Is this correct or incorrect

[juju]

if you own to dogs do I pet the dominant one first.

[Cataholic]

Incorrect. I think you capitolize the word "I", spell to, "two", and put a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence.

As to petting the dogs, I would just pet them all at the same time. Unless you have fifty, then, you couldn't really do that. :p

[catnapper]

Incorrect. I think you capitolize the word "I", spell to, "two", and put a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence.



:D LOL..... Good answer. :p

As for the dominant dog, I'd pet whichever one had his face under my hand first.

[juju]

Thanks for the reply catoholic only i am dyslexic.and have great problems with me english.it really gets me down, Any help from you would be apreciated if you have the time, only i envy people like yourself.




thanks julie

[lv4dogs]

Yes you should if you have any dominant issues in your house. Ever once in a while you come across some multiple dog households where the dogs appear to have no leader of the pack and it doesn't bother them, if that is the case then it doesn't matter who you pet first.

The dominant one should always get his meal first, treats first, first one to go outside, first to get pets, gets the better toys, treats & foods. Similar to what a King or Queen would be treated like.

[Cataholic]

Thanks for the reply catoholic only i am dyslexic.and have great problems with me english.it really gets me down, Any help from you would be apreciated if you have the time, only i envy people like yourself.




thanks julie



LOL. I wasn't aware that dyslexia caused people not to capitolize letters, or put punctuation at the end of a sentence. I better go tell my sister, a doctor! She could really get in a fix writing prescriptions. (I am not the type to be manipulated by someone, as you are attempting. It was a joke. Certainly, that doesn't elude you, does it? Nice try, though!)

[Vela]

Yes you should if you have any dominant issues in your house. Ever once in a while you come across some multiple dog households where the dogs appear to have no leader of the pack and it doesn't bother them, if that is the case then it doesn't matter who you pet first.

The dominant one should always get his meal first, treats first, first one to go outside, first to get pets, gets the better toys, treats & foods. Similar to what a King or Queen would be treated like.


This is the best way to handle the issue, if you have a dominant dog. Good advice there.

Cataholic-- :p it's capitalize :) (just giving you a hard time in jest)

[Glacier]

Yes you should if you have any dominant issues in your house. Ever once in a while you come across some multiple dog households where the dogs appear to have no leader of the pack and it doesn't bother them, if that is the case then it doesn't matter who you pet first.

The dominant one should always get his meal first, treats first, first one to go outside, first to get pets, gets the better toys, treats & foods. Similar to what a King or Queen would be treated like.

Not neccessarily. I have 23 dogs and a very clear pack order with a well defined alpha male within the pack. I treat Muskwa no differently than the other dogs. I don't feed him first--whoever sits first gets their scoop first. I don't pet him first. I pet whoever I want or whoever is closest. I don't let him through the door first. He gets the same food, treats and toys as all the other dogs. He has the same rules as all the dogs and he will follow them or he will be punished in the same manner.

I don't buy any of that alpha theory stuff. I am the boss of all of them and I don't particularly care how they work out the rest of the order.

[Cataholic]

VELA- don't you go giving me a hard time! I have problems, too! Or, is it two? :D :D

Glacier, you are so funny.....as long as you are boss, things work out, right?

I am going to try treating my cats differently, with an alpha theory, and see if there are any changes. Right now? I suspect I am at the bottom of the heap, with only Jonah to step on. :eek:

[lv4dogs]

Not neccessarily.

Which is why I said "Yes you should if you have any dominant issues in your house."
Notice the IF?

[Karen]

Dyslexia ranges quite widely in what it makes people get wrong, and in its severity. It can affect numbers more than letters in one person, just letters in another, etc., etc. One person I know, for example (not a Pet Talk regular) is very dyslexic, to the point where, when a spell-checker give him a choice, he honestly does not know which one is right, so eeeny-meeny-miny-mo's it.

I am not one shred dyslexic, but am sometimes a bad typist.

All we ask is that people try hard to do the best job they can with typing clearly.

On the original question asked, perhaps it depends on *your* place in the pack, if you are the Alpha, they should defer to you, right? Hopefully it isn't an issue enough to make in what order you pet them become a problem.

