I cringe every time AKC sends out a notice about "responsible dog owners" and encourages us to have a day to celebrate them.
Why do we celebrate "Mother's Day" and not "Loving Mother's Day"?
Because there is a presumption of mother=love and nurture. Not always the case, I realize, but surely it is true most of the time.
Why do we have "President's Day" and not "Ethical President's Day"?
Again, there is a a presumption of ethics and honor among those who hold the highest office in our land. Not all of them, most likely, but the overwhelming majority have been ethical, honorable men.
Why do we have "Parents' Night" at school, instead of "Dependable Parents' Night"? After all, those who don't show up must surely be unreliable and uncaring! Why not infer that in the title of the event?
It's all in the nuance of the language we use, folks. Just including a feel-good adjective like "responsible" in the phrase "responsible dog owners" infers that there is a reciprocal and significantly large segment of irresponsible dog owners out there. And of course, we need more rules and regulations to deal with them! Just ask the animal rights groups, the humane societies and the "rescuers".
That's the short lesson for today. It seems so obvious and simple, yet very few people seem to have a grasp on life's self-evident truths.
Either we dog breeders are turning out a bunch of severely defective dogs or our veterinarians are lying to us.
Can't count the number of times over the past few years that I have heard these stories:
Dog died getting teeth cleaned - anesthesia reaction
Dog died during spay/neuter surgery - anesthesia reaction
We are talking YOUNG dogs here, not old dogs with failing organs. Young dogs who were perfectly healthy prior to undergoing their procedures.
And if your vet says, it was an "anesthesia reaction" what are you to say? You weren't there, so you don't know what happened. You don't know if the dog was overdosed, or the tube came out before he was awake, or if it was really an "anesthesia reaction"; if your dog had some profound reaction to the anesthesia itself that killed him.
Would we accept our doctor's statement that our spouse/child/parent died during surgery due to an "anesthesia reaction"? You can bet the answer would be NO. There would be an investigation, and the parties involved would have to testify as to exactly what happened. Medical malpractice is the scenario, and thankfully is relatively uncommon. The threat of litigation keeps your doctor on his best behavior. He utilizes clinincal monitors and exercises his best judgement at all times. Anything less would be professional suicide.
But understandably, there is not the same standard of care for animals including our dogs. When the vet blames an "anesthesia reaction" you can suspect that possibly he didn't want to have to say, "I'm sorry, I didn't monitor him closely enough" or "Gosh darn it, I nicked an artery."
I hope to hear from some veterinarians on this, because I would love to be wrong on this. Are there many dogs who are so susceptible to anesthesia that it kills them outright, even while you have them intubated and on life support?
From Ron Hines, DVM: "We veterinarians are fortunate in that older, less predictable, anethesthetics have been replaced by compounds that are very predictable and safe when properly used."
http://www.2ndchance.info/anesthesia.htm
Hey, I was just sitting here, minding my own business, happily playing on Facebook, with Fox Business News on in the background, when WHAM! Suddenly I was subjected to a very disturbing interview. Some woman from the ASPCA was lecturing Lou Dobbs about pet store puppies.
You know, they are all from "puppy mills", they are selling sick dogs; rescued dogs are the way to go; 7 million dogs enter shelters each year and half are killed; and in surveys, 9 out of 10 dog owners prefers their "rescued" pet to a pet store pet. (A little bit of journalistic sarcasm there with the 9 out of 10 thing, but she did essentially state this, claiming this to be the result of some satisfaction survey)
Mind you, this is the ASPCA talking here. They just recently paid out a whopping $9.3 million settlement to Feld Entertainment (Ringling Bros Circus) when charged under the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. Seems they were involved in manufacturing evidence of animal abuse. Is it any surprise that their representative would LIE on national television?
So naturally, I had to pipe up and write to Lou Dobbs. Do you know that the ASPCA is not trustworty? Using pejorative slurs when referring to breeders is offensive and just plain wrong. Do you know that "rescues" are importing hundred of thousands of dogs annually? Do you know that consumer protection "puppy lemon laws" do not apply to shelter and rescue pets? And, let me fill you in on something; there were 2.3 million animals killed in shelters..that's dogs and cats combined, roughly about a 50-50 mix. NOT half of 7 million, or 3.5 million DOGS ALONE, which she impled was the case. Perhaps a million adoptable dogs killed because shelters don't make the earnest effort to find them homes...of which there are over 20 million opening up for pets each and every year.
There is also evidence that the pet industry provides more veterinarian care for puppies than the public at large. DVM/VPI Insurance Group, the largest provider of animal health insurance, testified during a hearing in California that "preconceived notions" concerning pet store puppies "could not have been more wrong."
After insuring more than 89,000 pet store puppies and kittens and handling health claims from a pool of more than 500,000 insured animals, the insurance company reduced its premiums for pet store puppies and kittens substantially by as much as 22 percent compared to premiums charged for animals from other sources. Why? Pet store puppies receive more veterinary attention during the first 12 weeks of age than any other puppies and, as a result, have fewer claims.
In other words....pet store puppies are healthier than puppies from other sources.
