auntblabby
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Location: the island of defective toy santas
01 Feb 2011, 11:54 pm
doeintheheadlights wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
unfortunately [for me], dogs seems to all require alpha traits in their owners that in the absence of such, they tend to react badly. therefore, cats and me are a much better match, at least in theory- but in fact they make me sneeze my head off, plus i can't deal with the shedding, drooling, et al. so i will remain petless [or at least dogless and catless] for the foreseable future.
That's not true at all, I'm as submissive as you can get and I still work well with dogs. It's all about understanding your dog's behaviour and reacting to it. Dogs respond well to confidence, but alpha traits- they could care less.
confidence IS a primary alpha trait.
doeintheheadlights
Snowy Owl
Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Age: 35
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Location: Cornwall, UK
03 Feb 2011, 5:06 am
auntblabby wrote:
doeintheheadlights wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
unfortunately [for me], dogs seems to all require alpha traits in their owners that in the absence of such, they tend to react badly. therefore, cats and me are a much better match, at least in theory- but in fact they make me sneeze my head off, plus i can't deal with the shedding, drooling, et al. so i will remain petless [or at least dogless and catless] for the foreseable future.
That's not true at all, I'm as submissive as you can get and I still work well with dogs. It's all about understanding your dog's behaviour and reacting to it. Dogs respond well to confidence, but alpha traits- they could care less.
confidence IS a primary alpha trait.
It's one trait, but honestly it depends on how you define alpha, and whether you're talking about alpha traits in relation to humans or dogs. As a dog trainer, I personally hate the term. I think people get too worked up on it as dog owners and try too hard to "dominate" their dogs. My 7 year old cousin has no problem going through both basic and complex commands with my Doberman, and I wouldn't really call her someone with an alpha personality.
LostInEmulation
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03 Feb 2011, 7:20 am
auntblabby
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Location: the island of defective toy santas
03 Feb 2011, 7:22 am
LostInEmulation wrote:
I do not have pets and am tbh not comfortable around them... I need to hand in my Aspie card.
LostInEmulation
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Location: Ireland, dreaming of Germany
03 Feb 2011, 7:51 am
auntblabby wrote:
LostInEmulation wrote:
I do not have pets and am tbh not comfortable around them... I need to hand in my Aspie card.
I was just stating that I defy the stereotype of Aspies and pets.
auntblabby
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Location: the island of defective toy santas
03 Feb 2011, 7:56 am
LostInEmulation wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
LostInEmulation wrote:
I do not have pets and am tbh not comfortable around them... I need to hand in my Aspie card.
I was just stating that I defy the stereotype of Aspies and pets.
oh. i an not comfortable about most dogs, unless they are the omegas in which case one omega to another is a good fit.
03 Feb 2011, 10:17 am
hartzofspace
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03 Feb 2011, 1:46 pm
03 Feb 2011, 5:08 pm
doeintheheadlights wrote:
I think people get too worked up on it as dog owners and try too hard to "dominate" their dogs.
Oh yes. My brother-in-law is like this and always bellows commands at the dogs. He has to stand there, looming over them and barking (hah!) orders in a special stern voice.
I just use a different tone of voice with them, as required, and very rarely need to raise it. I don't think anyone else has noticed that the dogs respond just as well when they're spoken to, instead of "commanded".
They're well-trained and obedient, but no-one cares and they get treated like they're still being trained.
03 Feb 2011, 5:17 pm
Booyakasha wrote:
Put me in the glass house, surround with woods and plants, and I'll be in my element.
Yes indeed. A special and magical place. I love the earthy plant smells and the moisture.
One of my all-time favourite places is in the glasshouses at Kew Gardens in London.
doeintheheadlights
Snowy Owl
Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Age: 35
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Posts: 136
Location: Cornwall, UK
04 Feb 2011, 10:21 am
Cornflake wrote:
doeintheheadlights wrote:
I think people get too worked up on it as dog owners and try too hard to "dominate" their dogs.
Oh yes. My brother-in-law is like this and always bellows commands at the dogs. He has to stand there, looming over them and barking (hah!) orders in a special stern voice.I just use a different tone of voice with them, as required, and very rarely need to raise it. I don't think anyone else has noticed that the dogs respond just as well when they're spoken to, instead of "commanded".
They're well-trained and obedient, but no-one cares and they get treated like they're still being trained.
Ha, yeah my dad's like that too with their lab. He bellows to her to go into her crate and she just stands there looking at him. I go over and say it in a normal voice and she flies into her crate, no problems. He wonders why she listens to me and not him, but the only difference is I trained her beforehand and made the command into a positive experience for her by always giving her a treat when she went in, and not treating it like a punishment. He never treats her, so she knows she won't get anything if she listens to him! He thinks that she should just listen to him without rewards because he's the "alpha"- just goes to show you how silly the whole alpha thing is!
Dogs aren't wolves, they don't function in hierarchical packs and the alpha/omega language that people use is so meaningless with them.
04 Feb 2011, 11:10 am
doeintheheadlights wrote:
the only difference is I trained her beforehand and made the command into a positive experience for her by always giving her a treat when she went in, and not treating it like a punishment.
That's exactly it - getting the dog to understand that something is a good thing to do, because then they'll just want to do it without being prodded or shouted at.Quote:
He thinks that she should just listen to him without rewards because he's the "alpha"- just goes to show you how silly the whole alpha thing is!
You should see what my brother-in-law tries (er, or maybe not! ) - if the dog hasn't done something for the first three successively louder commands then he grabs her collar and drags her over to (say) her bed.
It's about then that I have to leave the room because it makes me so angry that someone could be stupid enough to think that this ridiculous domination is ever going to achieve anything - except a frightened and confused dog.
05 Feb 2011, 10:14 pm
doeintheheadlights
Snowy Owl
Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 136
Location: Cornwall, UK
06 Feb 2011, 12:31 pm
Cornflake wrote:
He thinks that she should just listen to him without rewards because he's the "alpha"- just goes to show you how silly the whole alpha thing is!
You should see what my brother-in-law tries (er, or maybe not! ) - if the dog hasn't done something for the first three successively louder commands then he grabs her collar and drags her over to (say) her bed.It's about then that I have to leave the room because it makes me so angry that someone could be stupid enough to think that this ridiculous domination is ever going to achieve anything - except a frightened and confused dog.[/quote]
Yep, sounds like my dad. He'll drag his dog over to her bed and tell her to stay, and when she actually does stay he expects her to do it for several minutes at a time. She was begging at the dinner table once and he told her to go to her bed and stay, and she did it but then he tried keeping her there for the whole of dinner, and when she got up after a few minutes (which is a pretty impressive stay) he would yell at her. She's a smart dog too, she just doesn't respond to being screamed at (big surprise).
06 Feb 2011, 12:46 pm
doeintheheadlights wrote:
Yep, sounds like my dad.
Well, that's two owners badly in need of basic training.Quote:
She was begging at the dinner table once and he told her to go to her bed and stay
Hah - I have this down to a fine art. I nod my head in the direction of her basket and just say "Go on, then - off you go" - and off she goes...
Other times (ie. when my brother-in-law's not around - he hates it) I'll leave her sitting by me at the table. She's not actively begging or making a pest of herself - she just wants to sit near me.
Well, that's more than Ok with me.
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