Something every dog owner should read!!

[sasvermont]

My closest friend here in Vermont has a doggie about 10 y.o. now. Its a Springer Spaniel. Abby, the doggie, has full run of the house, but must wait to be invited into a certain room or on a chair etc. The dog also waits until she is told it is ok to eat her food from her bowl. The dog sleeps in a crate on her own, and will swap off to sleep in her doggie bed later in the day. But her preference is her crate. Abby is a wonderful pupster. She knows sooooo many tricks and knows her toys by name. She is in love with her Dad, the leader of the pack and is totally out of sorts when Dad is out of town!

My friend and her husband have always spent much time with their dogs, including training them to remain dogs. I, on the other hand..... read next paragraph!

Oh, by the way, whenever Abby stays with me, I let her sleep with me (invite her on my bed to sleep with me....) hehehehehehehehehe.... my friends don't understand why I would want a smelly, warm doggie in my bed. Abby loves to cuddle.... but she loves her DAD more than anything.... He's the leader of the pack!

Am I right? Are they right? Nope! We just think differently about doggies and where they may or may not go. Also, because Abby stays with me so seldom, having dirty sheets is no big deal for me....but to have smelly sheets day in and day out, wellllllll.... I don't think so.

[Varga]

Even with problem dogs, I still don't see that sort of mind frame as being very helpful. Not that it's harmful per-say...But basically just... pointless. >_>

I dunno. I guess my major grief about the whole "dominance theory" is that it makes the whole dog/human relationship seem so .... forced. There is just no need to make it so complicated, you know?

I mean. What is a problem dog anyway?
Most "bad" dogs I've met, have been dogs with a bad past. Improper socialization as a puppy, bad experiences with people, other dogs, other animals or something else.
And then there are the "problem dogs" which are just dogs who are entirely not suited for the people who own them. Like having a Border Collie, and then expect you can get away with a 20min walk around the block a couple of times each week.

And to be fair. She/he did title the thread "Something every dog owner should read!!". Not "Something every owner of problem dogs should read".

So yeah. Just saying.

[Karen]

Exactly, and she didn't say "Something every dog owner should read and follow to the letter regardless of the dog's temperament!"