dig by dog

Robbie chewing a stick on the trail

Punishing a dog for chewing on an object (irregardless of whether the dog is anxious, or just does not know any better) is akin to severely reprimanding a person who is trying to learn a new skill and does not get it quite right. Once burned twice shy...aggressive correction takes away a persons confidence to move forward and can cause psychological harm. It is exactly the same for a dog!

Jordie chewing rawhide

MOST OF US HAVE BEEN TAUGHT  from a very early age to react with excitement when we see a puppy or a cute adult dog. In keeping with this our habitual reaction is to walk up to the dog with intense excitement, talk in a very excited manner and touch the dog in an excited way.

Great fun for us - but how about the dog?

Well, when we greet a dog in this hyper, reactive manner we can really overwhelm a dog’s senses! We also teach the dog to be overly excited and can make them anxious and even fearful. We teach them by example, the wrong example. We de-normalize the experience of greeting.

And then, when visitors come over, frustration reins supreme as the dog rushes to the door, and takes over the space, barking and jumping all over guests.

And when a dog  is introduced to another dog by its human - more excited voices and encouragement to be instantaneously energized! And when the greeting is too much for the other dog, a growl or snap ensues, the humans get tense and viola! The excited dog has just had its first lesson in how to become tense, reactive-nervous, around other dogs.


DID YOU KNOW…
We have about 3 million olfactory sensors in our noses. Dogs have +/- 300 million! Dogs in their natural state (not having been influenced otherwise by humans) like to greet each other by simply approaching each other and using their noses to smell each other. That is a normal, respectful, social greeting in the dog world!
So what should we do instead, and can we learn to enjoy our dogs and greeting situations in the absence of excitement- you bet!



SO INSTEAD IMAGINE GREETING LIKE THIS…
Walk up to the dog quietly, calmly - see its beautiful physical form, see the expression in its face, its eyes;

Observe quietly, while the dog enjoys the silence and uses its nose to gently snuffle, while it takes in all the scents on your clothing, your shoes;

Each scent tells the dog where you have been, what you have seen and touched - it is an adventure, a bouquet of scents for the dog to enjoy in peace;

You quietly watch, while enjoying the graceful movement of the dog’s gently swishing tail, swirls of soft fur, pretty ears and eyes - just look quietly, dont touch, dont talk;

The dog is finished sniffing, you were calm and quiet , so the dog is calm and quiet;

You reach under its chin and firmly, gently with slow pressure stoke the underside of its neck, luxuriating in the velvety soft fur;

This relaxes you, and allows you to enjoy the sunlight and the soft warmth of the dog’s fur.

You just shared a quiet, warm, affectionate and deeply profound moment with a gentle sensitive being.

You just respected the dog in the dog.

You just trained yourself.

You put aside everything you have been taught about greeting a dog, you are no longer that human who leads by providing the wrong example.
You  are now that human who understands that to love a dog the right way, first from the perspective of the dog, enables the dog to be a happy, fulfilled well balanced canine!



And that is the art of greeting in silence...

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