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by Angela Bayley
There is a popular dog trainer/behaviorist/psychologist on cable TV who can make dogs do anything. He’s got a Svengali-like hold on the wills of canines (large, small, pedigreed, mixed, lethargic, abused, insane, doesn’t matter) such that he can quiet barking dogs, calm aggressive behavior, and even turn a murderous pit bull into the gentle poodle you should have gotten in the first place. His whole technique is based upon the premise that you, the owner are the alpha male/female and the animal picks up on your cue; you are the boss. All you have to do is follow the instructions of this trainer (or those of his ilk) and you too can exert supreme control over your pooch.
Well, I don’t know about that. Here’s my take. I think a trainer who can control a dog to such an extent is one of those rare gifted individuals like, for example, mediums who contact the dead from the great beyond or people who routinely encounter spirits without even trying or psychics who assist the police in locating corpses. Or, maybe a trainer such as this is some sort of elite magician (like Mindfreak) creating illusions that defy logic.
I guess I take this stance because I, similar to many other dog owners, I suspect, have no control over my dogs. My dogs tell me what to do… and I listen to them. I’ve always owned Chihuahuas; currently I own a Chihuahua and a rat terrier mix. “Sheesh,” you say, “Chihuahuas are notoriously dense and out-of-control.” Yeah, I know, that’s why when I witness a trainer on TV silence a yapping Chihuahua just by looking at her, I say “Whoa! That is indeed a feat of otherworldly talent.”
I guess I take this stance because I, similar to many other dog owners, I suspect, have no control over my dogs. My dogs tell me what to do… and I listen to them. I’ve always owned Chihuahuas; currently I own a Chihuahua and a rat terrier mix. “Sheesh,” you say, “Chihuahuas are notoriously dense and out-of-control.” Yeah, I know, that’s why when I witness a trainer on TV silence a yapping Chihuahua just by looking at her, I say “Whoa! That is indeed a feat of otherworldly talent.”
Specifically, my interactions with my dogs have been as follows:
- My Chihuahua, Josie, barks and barks and barks. I yell at her to stop. She keeps barking. My previous Chi, Ticket, (rest his soul), would crane his head around me, after I got in his face to get his attention, to see out the window so he could continue…barking. He’d lick me intermittently as if to say, “Yeah, I’ve got this patrol thing going. Don’t worry, you’re protected.”
- Unlike the trained or reformed canines featured on the cable programs, my dogs walk waaay out in front of me, pulling and choking and going nuts every time they see another dog. Worse yet, my rattie mix, Poppy, barks and lunges at cars. When they act this way, I pull on the leashes and scold them and they keep right on misbehaving.
- Ticket insisted on sleeping in between my husband, John, and me in bed all night. John would complain, “What is this dog doing here?” And I’d answer, “Well that’s where he wants to be.” Of all my dogs, Ticket really communicated with me the best.
- When the dogs are sitting and/or sleeping on my lap while I’m watching television, I am loath to get up so as not to disturb their peaceful positions. “John, can you answer the phone? I’ve got a dog on me,” I’ll matter-of-factly ask.
- Poppy loves to bolt out of open doors to go on dangerous unsupervised “field trips.” I spy her tearing out the garage door and up the driveway and call out to her to stop. She stops, turns around, looks at me and conveys the message, “Sorry, I’m going, but I’ll see you later.” After I finally (with the assistance of unwitting neighbors) track her down, she comes racing back to me and does a cork-screw roll to land on her back just as she reaches me seemingly to ask, “You’ll forgive me, won’t you?”
Some might say I’m stupider than my dogs, that they manipulate me. I like to think I’m just being realistic. After all, since I’m smarter than they are, isn’t it easier for me to understand them? Really now, a dog does not understand English, but a human knows what dogs want. And I’m proud of my stubborn, ornery, “stupid” dogs—they are darned good human communicators!
Reader Comments:
HAHA! I love it! So true. If you think about it, No human would ever get away with what our pets get away with...maybe its because they depend on us so much. They are our babies, I think they know that so they just milk it for all its worth.
Of course I think my dog is the smartest dog in the world. She could just be sitting there looking in the corner and I'll tell my husband "Look how smart she is!" He looks at me like I'm crazy but I just know she's calculating something!
I hope to read more about your pets! I enjoyed it.