12/09/2022
What a breath of fresh air.
In the last few years, Iāve watched ādog cultureā explode into a phenomenon Iād never seen as an early dog trainer. When I first started training dogs, people didnāt come to me with requests for their dogs to be able to handle things and expectations we put on them so heavily today. Nowadays, itās amazing what we ask of our dogs because of this culture that emerged. And then we wonder why dogs are going downhill behaviorally so quickly.
1. Dog āgroupsā where people get together with dogs on leash and do activities and social events. Including birthday parties, Halloween parties, etc etc
2. Dog daycares where dogs are kept in large groups to play
3. Dog parks where humans AND dogs interact in groups
4. Behaviors like perfect heel on leash, sit stays on beds, ignoring environmental enticement in the name of ātrainingā
Then thereās dog sports, dog classes, therapy dog work, service dog work, dog shows, trail walks, public outings, restaurants, breweries, and farmers markets and parades and town days and family over (with their dog) for every holiday and apartment complexes and car rides and pet stores and all these places weāve been made to believe dogs SHOULD go and should WANT to go to and if they donāt then you need to do more and more work with them and help them like it and if you donāt then you arenāt fulfilling them or meeting their needs and your dog isnāt happy and you are failing or they just havenāt been raised right.
Please. Take a breath.
For 20,000 years dogs existed beside us doing none of that. For 9,000 years they were created for purpose and work, not for pets (with the exception of a few toy breeds) We didnāt expect ANY OF THIS during that time unless they were designed and created for it: now itās what we want all the time. From all dogs. Thatās not fair.
Our culture has changed SO much and dogs havenāt had a chance to catch up. We want all this new stuff because itās part of OUR new culture, but we need to pause and realize itās not a part of most of theirs. People coming over? Not really what most dogs were created to enjoy. Going new places all the time? Not what most dogs were created to handle. Hanging out in groups and put in costumes and having their pictures taken? Not normal to a dog. Riding calmly in a glass box going past all these distractions at 35mph? Not part of their DNA either.
We would NEVER expect this of any of our other animals either. Why are dogs taking the brunt of this. Because dogs are extremely adaptable and truthfully, they love us so much they will try so so hard to make us happy and do what we ask of them. But, can we for a second stop and think that maybe itās too much sometimes? Can we please take some accountability for their stress and mental health as part of OUR unrealistic expectations that weāve been led to believe make for a good dog vs a bad dog? Iām not talking about not working with them and helping them learn to live in todays world. Thatās important. Iām talking about taking a step back and having respect for who they are and why they originally ended up with us. I do this all the time before I put any of my dogs in a situation, and that means sometimes I donāt bring them.
If the culture is changing; letās add human education and understanding of basic canine ethology, body language and respect into it too. Itās only fair to honor the animals who have stood beside us for so so long.
Helen St. Pierre
