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How the hell did I forget all about Turid Rugaas?
This morning, browsing my usual messageboards and friendslist, I came across a non-dog-owner at TrekBBS, asking advice on how to be less frightened of strange dogs. He said that he was one of those people that dogs took an instant dislike to, and he needed to try and break the pattern because his work was going to be expecting him to interact with dogs.
While I was typing out a reply suggesting ways he could alter his body language and searching out websites with more information for him, I came back to Turid Rugaas and her excellent work on canine calming signals.
Where the bad trainer part comes in is, I knew all this stuff! When I first got Spike over two years ago, he was an uncontrolled ball of nerve-driven teeth and paws. He'd been starved of play and attention so long that looking at him, moving or breathing in the same room as him sent him into hysterical explosions of attention-seeking - and since the only ways he knew to attract human attention were the Border Collie Death Glare and grabbing my arm in his teeth, I had to wear long-sleeved shirts for weeks and I had to find a way of calming him down enough to teach him acceptable alternatives. Turid Rugaas' calming signals are not training in themselves - what they are is a way of getting the dog into a frame of mind where training is possible, and with a dog like Spike whose default setting is peel-me-off-the-ceiling overexcited, they were a lifesaver.
Spike and I have forged an excellent relationship over the years. We understand each other pretty well, but this morning I realised that I'd been taking the relationship, and him, for granted. We haven't been having an easy time lately because my arm injury has reduced the amount of exercise I can give him, and he's been slipping back into wild man mode - this has been going on for a few weeks, and I can't believe I'd let myself completely forget these techniques that helped me so much the first time round.
He and I have spent the morning yawning and head-turning at each other, and wow! Both of us are in a calmer, mellower mood than we've been since I first hurt myself. I feel like I've got a handle on breaking the circle of mutual frustration that's been making us both unhappy. It's beautiful - and I feel like an idiot for not remembering it sooner.
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badtrainers
Edit: also at TrekBBS, I'm disappointed to find someone I had a high opinion of advocating declawing cats. Luckily the majority are in disagreement.
This morning, browsing my usual messageboards and friendslist, I came across a non-dog-owner at TrekBBS, asking advice on how to be less frightened of strange dogs. He said that he was one of those people that dogs took an instant dislike to, and he needed to try and break the pattern because his work was going to be expecting him to interact with dogs.
While I was typing out a reply suggesting ways he could alter his body language and searching out websites with more information for him, I came back to Turid Rugaas and her excellent work on canine calming signals.
Where the bad trainer part comes in is, I knew all this stuff! When I first got Spike over two years ago, he was an uncontrolled ball of nerve-driven teeth and paws. He'd been starved of play and attention so long that looking at him, moving or breathing in the same room as him sent him into hysterical explosions of attention-seeking - and since the only ways he knew to attract human attention were the Border Collie Death Glare and grabbing my arm in his teeth, I had to wear long-sleeved shirts for weeks and I had to find a way of calming him down enough to teach him acceptable alternatives. Turid Rugaas' calming signals are not training in themselves - what they are is a way of getting the dog into a frame of mind where training is possible, and with a dog like Spike whose default setting is peel-me-off-the-ceiling overexcited, they were a lifesaver.
Spike and I have forged an excellent relationship over the years. We understand each other pretty well, but this morning I realised that I'd been taking the relationship, and him, for granted. We haven't been having an easy time lately because my arm injury has reduced the amount of exercise I can give him, and he's been slipping back into wild man mode - this has been going on for a few weeks, and I can't believe I'd let myself completely forget these techniques that helped me so much the first time round.
He and I have spent the morning yawning and head-turning at each other, and wow! Both of us are in a calmer, mellower mood than we've been since I first hurt myself. I feel like I've got a handle on breaking the circle of mutual frustration that's been making us both unhappy. It's beautiful - and I feel like an idiot for not remembering it sooner.
x-posted to
badtrainersEdit: also at TrekBBS, I'm disappointed to find someone I had a high opinion of advocating declawing cats. Luckily the majority are in disagreement.
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