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Will Training Ruin My Dog or Break His Spirit?
I am often asked questions about how training a
dog might alter the dog’s personality:
If you fix my dog’s nuisance barking will he be
less likely to bark when someone tries to break into our house?
If you teach my dog to stop nipping and biting my
friends, will he still bite a burglar who enters our home?
I want my dog to stop being so unruly, but I
don’t want him to loose his spirit! Will training make him unhappy?
Here are my replies:
Dogs as Reliable Alarm Systems
As disappointing as it may sound, if a
perpetrator truly wants to penetrate the boundaries of your home, he will
not find the presence of your dog a deterrent. He will come with a method of
snuffing out the dog as an obstacle. He may poison, shoot, distract, kill by
hand or more likely simply command your dog to leave the house or to go into
another room where he will confine the dog while he ruffles through your
things. If a person is not fearful of your dog, regardless of how fierce the
dog may sound or act, he will be able to overcome the presence of your dog, in
one way or another. That is the blunt truth. The most highly trained dog, even
those trained to protect or guard, are not immune to the intentions of a person
who wants to eliminate it.
On the other hand, the presence of a dog in a
home certainly makes the house less desirable for a random thief. The fact that
you have a dog and your neighbors do not may lessen your chances of an
indiscriminate act of burglary. To a burglar, a dog is simply another issue to
consider, like a tall fence that would make it difficult to get your possessions
off your property, good exterior lighting or an alarm system. Even a yappy,
four pound dog can alert to the presence of a perpetrator or turn one running
once the dog begins barking. But, expecting any dog to be responsible for
protecting your home and family is simply asking more of the dog than he can
truly accomplish. In reality, since a well trained dog recognizes humans as the
leaders of the pack, we should be responsible for protecting him from harm! A
dog offers a very false sense of security if one expects it to actually fight
crime.
The Liability Factor
Dog ownership presents a higher level of
liability than living without a dog. If your dog bites someone you will be
liable for the damages. If you have home owners insurance, it will be sought to
cover the cost of injury, even if the person who your dog bites was not
invited onto your property and even if he arrived with the intentions of
robbing you blind. That, unfortunately, is the reality, in most cases in
the United States. Once your dog bites someone, even if that person was in the
act of stealing your television, the claim that is made against your insurance
may result in loss of your coverage or the ultimatum that you must get rid of
your dog. Some home owner’s policies actually exclude a number of breeds of
dogs, so it is wise to check the fine print on your policy if you have a breed
such as a German Shepherd, Doberman Pincher, Rottweiler or Pitbull, or
compensation for a dog bite will come out of your own pocket. It doesn’t
matter how ill-intended the bandit might be, if he is damaged by your dog, you
will most likely be responsible for those injuries.
What Is the Dog’s Role as Guardian?
Since even the presence of a small dog can deter
a random burglary, let’s consider those crimes that may be performed by someone
who has “cased” your home or business with the intent of robbery or even
doing harm to you or your family members. A highly trained dog can be quite
impressive, especially to your typical Joe Public. The fact that your dog takes
all of his commands instantly and is wholly focused on you for leadership and
direction may suggest that the dog has an even larger repertoire of skills,
perhaps including attack commands. So, if someone is scoping out your business
or home he will have to contend with a dog that may, in fact, be trained to bite
him, since it is so well trained in other areas. This can be deterrent enough
to keep your home safe from focused invasion.
But, it’s not simply about a false image. A dog
is more likely to partner up (including in the mode of protecting your home)
with the people for whom it has the very most respect. That is because dogs are
designed to seek leadership and they have a very keen sense of family or pack.
The more competent the leadership, the higher the affinity the dog has for the
person. If a home were to be invaded while family members were present, the dog
that has a high level of respect for his people will be the most likely to react
in typical guardian/ protection mode. Respect is gained through proper
training, management and socialization. There are, of course, breeds that have
a greater propensity than others to alert or aggress towards an invader. But,
respect for leadership and sense of family/pack does play a very big role,
regardless of breed. A German Shepherd Dog that is tied outside 24 hours a day
may be far less likely to have loyalty to his people than a well trained
Labrador Retriever that is managed as a house dog and has a well developed sense
of loyalty to his family.
Training a dog that nuisance barking is not to be
tolerated does not take away his voice. It only defines, for the dog, that the
pack leader (human) will make decisions about threats in the environment,
putting the dog in a calm, submissive position relative to the people in the
home. Squirrels, blowing leaves, the woman who is walking her dog, the
neighborhood tom cat or the UPS man are not true threats and the dog must learn
that it is not his job to “protect” the home from such false enemies. However,
the dog’s eye sight and hearing is not affected by training. An alert dog will
still recognize unusual circumstances and may bark or warn his owner of a
stranger’s approach, an unusual event like smoke in the home or even an
approaching tornado. At that time, a well trained dog looks to his human leader
for information about whether the unique situation poses a threat. Dogs are
very perceptive, especially of the people with whom they live. Your dog’s
training will only make him more perceptive of your normal status, allowing him
to recognize situations that are different or potentially hostile. At those
times, no amount of training will alter his natural inclination to alert you of
the abnormal situation. However, you can usually expect a highly loyal dog to
remain by your side during worrying times, more so than the untrained dog that
has little regard for his human’s leadership.
Will Discipline and Good Training Ruin My Dog?
I am often asked whether a high level of training
will cause a dog to loose its spirit. I think that there are two reasons why
people ask this question. The first is the misconception of canine happiness.
A dog that is constantly on the move, is frenzied, barking, dancing around and
otherwise demonstrating a complete lack of self control is not a happy, spirited
dog. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A dog that is not in a
balanced, self composed state of mind is not happy, albeit many people do not
recognize this. The frantic dog is out of sorts, and deep down she knows it.
Most likely, that dog is existing in a leaderless and therefore rule-less
realm. Nothing could be more discouraging to a dog. She is not happy, she is
just over active; a result of the irritation of existing in an unstable society.
Secondly, I think
there is a false impression that discipline is a dirty word, and that a highly
disciplined dog cannot be happy, and therefore has lost its spirit. Discipline
and spirit are not antonyms, and a good example is the United States Marine
Corps. It is difficult to argue that the men and women in the Corps are not
highly disciplined. However, it is hard to find a group of people with more
spirit, as well. In fact, one of the by-products of maintaining very high self
discipline is the allowance for heightened spirit. With greater discipline
comes the opportunity for superior (and yet, balanced) enthusiasm. Although
some dog owners may think otherwise, spirit is not a lack of self restraint.
Another example where increased discipline can encourage an environment of true
spirit is with highly trained athletes. Dictionary.com provides the definition of “Spirited: having or showing mettle,
courage, vigor and liveliness”, but says nothing of a lack of self restraint.
Some dog owners perceive their dog's lack of self restraint as "spirit".
And, frankly, nothing could be further from the truth. Exceptional dog training does not alter the spirit of a
dog. However, discipline allows the dog to be truly spirited, without being
unbalanced or otherwise, out of control, as it is always in a state of
self-control, even when it is acting most spirited. Exceptional dog training
allows the dog to present its
true, unclouded natural self. Dogs are designed to live as subordinate
members of a highly structured society, under the umbrella of a fair, sound,
competent leader. A dog that is provided that lifestyle will be a truly
happy and spirited dog.
© 2006 Tammie Rogers - all rights
reserved. For permission to reprint
email Tammie.
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