Holly wrote: "I don't like to set my dogs up to fail so I rarely allow her to get overfaced, but lots of people don't recognize the signs of an unhappy dog and would yell at her by the time she got to step 3. "
To see the progression, click here ----> Tara Stressed
Holly added:
"People will often tell me that their dogs don't give any warnings. Unless the humans in the equation have suppressed the pre-cursors, warning signs listed above, the dogs DO give warnings. Warning is priceless. It lets you abort the chain that ends in violence and it allows the human to intervene on behalf of the stressed dog.
"I try really really hard to never suppress the warning signs. Many people tell me they want NO aggression shown by their dogs, but aggression is never eliminated. It's just that the dog will go from nothing to explosion quicker without all the in between steps.
"I repeat, I never ever ever want that. I want the opportunity to stop the behavior before it gets to the point of no return. It gives me the opportunity to protect both dogs, and it gives me a chance to teach the anxious dog she can count on me to take care of her."
thank you Robin! I feel very special today since you posted the link to Tara.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people would look at Tara and see aggression, but they would be very very wrong. She's fearful, not aggressive and as such, feels out of control frequently around other dogs.
This is fantastic. I have already emailed it to a friend. As an "anonymous poster" I can't comment on Holly's blog (I tried!), but kudos to Holly!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great photos and explanation.
So Jane, get another email and use a name!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see you post to my blog (I've heard about you......evil grin)