Do you ever wonder what is on your dog's mind when they gaze at you adoringly?

 

Do you ever wonder what your dog would say if he could talk? I bet you say "I wonder what's in his mind?"  each time he looks up at you with those big, warm, brown eyes?
You might be surprised to learn that what you’re doing to your dog is confusing him—maybe even driving him crazy. Here are five bad habits you need to stop before they wreck your relationship.

1. You’re trying to communicate with your dogs through words.

You adopt a dog from the rescue home, and you know it is not the first time he has been adopted, but you are confident you will be successful. One of your worries is that the previous owner had given the dog a name you don’t like, so you have renamed him Dexter. But will that confuse him? Guess what? Dogs don’t care much whether you speak to them in Spanish, English, Chinese or Serbocroat, because they don’t hear words as words, just the sounds. So "C'mon now, be a good boy" merely sounds like "mmnn-num-num". You know how people have that irritating way of spelling out "t-r-e-a-t-s"“w-a-l-k” and “l-e-a-s-h”; (and I am just as guilty of that too!), they may be fooling themselves but they certainly aren’t fooling the dog. Dogs are smarter than people give them credit for. They can sense something much deeper than the words you use; they also read your body language. That is why you can’t lie to a dog. When you speak to a dog you must speak from the inside, from your mind, your heart, and your body. Otherwise he will be scratching his head with his paw in puzzlement, trying to figure why he can see your lips moving with strange noises coming out.

2. You treat your dog like a child.

We have all visited those houses, right? The ones with the framed pictures of Bubbles hanging on  the walls. Embroidered cushions everywhere of dogs of the same breed, name on toys, bowls and blankets of every kind, scattered from kitchen to bedroom to bath. And Bubbles’s owner never stops faffing over her as though she were a one-year-old. You can see how the human starts to get confused sometimes and starts thinking that Bubbles is a child—but of course Bubbles is under no illusions at all. She is a dog, and she wants to behave like a dog—that is in her DNA. And like all dogs, she wants to run, smell bottoms and other dog's poo;  she loves to chase things, and she wants to use her nose to track. She wants to roll in unspeakable smells and eat yukky things. Your “baby” is also a pack animal and needs the structure and routine and discipline in her life to feel fulfilled and not become frustrated. There is nothing wrong with showing your dog love, but remember the basic rules of dog ownership: first exercise, then discipline, and finally oochy-coo and cuddles.

3. Your dog doesn’t have a job and he’s bored.

So many times people are worried because their dog has picked up an irritating habit.  Perhaps he’s chewing the carpet, or racing in circles around the house, or showing surprising aggression. And so often the answer is the same: Your dog is getting bored—he wants something to do. Dogs were not born  into a 5-star life style, expecting to be waited on hand and foot, with gourmet meals produced at  supper times; no creature in the animal world is. In the wild—from the time they are puppies—dogs have  had to work and fight for their food. The pack rule is hunt it down or go hungry. Dogs have been bred over the centuries for different jobs—from rounding up cattle to hunting to hauling. When their natural instinct is denied, they become frustrated, and that is when they start to show signs of aggressive behaviour.  Pay attention to what your dog asks and give him a job. Put a pack on his back when you go for walks or create obstacle courses so he can put his scent-tracking abilities to good use. His body language will tell you how exciting and stimulating his tasks have been. His tail will wag in circles, not just left and right, to indicate pure bliss.

4. You’re acting like your dog’s playmate

.....not  the pack leader. Its important that you re-claim the role of pack leader from the dog the first time it joins the family. The moment you come home, your pooch greets and licks you enthusiastically then tries to tell you that they are ready to play. The next thing you know, you and your dog are racing around the garden or the park with a ball and all the rules have changed. At least the rules have changed in your mind—until you are ready to signal "that's enough" and go back for dinner. How is your dog supposed to understand what has happened? You gave up on being pack leader to race into playing with them instead of making it clear that play begins only when they have calmed down.  So now they are confused about who’s the boss. Remember: Being a pack leader is not a part-time occupation; it’s all the quality time. Your dog is always looking for consistency and structure, and without it they are going to become confused about when to follow your directions and when you two are just playmates.

5. You’re tense and nervous around your dog

Your sister-in-law is one of your least favourite people. You hate it when she comes to visit—you know she is checking out your home for dust and grime, running her finger over the furniture and you can see the critical disdain in her face. To make matters worse, whenever she’s near Dexter, your otherwise well-behaved mixed-breed dog,  goes crazy, as if to demonstrate your poor dog-handling skills. But he doesn’t know there are problems with you and your sister-in-law; he just knows that his pack leader is tense and nervous, so he may become tense and nervous too. Our dogs are incredibly finely attuned to us—we’ve been living together almost from the beginning of time! That is why they need calm, assertive energy to relax. Remember: Dogs are predators in the wild, so if they become nervous, their fight-or-run response is almost always more likely to be fight. Nervousness in dogs will soon come out as aggression. It is they only way they know to deal with a problem.

Listen to them carefully, they are trying to tell you what they want. Their needs are really very simple, and if you satisfy those, you will have a happy and fulfilling partnership. That is the kind of bond I have with my dogs.

And there ended the sermon.  Now let's finish off with some bits and bobs...............

Two of our dog friends in the park will be holding a Crimble Dog Extravaganza this Saturday.  See poster below.  It looks worthy of a special trip just to get some unusual doggy presents that you wouldn't see anywhere else.

A sweet story to melt the heart!
A shop keeper was putting up a sign that  that read "Puppies for Sale." Signs like that have a way of attracting small children, and sure enough a little boy appeared. "How much are you going to sell the puppies for?" the little boy asked. The shop keeper replied, "probably between £30 to £50." The little boy reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. "I have £2.37" he said. "May I please look at them?" The shop keeper smiled and then whistled, and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his shop followed by five tiny balls of fluff.

One puppy was lagging way behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, "What's wrong with that little dog?" The shop keeper explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered that it didn't have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame. The little boy became excited. "That's the puppy I want to buy." The shop keeper said, "No, you don't want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I will let you have him for free but I can't sell him to you.

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the man's eyes, pointing his finger, and said, "I don't want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I'll pay full price. In fact, I'll give you £2.37 now and 50 pence a month until I have paid for him."

The shop keeper said, "You really don't want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies." To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his trouser leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the shop keeper and softly replied, "Well, I don't run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands."

Here is a 'cute overload' picture that will bring on comments like "ehrmagherd! berldogs and babehs eh!." Couldn't have said it better myself.                                  I don't want to say this, but   I feel I have to. After  today there are only 5 Wednesdays until Christmas. Well! that's it until the next blog. Have a good time, whatever you have planned. Dawn (.".)