We had a dog that turned out to be a real psycho. The dog that replaced him was, thankfully, really wonderful. Passed away last year. We miss that dog still.
For most dogs, life is simple: follow the pack leader, don’t piss him off. In our society, the pack leader is the human. What I say here does not apply to people who live on vast estates where their dogs don’t have interact with other people or dogs.
Most dogs get in trouble when they go off roaming on their own. They really don’t have any boundaries outside the pack and just get into everything, chase other pets and get hit by cars. A dog on a leash knows his boundaries and it keeps him close to his pack leader. 20-feet of line is not a leash.
The other way dogs get into trouble is when their human is not consistent with discipline. Worse, when there are two humans with conflicting discipline styles. You don’t want your dog to grow up to be a surly teen-ager.
I had dogs as a boy. When my sister-in-law wanted to leave her beautiful black-and-tan Australian Shepherd with us for a week, I had no problem. He was a smart dog. I was able to train him up in just a couple of days. When she got back, all the training disappeared when she cuddled him and told him “No, no, no, my bad little boy” in a cutesy voice after he jumped onto the dining room table. People!
Imagine over 2 years ago
We had a dog that turned out to be a real psycho. The dog that replaced him was, thankfully, really wonderful. Passed away last year. We miss that dog still.
Dobber Premium Member over 2 years ago
Leave all that fetching and begging to those over achievers.
Imagine over 2 years ago
Just be the dog you are. All dogs are good. Except for the occasional psycho dog.
mistercatworks over 2 years ago
For most dogs, life is simple: follow the pack leader, don’t piss him off. In our society, the pack leader is the human. What I say here does not apply to people who live on vast estates where their dogs don’t have interact with other people or dogs.
Most dogs get in trouble when they go off roaming on their own. They really don’t have any boundaries outside the pack and just get into everything, chase other pets and get hit by cars. A dog on a leash knows his boundaries and it keeps him close to his pack leader. 20-feet of line is not a leash.
The other way dogs get into trouble is when their human is not consistent with discipline. Worse, when there are two humans with conflicting discipline styles. You don’t want your dog to grow up to be a surly teen-ager.
I had dogs as a boy. When my sister-in-law wanted to leave her beautiful black-and-tan Australian Shepherd with us for a week, I had no problem. He was a smart dog. I was able to train him up in just a couple of days. When she got back, all the training disappeared when she cuddled him and told him “No, no, no, my bad little boy” in a cutesy voice after he jumped onto the dining room table. People!
Buoy over 2 years ago
There are no bad dogs, only bad owners, and there are unfortunately plenty of those.