Trained VS taught ?

donn0128 wrote:
Sure glad the OP does not live close to me. His attitude is what gives aggressive breeds a bad name. As xteacher said, dogs are pack animals, and allowing them to bare their teeth or growl at you is telling them that they are the Alpha in the pack, not you. This is a very dangerous situation for an uneducated pet owner.

I'm going to assume that the OP has a "smiler" - there's a HUGE difference between aggressive teeth-baring; and a dog who smiles submissively. My Jimmy "smiles" at me when we come home and he forgets, and jumps on me. He gets a sharp verbal "OFF!" - and then I get the (dopey) smile, which is a doggy version of "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it!". The smile is accompanied by half-closed eyes, a wagging butt, and folded-back ears.

I guess I go both ways on training? I have words that demand compliance - "Come!" being first on the list. A dog's life might depend on their respect and quick response to that word. My dogs will stop chasing a squirrel if I yell come. But if my guys are just sniffing around or playing and I sort of want them, I'll say "Hey - c'mon over here" which means they can take one last sniff before returning to me. "Stay close" is another "soft command".

I don't teach my dogs tricks - but I teach them to help me. They notice things that are wrong, problems, etc... so when I tell them "show me", they'll bring me to the problem. It might just be an empty dog food bowl; but it has also been that the neighbor's boat is floating away from their dock, or a baby bird has fallen out of a nest.