog psychology I learned from Millan, the Dog Whisperer.And then I realized off-leash or on, dogs didn't scare me anymore.I figured I must be speaking dog-language through my body language.I also learned from Millan that dogs are by nature dominant yet very sensitive to human feelings and emotions.That if they sensed that you are afraid, they will try to dominate you and take advantage of that fear.They attack, they lunge at you to exercise their dominance over one who's not their master.Same principle is supposed to work among dogs.Maybe that's why none of the dogs who used to sniff at me didn't sniff anymore.No fear here.Move on.Nice world indeed when humans and dogs co-exist, even love and respect and protect one another.Here's a thought. in our world today, are humans behaving like their wild canine counterparts towards their fellow humans? Dominance and fear - are we being more like wild dogs and our trained dogs being more like humans?Can't there be world peace?
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Understanding Dog Behavior and Language
Childhood fears, I had many.Most of them were easy for me to get rid of. vampires, witches, bats, the stranger.But getting rid of my fear for dogs was never easy.Because in my childhood, dogs were real. they were stray, they were fierce, they would bark, and they would bite.My husband's TV entertainment of dog shows on TV was my cure.Gradually as I started to understand dog behavior and language, I started to get very interested in dogs, even wanted one for a pet.Maybe a season of watching The Dog Whisperer did it.By then I was seeing dog fangs as smiles, short barks as greetings.Jumpiness as play, sniffs as kisses.Or the loud barks from the neighbor's fence as "hey guys, I want to run with you!" Maybe.On the trail where my husband and I run, no longer do I take cover behind his back when I see a dog.I would happily pet the friendly ones with their tails wagging and bodies wiggling.Great dog body language.Like two basset hounds named Bonnie and Clyde.And Hannah and Sophia, two pugs, a tan and a black.They liked me because I was always ready with the petting-greeting for them.Dogs who seemed to look like charging up to me, I'd confidently meet with my two palms spread out to them.It's like telling them I got nothing to hurt them.I think that was one of the principles of dog psychology I learned from Millan, the Dog Whisperer.And then I realized off-leash or on, dogs didn't scare me anymore.I figured I must be speaking dog-language through my body language.I also learned from Millan that dogs are by nature dominant yet very sensitive to human feelings and emotions.That if they sensed that you are afraid, they will try to dominate you and take advantage of that fear.They attack, they lunge at you to exercise their dominance over one who's not their master.Same principle is supposed to work among dogs.Maybe that's why none of the dogs who used to sniff at me didn't sniff anymore.No fear here.Move on.Nice world indeed when humans and dogs co-exist, even love and respect and protect one another.Here's a thought. in our world today, are humans behaving like their wild canine counterparts towards their fellow humans? Dominance and fear - are we being more like wild dogs and our trained dogs being more like humans?Can't there be world peace?
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