I'll let you know if I get any feedback (not likely). Methinks Lou Dobbs has been hoodwinked. He took the lazy way out and let his "expert" do his research for him. Big mistake, but par for the course on television news lately.
Whatever happened to REAL investigative journalism, anyway?
I would have to say yes – dogs have an intelligencethat exceeds and defies many modern day humans…and within this concept resides the real key to understanding and training your dog...
Your inherited traits determine your pre-disposition to be:
- An introvert or an extrovert
- Left Brain, or Right Brain.
- Left Brain Hemisphere;
- If you fall into this category you may have a pre-disposition to be:
- Naturally confident...
- Calm,
- Dominant;
- Tolerant.
- Right Brain Hemisphere
- If you fall into this category you may have a pre-disposition to be:
- Naturally insecure...
- Lacking in confidence;
- Nervous;
- Anxious;
- Fearful.
- When humans get together to form a crowd, which then due to various triggers results in a heightened degree of reactivity.
- One or more people in the crowd instantaneously react, and;
- Other individuals in the crowd respond;
- Either matching the state of the first people to react, or;
- Reacting in a polar opposite manner but with the same intensity;
- Within a matter of seconds (depending on the situation):
- Fear and panic spread, or;
- Violence, and/or;
- Avarice and greed may result in looting, theft, etc.
- This is commonly known as:
- Crowd Behaviour/Mentality or;
- Mob Behaviour/Mentality;
- In the extended animal kingdom (beings other than ‘mankind’) this same type of behaviour is referred to as Pack Mentality'
- Me first;
- Solely for my good – not for the greater good;
- It must be noted that the first type of intelligence
- This is not leadershipit is instead reflective of the widely misunderstood term ‘Alpha’
- While all of the above may promote short term survival, it does not promote long-term survival of an individual, a species or a planet.
- Also interesting to note...
- What is it that humans like so much about dogs?...
- A dog's selflessness;
- And what is it that many human beings have a very difficult time being?
- Selfless.
- Limits the individual human's perspective;
- Which in-turn reduces that individual's potential for broader intelligence;
- Which leaves the door-open for that individual's intelligence to become narrowly focused to the point of obsession or extremism;
- Which when shared and adopted by other human beings, limits collective human intelligence;
- Which leaves the door-open for crowd mentality - the collective intelligence of the group of people may become narrowly focused to the point of obsession or extremism;
- BSL/DDA is not based on actual fact, but instead on a narrow, uninformed perspective;
- Human hurbris which then creates genocide...mass murder carried out by man'kind' whether done to humans or dogs it is genocide
- Intuition;
- Common sense;
- Combined with;
- Logic;
- Self-awareness;
- Self restraint;
- Empathy;
- Consideration;
- Patience;
- Humility.
- Understand and look at something from multiple perspectives (as opposed to a linear and/or judgmental perspective);
- Filtered through commonsense and self-discipline;
- The human is deploying mature, considered intelligence;
- Rather than allowing ire, raw unconsidered emotion and greed to take over.
- By observing and assessing what truly presents to their senses;
- Rather than what they assume – based on preconceived notions.
- A perfect example of this is the typical notion that a dog is just a dog and cannot possibly be smiling.
- A conceit which is factually incorrect.
- Despite the fact that mankind has lived with dogs for 30 thousand years;
- The mass of humanity via our assumption that our (humankind’s) abilities outstrip that of other animals - has for most people, blinded them to the fact that dogs do smile.
- You dog, me human and for that reason alone dog, you shall do as I say;
- Your intelligence (dog) is such that I must either use:
- Treats, and/or;
- Silly tactics (i.e. dropping chain bags, marching you in different directions while on a lead, spraying you in the face, putting a pheromone collar on you, placing little piles of food on the floor so you understand that it is me the human feeding you, etc.), and/or;
- Force-dominance ‘training’.
The Ability To Communicate Effectively
If you are not perceptive and are not a particularly good communicator your ability to understand others can be seriously and adversely effected.
- Do you know if you are a well-rounded perceptive and effective communicator?
- Does your ability to communicate match your dog's ability to perceive and communicate?
- Sight i.e...
- Observation of Body Language i.e...
- Facial expressions (dog and human faces);
- Micro body language - i.e. tension in the way you hold your hand;
- Macro body language - i.e. how you stand and occupy space;
- How you move - i.e. quickly in agitation or frustration, forcefully in anger, grounded, solid and calm, etc.
- Sound i.e...
- Pitch/timber of voice;
- Emotion behind voice;
- Scent i.e.
- If a human is nervous your scent can be slightly different than when you are calm - a dog's sense of smell is so acute slight changes in scent are perceptible;
- Breathing i.e.
- Short, deep, regular, withheld, etc.
- Extra Sensory Perception
And Then There is Hypersensitivity, Another Layer of Intelligence...
People (highly sensitive people - HSP)
Dogs (highly sensitive dogs - HSD)
Hypersensitivity in both people and dogs:
- Is not a disorder;
- Is not a disadvantage when recognized, and;
- In fact it can be a valuable gift and advantage - which simply presents another layer of intelligence...for example:
- An HSP or HSD can quickly read the mood of another person (human/canine); can pick up the scent of illness, sense the onset of a seizure before it occurs, be extra attentive, etc.
