OWNERS MAKE EXCUSES

NOT CORRECTIONS

An interesting study made by Dr. Clinton R. Sanders of the University of Connecticut looks at the variety of excuses dog owners make in an attempt to cover up their dog's misbehaviour. Dr. Sanders shows us how often our efforts are only endeavours to mask our own social embarrassment.

When your dog misbehaves in front of others it is the same as when a naughty child acts up and makes a fool of you in the presence of your peers. You may try to smoother your embarrassment with a barrage of excuses.

BUSTER jumps up and almost knocks over a guest. The first words out of his owner's mouth are "Oh BUSTER is so friendly. He must really like you." It is easier for the dog owner to look at it this way than to apologise for BUSTER'S poor behaviour. It's the dog owner's version of the little white lie!

Many dog owners can identify with this. Their dogs behave perfectly at home but become uncontrollable barking monsters on the street. This behaviour is often attributed to the situation the cars, the kids on the bikes, other people or other people's dogs.

"Situating" is an easy way out of an awkward situation but the solution to the situational misbehaviour is pretty easy too: socialisation. The time to begin is the day you get your puppy or dog but it is never too late if you have the desire patience and time to retrain the animal. If not well just continue to rely on that "situation" excuse.

"Justifying" is yet another way to go around an awkward social situation. This is accomplished by making the other person feel responsible for the dog's outburst. For instance the owner may say, "BUSTER is usually friendly. He is growling at you because you were wearing a black hat" or "BUSTER doesn't care for tall men". That last excuse is a good one! There is nothing the poor man can do about it.

You can get out of the justification trap though by retraining your dog using what is called the "saturation process" or overkill. Merely require BUSTER to tolerate many people in black hats or tall men or whatever else he finds disturbing in a steady stream for hours that BUSTER finally ignores the stimulus that previously set him off.

"Quasi-theories" are thinly hidden excuses for poor behaviour. Perhaps BUSTER barks non-stop drowning out a visitor's conversation. The owner smiles and says, "Isn't that cute? He just learned how to bark." On the surface the statement is true but the underlying intent is to divert the visitor's attention from the annoyance of the barking to its supposed cuteness.

This can go one step further with a manoeuvre called "processual emphasis" or the excuse that the dog is "in the process" of being trained but has not yet learned a particular command or behaviour.

The dog may tug at the guest's trousers as he is leaving. The owner says "Oh my BUSTER just doesn't want you to go. I am trying to teach him not to do that but he loves company".

Then there's something we have all seen (or perhaps done ourselves) on numerous occasions. Dr Sanders calls it "demonstrative disciplining". This occurs when the owner just plain loses it and yells at the dog there by demonstrating discipline with the hope that others will see this irate explosion only as proof of the desire to have a well-trained dog.

Dog owners who have not yet learned that obedience training is based on the one word theory usually demonstrate this behaviour. The tirade we direct at the dog may allow us to release our anger but it is meaningless to the dog.

The seventh tactic is called "unlinking". It puts the blame squarely on the dog leaving the owner in the clear-at least in the eyes of his social group.

These seven social tactics point up the fact that in dealing with dog ownership we resort to bravado cover-ups resignation or defeat. What we lack - and what is essential to working with animals - is a grace: humility.

It is dog's honesty that is so often our undoing. Dogs scratch themselves when and where they itch they relieve themselves when they need to they jump up in joyous greeting oblivious to our clothing they growl in warning they bark for as many reasons as we open our mouths. They humble us by this lack or social pretence and for many people humility manifests it self as social.