My "pet" peeve becomes tragic
I just HATE to see a pet on a driver's lap while going down a road. The driver invariably has some small lap dog with its head hanging out the window. Besides being a distraction and a clear-vision-b...
Forum Discussion
A good article and point well taken. I forget that people actually reward their dogs for poor social behavior, and constantly reinforce it. I never meant to suggest that I advocate intimidation and violent force as a dog correction method - apparently others do. Positive reinforcement and operant conditioning work, and are what have been taught in all the dog obedience classes I have attended.
I guess my issue is the dogs that get no training, are bad neighbors, and get no discipline. Just because one can physically control a dog does nopt mean that it doesn't need training. Several years ago, on a public beach, a boxer tried to bite my wife in the face - it did get her glasses. Owners said, "Oh sorry" like that made everything right. A couple weeks ago, a small dog in someone's lap almost bit her arm. Almost daily I have to chase away aggressive, unfenced and unleashed dogs when I walk.
I will agree that the dog in the lap may not be a dominance issue, but I maintain that it is often a symbol of a host of socialization problems that sooner or later will affect other people.
Matt B
I guess my issue is the dogs that get no training, are bad neighbors, and get no discipline. Just because one can physically control a dog does nopt mean that it doesn't need training. Several years ago, on a public beach, a boxer tried to bite my wife in the face - it did get her glasses. Owners said, "Oh sorry" like that made everything right. A couple weeks ago, a small dog in someone's lap almost bit her arm. Almost daily I have to chase away aggressive, unfenced and unleashed dogs when I walk.
I will agree that the dog in the lap may not be a dominance issue, but I maintain that it is often a symbol of a host of socialization problems that sooner or later will affect other people.
Matt B
chrisnpat wrote:
There is much misunderstanding of dominance theory, pack hierarchy and how canine behaviors relate to the behavior of wolves. Incorrectly blaming behavior as "dominance" is no better (and arguably much worse) than attributing human characteristics to dogs. Here's a position paper on dominance theory from the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. Unlike Cesar Milan and his ilk, these are people who really do know what they're talking about.
AVSAB position statement on dominance theory