[Vela]

I can see the validity of what Glacier is saying in her situation, but sometimes in a two or three dog household, there are actually more problems than with a larger group. My two don't have an alpha amongst themselves, I'm alpha, and do the same as glacier, whichever dog responds correctly first is dealt with first, etc., but if you DO have a problem with an alpha dog and fighting with other dogs, then the other things discussed can help diffuse those situations. Nothing is 100%, but I have seen it work well with those who do have problems with their two dogs, or even three, trying to vie for alpha status under the pack leader (you). Sometimes it just happens and in those instances it often can help if the "alpha" is treated as was stated above. But there are no hard and fast rules for every sitaution, it really depends on the dogs and their temperaments and each situation. Also, you could be causing the issues by not asserting yourself enough as the alpha (pack leader) and giving the dogs a idea that they ought to try for it. That doesn't mean abuse them or be mean to them or anything, but you need to be in control of the pack, and not let the dogs dictate what happens. If there are temperament issues though, while working to rectify the problems, it can be helpful to treat the alpha dog as the "king". IMO of course=)

cataholic-- it is definitely two! hehe

[Cataholic]

What I want to know is who in heck's name feels like they have to go running around 'telling' on me all the time? Sheesh...if one is old enough to be on this board, one is old enough to take a tiny joke. Sheesh, sheesh, and more sheesh.

And, Vela....why I oughta take TWO aspirins and call it a day! :D

[Glacier]

Which is why I said "Yes you should if you have any dominant issues in your house."
Notice the IF?

And I do have dominance issues, just not with the alpha dog. The issues tend to come from the lower ranking dogs who might want to move up the pack order. Ozzy currently is trying to raise his status, but as long as he realizes that he is not my alpha, I'm not changing the way I treat him. Ozzy is spending today in a pen alone because he was a big ol' jerk this morning. If Muskwa had been acting like Ozzy was, he would be in that pen by himself(Punishment in my pack tends to be through isolation. Nothing a husky hates more than being alone)

There are some behaviors I won't accept, even if a dog is trying to move up. Fighting, picking on each other, ect are not ok from any of them for any reason. They can work out the pack order without aggression & without hurting each other--Muskwa is the boss dog and I honestly can't remember him ever being involved in a major fight. I believe a true alpha dog doesn't need to resort to aggression to assert his dominance and that true alphas are rare. Dominance and dog aggression are not neccessarily signs of a good alpha dog.

[.sarah]

Does the alpha dog treat the other dogs differently? For example, a dog that's not the alpha dog but isn't the lowest in the pack, would the alpha treat him better than the dogs who rank lower than that dog?

If not then I don't see a reason why a human should do that with their dogs, because if you're the alpha then it wouldn't matter right?

[lv4dogs]

I understand where you are coming from Glacier. I also do not follow those rules, I do the same as you do. I am alpha in my pack.

I was just trying to clarify that for a less experienced owner or for one with major dominance issues it may be best to treat the leader as the leader.

I guess I should of took more time to explain. Thats why I made sure to include words like if & should. Guess that wasn't enough. lol


(this thread is almost more about grammer, proper wording & the like than anything else) :p :p LOL

[WolvesRawk]

With my pets, I'm the alfa so tey respect me and everything I do. If I want to pet Gaia, Mojo waits even though he is a higher rank than Gaia. It really depends on your rank in the pack.

[lizbud]

I guess I never think about who to "treat" as an Alpha. I pet each
when I want to & let them work out their order in rank. :)
Interesting thread. :D

[catnapper]

Thanks for the reply catoholic only i am dyslexic.and have great problems with me english.it really gets me down, Any help from you would be apreciated if you have the time, only i envy people like yourself.




thanks julie
I wish people would stop using dyslexia as a crutch and excuse. I have dygraphia which is the same as dyslexia, only numbers switch around on me. Yet I manage to get phone numbers right and do my taxes properly. My son has bad dyslexia. His typing skills are horrid, but when he takes his time, there's no problem. I have to check and recheck my number ALL the time. Yesterday at work I messed up a SKU number for someone buying a fish. Boy did I feel stupid, especially after I triple checked that the numbers were right (apparently my rechecking was wrong! :o)

Point is, we all make mistakes based on our limitations but we still TRY to be accurate and correct. The way you presented the question and the subsequent attitude shows me that you do NOT try... you basically choose to say you have dyslxia and let the disorder rule you instead of working hard to compensate and overcome your problem.

PS: I am a God-awful typer. If I didn't check and recheck my typing, you'd see about 20 more errors than I usually finally post

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

You should be the dominant *dog*, the leader of the pack. Your dogs should be subordinates. I have read this in many, many books and on websites. Dogs should look at their owners as the dominant ones, not themselves. But if you have say, 3 dogs, you are the leader and the dogs are subordinates. This can mean that some are lower in the pack than the other, but you should always be the leader. It makes for better training and a well mannered dog. The leader of the pack thinks he should eat first, even before the humans. I would establish this by feeding my daughter, then my BF and me - BEFORE I feed the dog. That way they understand that YOU are the master! Go here (http://dogbreedinfo.com/topdog.htm) to read about it.