- Heightened levels of awareness/sensitivity to:
- Physical stimuli, i.e. sound, sight, touch, smell ;
- Emotional Stimuli, i.e. emotions of others;
- Easily over-whelmed - 'flooded' by to much stimuli.
- A person or dog that is hyper sensitive is more likely than a non HSP or HSD to suffer from:
- Allergies, asthma, skin conditions such as eczema.
- An HSD does not require more exercise than a non-HSD dog;
- In-fact over stimulation with non-structured exercise will create more hyperactivity!
- An equal balance between appropriate quantity of physical and psychological exercise;
- A truly good diet, which includes sufficient levels of nutrients such as Omega-3 Fatty Acids, which when lacking in the diet can create serious impediments to optimal brain and body function.
- I see my hypersensitivity as a great gift is it allows me to work with dogs and their humans in a manner that others cannot;
- I can sense things that a non-HSP would not be able to sense;
- I can alert to a person's thoughts and read them as a dog does;
- I can read/sense a dog more as another dog would;
- I can from personal experience understand how a dog get's flooded by stimuli;
- I can sense and work intuitively to shift my methods in the most subtle of ways to better suit the individual dog.
- A hypersensitive dog;
- The extreme damage that can be done to the dog in the absence of intelligent leadership, and;
- The impact of giving that dog proper leadership;
- You can read my Boxer Robbie's Bio.
Can lack of consideration in taking into account social and cultural norms affect your intelligence? Yes, because it can effect your judgement, your approach and your understanding of a situation.
Here is an example:
- White Anglo-Saxons males greet each other by shaking hands;
- French Quebecois may choose to greet each other with a light kiss on either side of the face;
- A white Anglo-Saxon - who has never seen the typical French Quebecois greeting; might react with great offense at having their personal space invaded to the point of being kissed on either cheek.
- Hand-shaking and/or kissing in greeting was not a traditional means of greeting for the indigenous peoples of Northern Canada.
- Why? Well for very practical reasons. In deep-cold temperatures hands can freeze if exposed to the cold, as well shaking someone's hands when your hands are encumbered by bulky gloves is not practical;
- Kissing is not practical when exposed to deep cold as lips can freeze;
- If instead the means of greeting was to rub noses, hands would remain warm and lips would remain safe from freezing. So rubbing noses to greet made greet sense for those living in the extremely cold climate of the north.
- If you do not have an awareness of how a culture, different from the one you grew up in functions you can make make social blunders which may be inconvenient at best and physically or psychologically damaging at worst.
A dog's natural method of greeting starts with the nose and not (as many humans insist on doing) invading immediate personal space with frenzied pats and high pitched voices. Invasion of personal space and lack of consideration in when and how we touch another being (human or canine)shows little attention to forethought, respect and for that matter intelligence.
Humans set their children up from a very young age to have limited intelligence when it comes to respecting and understanding a dog. Take a look at this and see if any of this sounds familiar to you.
The question I would pose to you is how does a human reflect a high level of intelligence when that human adamantly insists on greeting a dog in a manner that is disrespectful to a dog?
Would you go up to someone from another culture and greet them in a manner that was destabilizing or threatening to them? No, not if you were employing your intelligence.
Is it a reflection of ignorance, entitlement and lack of common sense? It seems to me that that mankind has a long standing notion that all other species on this earth are:
- Less intelligent than a human, and;
- Are due less respect than a human.
Dogs Have Many Similarities to Humans?
What happens if every time a child does something that is normal, polite, respectful - you give that child a treat? That child learns an altered state of normal...'for every normal thing I do in life I must be rewarded with a material thing (food, toy, etc.)'. Should the parent put this type of reward-based system in place, that child will become a mal-adjusted human being, who will likely also be overweight and have bad teeth. And what do you do if you are out with the child and forget to bring treats, you are not near s store , yet you need the child to 'behave themselves'. You will have a non-complaint, un-coperative little person on your hands.
And what happens when that person enters school and later then workforce - it will be difficult for that person to cope with real normal.
It is the same for a dog. A dog does not require treats as an incentive to perform a normal, social skill - adult dogs do not give puppy's treats..the adult dog simply provides the puppy with clear, respectful direction. The puppy complies. It is only when the human is an uninformed communicator that treats are required to get a puppy to comply to normal behaviour.
So, who has greater intelligence:
- The mother dog who teaches her puppies social skills by using clear communication, or;
- The human who does not grasp how to communicate effectively and therefore must entice a puppy with treats?
- First correct the human's behaviour, and at the same time;
- Communicate effectively with the dog;
- Ensure that there is proper structure in the dog's daily life:
- Which includes closing the gaps in all of 'little behaviours' (that occur in the span of a typical day) which feed the larger 'unwanted behaviours' (what most people see as the' dog's issue').
And with that I leave you to ponder the true intelligence of man v.s. dog.
- Training;
- Behaviour Modification;
- Rehabilitation;
- Nutrition;
- Health
