My Pet - Bindi's Blog & News

Dear Bindi,
My human mum says I need to learn to be better behaved! I'm still little and I can't find my proper mum anywhere, so how can I learn? I think my new human mum lives in the wrong house because everything is different from before!
...Confused Coco

Dear Confused Coco
Below are some hints to give to your new human to read which should help you both. Yes, your real mum lives in a different house and last time we saw her, she said she hoped you are learning how to behave well so that she can be proud of you.
...Bindi

DOG TRAINING HINTS: Dog training for desired behavior.

Teaching a dog proper behavior while it is young is very important. While playing and having fun with your new puppy or dog is certainly important, it is also important to teach your canine companion just what is expected – which behaviors are acceptable and which behaviors are not acceptable. It is not really so different than teaching toddlers what is right and wrong.

Teaching lessons early, while the dog is still a puppy, is the best guarantee that the lessons will be learned and retained. Dogs learn quickly, and every interaction between human and dog is teaching the dog something. Making sure you are teaching the right lessons is up to you as the dog handler.

Proper training techniques are important for the protection of the dog as well as the protection of the family and the community at large. While dogs are loving, protecting members of the family in most cases, a poorly trained dog can be dangerous and destructive. Making sure your new addition is a pleasure to be around and not a menace is up to you as the owner.

The relationship between humans and dogs goes back for many thousands of years, and dogs have been domesticated longer than any other animals. Therefore, humans and dogs have developed a bond not shared by many other domesticated animals. This strong bond is very useful when training any dog.

All potential dog owners and would be dog trainers should understand how dog society works in the absence of humans. It is important to understand the pack hierarchy, and to use that hierarchy to your advantage as you train your dog. All pack animals have a lead animal, in the case of dogs it is the alpha dog. All other members of the pack look to the alpha dog for direction and guidance. The alpha dog in turn provides important leadership in hunting, fending off other predators, protecting territory and other vital survival skills. This pack arrangement is what has allowed wolves and wild dogs to be such successful predators, even as other large predators have been driven to extinction.

What all this means to you as the dog trainer is that you must set yourself up as the pack leader – the alpha dog if you will – in order to gain the respect and trust of your dog. If the dog does not recognize you as is superior and its leader, you will not get very far in your training program.

Respect is not something that can be forced. It is rather something that is earned through the interaction of human and dog. As the dog learns to respect and trust you, you will begin to make great strides in your training program. A training program based on mutual respect and trust is much more likely to succeed in the long run than one that is based on fear and intimidation.

A fearful dog is likely to at one point become a biting dog, and that is definitely one thing you do not want in your life. Rewarding the dog when he does the right thing, instead of punishing him for doing the wrong thing, is vitally important to the success of any training program.

Punishment only confuses and further frightens the dog, and it can set a training program back weeks if not months. It is important to give the dog the option to do the right thing or the wrong then, and to reward the dog when it makes the right decision. For instance, if the dog chases joggers, have a friend jog by while you hold the dog on the leash. If the dog attempts to chase the “jogger”, sit him back down and start again. You are not punishing the wrong decision, you are simply providing the choice. When the dog remains sitting calmly by your side, give him a treat and lots of praise. The dog will quickly learn that sitting is the right choice and chasing the jogger is the wrong choice.

********************************************************************

Oh Dear Bindi
I am constantly harassed by my owner for sitting on his favourite chair. I don't understand what his problem is. I do admit that sometimes it seems just too comfortable to move unless he pushes me off, but generally I do move after he yells. What can I do to stop him yelling at me. He also gets mad at me for dog hair on the chair and in the house, but that's normal isn't it?
.....Anxious Pixie

Dear Pixie,
First you are quite within your rights to use his, or any chair you see, which happens to be available. One of our main jobs is to sit, lie or sleep in chairs. Some chairs are particularly soft and historically it is generally known that these soft chairs were originally designed for dogs, although over the years we have noted with some disappointment that humans have claimed they are theirs. This is a point of continued debate and so far there is no clear outcome.
Most humans can be quite strange and somewhat illogical at times and do not always understand that a dog may not wish to move unless and until we are bribed by a tasty treat or are told we going somewhere for some fun.
My suggestion is just keep doing what you are doing but perhaps move as soon as you see him walk towards his chair. Your owner will eventually get the message that you feel you are doing him a favour by keeping the chair warm and possibly even realise that the chair is actually yours.
About the dog hair... unfortunately humans constantly complain about this.. occasionally ad nauseum. They really do need a little bit of help because as you know dog hair is quite NORMAL. However what I have found helpful is wearing a shirt for the summer (or a jumper in winter) ... I actually wear this to minimise contact dermatitis as I'm allergic to some grasses, etc..... but it also has the advantage of minimizing any dogs hairs unintentionally left behind and my owner is quite thrilled as says she now doesn't have to vaccuum quite so much.
I hope these suggestions are helpful, and do try not to be so anxious dear Pixie... you will feel better when he stops yelling which I feel should be quite soon
.... Bindi

**********************************************************************************

Dear Bindi
The other day my owner came home and instantly started yelling at me for nothing! She said some words too insulting to be mentioned here, and I can't understand why she seemed upset as I had been busy nearly all day helping her in the garden. I had found lots of little skink lizards, a frog, a few beetles and a mouse and knew they shouldn't be there, so when they went into their holes I dug them up for her and chased them away. She still isn't talking to me, and made me go without dinner because she was so mad! She seemed to think her new flowers were ruined, but honestly there weren't any where I was digging... there were only about a dozen weedy little plants here and there, but definitely no flowers in sight at all! What should I do?
.....Tearful Buster

Dear Buster
Unfortunately your enthusiasm to help has been misinterpreted by your owner. Clearly is not your fault that she has entirely misunderstood the situation and it is sad that she had this reaction but it is quite common. First may I say you are to be commended for being so thoughtful and looking to find some work to do for her while she was gone. Apparently the job you chose did not have her blessing and I know this sounds rather strange, given that you were doing work she would have had to do anyway.
It would seem she thinks you need to apologise for whatever she perceives you did wrong ... even though we both know otherwise!! I would suggest that the best and fastest remedy is for you spend quite a bit of time crouching flat on the floor whenever she approaches with a very sad and repentant look on your face. That usually helps humans in this type of situation.
If you can work out, through this and other similar experiences, just which corners of the garden she does not mind you digging in, you will find it more peaceful to work just there and nowhere else. It is quite possible she has a phobia over some particular areas of the garden which you cannot be expected to understand.
Humans also have different vision from us and often see things which are not actually there. This would explain why she saw "flowers" when there were none in sight. It is one of those things we just have to accept.
If you can find some alternative activities such as chasing things or playing with any toys you might have, this might help any boredom you are feeling... I presume she DID provide you with some toys or activities when she is not there?
In a few days she should be feeling better and I'm sure she will feed you again very soon. If you stare at your empty food bowl this should make her feel guilty and elicit something positive in the way of some food ... remember to look at the bowl, then at her, and back again. Do this repeatedly for best effect.
If you know any little tricks it would help if you did these every time she comes near you. Humans love us to show off and it helps to take their mind off whatever things they think they should worry about!
They tend to give treats for tricks, so if you are extreemly hungry that could help!
... Bindi

**************************************************************************

Bindi, our resident columnist and qualified absolutely psycho D.O.G.,
answers pet dilemmas from our readers.

       Pet Dilemmas
                Worries and problems
             from the pets of the world!

For current episodes of Bindi's adventures visit http://petdilemmas.blogstream.com