Remember, this is my opinion and there is no need to argue about it...

http://www.smileypad.com/v10/Cache/Banners/Thanx.gif

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

Pssst... Haven't you noticed that *most* of the new members have so called Dyslexia?

http://www.smileypad.com/v10/Cache/Banners/Typos.gif

[anna_66]

OK, maybe I should stay out of this but oh well...
I think we've made this memeber feel bad enough. This person IS from another country and maybe the grammar isn't perfect, the spelling or capitalization when needed, but who cares? You know the question they are asking don't you? Just answer the question and stop the smart a** remarks.


Now back to the subject...
I don't have issues so it all depends who's closest to me as to who gets petted. I'd say it all depends on how you want to do it but Glacier said it best:

I am the boss of all of them and I don't particularly care how they work out the rest of the order.

[Dixieland Dancer]

I think we've made this memeber feel bad enough. This person IS from another country and maybe the grammar isn't perfect, the spelling or capitalization when needed, but who cares? You know the question they are asking don't you? Just answer the question and stop the smart a** remarks.


Very well said, Anna. I don't frequent PT as much as I use to for this very reason. Too many people are quick to look for faults instead of being helpful and nice. It's always done in the disquise of a "joke". If we all stop to think about it, we all have something that makes us different and if everyone "joked" about it, we could all end up feeling worse instead of better. Kindness and caring go a lot further than sarcasm and rudeness. Kind of like a true alpha dog vs. a dominant or aggressive one (described more below). This particular person isn't even from this country.

About the issue of this thread....

Muskwa is the boss dog and I honestly can't remember him ever being involved in a major fight. I believe a true alpha dog doesn't need to resort to aggression to assert his dominance and that true alphas are rare. Dominance and dog aggression are not neccessarily signs of a good alpha dog.

This statement says it all. Too many people get Alpha dog, dominance and aggression mixed up. They are not the same. Because you have an aggressive dog does not make him an alpha dog. Because your dog is dominant does not make him a true alpha. My Dixie is exactly like Glaciers Muskwa.... a true alpha female but not dominant or aggressive. She's never been in a dog fight because other dogs just know she is top dog. Dominant or Aggressive dogs are either possessive or insecure in something. True alpha dogs are very secure in their position. I never have to worry about Dixie because she is secure in knowing she is the Queen so she doesn't have to defend her status by fighting or being aggressive.

Even though I know Dixie is the alpha dog in the pack, her status is only that in the dog world. As her pack leader, I am alpha over her, always! So it's MY choice who I pet first or feed first. This just helps me solidify myself as alpha over them both. This fact is solidified from the time they are pups because I am the one who gives them everything Great in their life when they listen to me! I am not afraid to withhold something great if they are not willing to listen to me all the time. This is usually kibble during training. Eventually they realize "do what she says and I'll get what I want too"!

However, that being said.... I do not have two dominant (not true alpha) dogs battling. If there are two dogs that are constantly battling and the loser (lower pack rank) is constantly shown favoritism because it always loses and you feel sorry for it, you are creating a very instable pack order. The winner must be acknowledged so the battles will stop. In this situation you can affirm the dogs established pack order amongst themselves by petting, feeding, etc, the dominant or aggressive dog first. Even though I am alpha over them all, I still try to recognize their pack order and honor it so less friction will be in the pack in general. That is also a sign of a good alpha leader!

So in short... if you are not having issues, you chose who you want to greet first. Like others who have posted in this tread, it is usually the dog who responds first or shows up first. If you are having issues with dogs battling then you need to recognize what you need to do to make things more harmonious for everyone. If the dog does not recognize you as the leader of the pack, then you need to train the dog to realize all good things come for you. Only you can answer how this will be handled.

[Corinna]

Catnapper I have the number thing too. I would most likely have a lot of letter problems if I had not been given the love of reading and books. I am also LOUSEY TYPIST too. I'm just learning the key board so I make lots of mistakes, too.

[Cataholic]

Very well said, Anna. I don't frequent PT as much as I use to for this very reason. Too many people are quick to look for faults instead of being helpful and nice. It's always done in the disquise of a "joke". If we all stop to think about it, we all have something that makes us different and if everyone "joked" about it, we could all end up feeling worse instead of better. Kindness and caring go a lot further than sarcasm and rudeness.


