As many points of view as you will find from the world of canine professionals...from be the master of your dog to be your dog's friend...NOTHING compares to the constant stream of advice that you receive from friends and family! As most people have, at one point in time, been involved in the life of a dog they think that they know about dogs and they definitely have an opinion on how you are training your dog!
A recent trip to visit in-laws made me never want to take Coda out of the house again. Following a 90 mins car ride I took the precaution of walking Coda for about 15 mins before entering a (to him) stranger's house with new people. I gave the people treats to feed Coda and he was doing fine taking treats from people although as is typical he was barking which is normal for him until he chills out. But within two minutes it started... Why is he barking? Shouldn't you be able to stop him from barking? Is he usually like this? My dog never did/does this! Tis is so irritating! As I left the room I felt bad for Coda and myself that I'd subjected us both to the judgement. Needless to say, later when I brought him into the room with no attention from people, moving a couple of feet in at a time with lots of treats, he did great with limited barking.
I read somewhere that we, as dog owners, are responsible for protecting our animal companions from toxic people and environments. The dog cannot control their environment. In this situation I needed to say "this is how we are going to deal with introducing the dog". Now they might not have cooperated but I would have protected my dog. I also need to trust in all of the work I am doing as a responsible dog owner...the classes I have/am taking, the socialization, the walking, the training. I am not doing it perfectly but I am doing all I can!
No comments:
Post a Comment