Analysizing Dog Behaviour

[LondonGirl 3]

I found this article very interesting. It is dated February 2008 but is still pertinent IMHO. In my early days of dog ownership I used to attribute #6 Spite and #8 Guilt to my dogs. Fortunately I knew a good trainer (Grandad actually) who disabused me of those notions. Would be very interested to hear your perspectives.

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/11...hs_16004-1.html

[FairyTail Josette 14]

:) Very interesting, indeed.

The first myth described really surprised me. I thought that puppies needed all vaccines before going to puppy classes, Petco/Petsmart. So, I learned something new today.

Cody, our Maltese came from a byb/mill. She's on the verge between the two. His breeder told me she separated Cody from his littermates and mother at 6 weeks, so, he would get used to being an "only dog" when he came home with us. At the time, I didn't know any better. When we got him home, he was so afraid of everything...grass, different flooring textures, (i.e., carpet, tile, wood flooring). He wouldn't move nor wanted to play. He did end up coming out of his shell. But, to this day, he's so afraid of so many noises and starts to shake. Bringing another furbaby (Mandy) into the situation actually helped him get over some of his fears. But, overall, he's still very much afraid of so many things like the camera and loud noises. I have had several trainers tell me I need to de-sensitize Cody from thunderstorms, by playing thunderstorm noises repeatedly. I just don't think that would work for him. I think it would only torture him and make him worse.

We have tried every technique out there without success.

[borzoimom 24]

Well- I disagree with myth one. In this world where you do not know what someone elses puppy was raised in, what vaccines, it is important to have all vaccines ( done by 16 weeks when the rabies is given) done prior to classes. That doesn't mean not let puppies around other dogs. After all Stella was coming here at 10 weeks old. However- we know our dogs health and knew the place where stella came from. Second- as a trainer I am required that any dog in my classes must have a current rabies vaccine to be in the class. This is for liability for everyones protection.

Interesting article.

[LondonGirl 3]

I admit I had a knee-jerk reaction to number 1. Then I started wondering how vaccination came about and how the pups of yesteryear ever survived at all without vaccination. They were not kept in splendid isolation or carried everywhere when outside the home - they just got on with the joy of being a dog among other dogs and other animals.

I could be cynical and suggest that, initially, the drug companies found a huge untapped market among pet owners - much the same as all those insurance companies did over the past few years. However, when the drugs were introduced, vaccination suddenly became an absolute necessity and doses had to be administered annually... miss the booster by a few weeks and the whole series had to be done again. Why is it OK now to go 3 years between vaccinations (with the exception of rabies in the countries/states where decreed by law) - have the vaccinations changed? Are they much stronger than the early ones and so last longer? I certainly hope not because my Maltese had a seriously adverse reaction to his first booster. How come (trained) holistic vets do not fully espose the chemical vaccination route? Ask a conventional Vet and they either become coy or evasive or 'better safe than sorry' or (my pet peeve) because that's the way it is: the way we've always done it; the law etc. Do we vaccinate too early (sometimes starting with the first round at less than 10 weeks) if it is true a pup has protection from its mother's immunities up to the age of four to six months?

It is unfortunate that number 10 about socialisation does not rank beneath the vaccination myth, being tied as closely as it is with the pup's (almost) isolation in the crucially important early weeks. I count myself extremely lucky I already had a mature, very maternal female when I brought my Maltese pup home. She is a very laid back little lady and it certainly rubbed off on him.

I very much agree with numbers six: a dog is being spiteful and eight: he looks guilty. As doting owners it is very easy to credit our pets with all human emotions when, in truth, they know nothing of spite or guilt as we know those feelings but are merely reacting to our emotional stress, frustration, annoyance over certain of their activities.

I don't know the answers and I am trying not to be too pedantic but to offer some food for thought, in the hope that other members will be willing to join in with their views be they unconventional or not, should they feel so inclined.