It was a joke. And, the irony is....somehow, in your world, you think YOUR comments somehow fly under the radar? You are three times more venomous in your attack on my comments than I was on the original poster. It was a joke. JOKE. What is the saying? Judge not lest you be judged? I always liked this one: It is the pot calling the kettle black.

And, btw, she might live outside the US, however, English is the mother tongue in GB, I believe.

[Dixieland Dancer]

It was a joke. And, the irony is....somehow, in your world, you think YOUR comments somehow fly under the radar? You are three times more venomous in your attack on my comments than I was on the original poster. It was a joke. JOKE. What is the saying? Judge not lest you be judged? I always liked this one: It is the pot calling the kettle black.

And, btw, she might live outside the US, however, English is the mother tongue in GB, I believe.

In MY world, the comments would never of needed to fly under the radar because I would of just answered the girls question or ignored it. No joke!

I will not be replying to this thread anymore. I hope the advice I did post is useful to answering the original question juju posted.

[.sarah]

It was a joke. And, the irony is....somehow, in your world, you think YOUR comments somehow fly under the radar? You are three times more venomous in your attack on my comments than I was on the original poster. It was a joke. JOKE. What is the saying? Judge not lest you be judged? I always liked this one: It is the pot calling the kettle black.
I think that was a pretty lame and cruel joke. A polite "Please use better spelling and punctuation" would have been much easier to swallow.

[Cataholic]

.sarah- Lame and cruel? You must be joking yourself. Cruel? LOLOL...come on. I can appreciate you not having the same sense of humor as I might, and others too, seeing the comments after my post, but, to call it cruel? Might be a bit over the top there.

DD-As for the flying under the radar comment, I can see now why you missed the joke first time around. I am not sure you are reading things quite right. Seems you have no problem expressing YOUR thoughts on others comments, just as long as I keep mine to myself. Seems pretty fair, eh? LOL...pretty fair indeed. How do you manage that halo just so, please tell me. Oh, now I must go cry by myself to sleep...you have just been TOO harsh and unfair to me.

[CagneyDog]

I wish people would stop using dyslexia as a crutch and excuse

I totally agree. However, people spell things wrong here all the time. All of the younger PT'ers have every second word spelt wrong. I am not sure why everyone is going after juju?

[Cataholic]

CD- I wasn't "going after" the OP. Despite the person's comment that I was hiding behind the term 'joke', I truly was JOKING. When I read the post, that WAS the first thing that came to my mind. The grammar. It was funny to me. It was a play on words, really. The excuse of dyslexia was kind of weak...and really, I think a slap in the face to anyone that does have it, and struggles to not be limited or labeled by it. To think that dsylexia causes someone to not capitolize (Vela- did I spell it right this time?) correctly is a little off.

I can't figure out why some of these people are all so upset about this. It seems a little overboard to me, really.

[CagneyDog]

I wasn't "going after" the OP

Where did I say YOU were going after her?

I know your first post was a joke, I found it funny myself but I think you knew that it wasn't going to be percieved as a joke. Jokes can be hurtful too...

[Cataholic]

I just re-read your post...you did say 'going after'...you might not have meant me, specifically. But, that was what I was responding to.

Sure, jokes can be hurtful. The truth can be hurtful. Life hurts. But, some of these posters are totally going WAY beyond what there was. I meant it as a joke. How others take it isn't really my concern. I can't control that. It isn't like I said, "wow, you are some really stupid person- ha ha, isn't that funny". The plain truth is- I meant it as a joke. As a play on the words of the thread, "is this correct or is incorrect...." . There was no sinister plot. For others to imagine there was makes me wonder what THEY really think, and are too timid to say. I have to imagine that these same posters actually live life, outside their homes, not in front of a computer, and interact with people. Surely, they have met others that don't carbon copy their view of life????

[CagneyDog]

Sure, jokes can be hurtful. The truth can be hurtful. Life hurts. But, some of these posters are totally going WAY beyond what there was. Like they have some personal issue here....and, I find it kind of funny. I have to imagine that these same posters actually live life, outside their homes, not in front of a computer, and interact with people. Surely, they have met others that don't carbon copy their view of life????

I know I said "going after", it just wasn't directed to you. All I wanted to know was why people were going after her and not the others that spell like crap.

I agree that it has been blown out of proportion.

[Cataholic]

Oh. I see. I don't know why this is an issue with this poster, but, not others. I do think we are dumbing down across the world....

[Karen]

I am going to close this thread, as the grammar "joke"/comments/dyslexia/battle have totally taken over the thread's original purpose. I believe her original question has been answered in any case.