DOES YOUR DOG OWN YOU?

Robbie my Boxer and me!
Partnership, not ownership

 A common concern of my client’s is that their dog is guarding/owning them. This is a serious situation that should be addressed and resolved right away. 

Unwanted guarding or ownership of a person by a dog is a symptom of a much bigger issue – lack of leadership. This occurs when the human has inadvertently relinquished (or never was) the pack leader. 

Some people may at first, find this type of behaviour cute or be proud their dog’s ‘ownership/guarding’ behaviour. The problem is, if you do not know how to control the behaviour the result can be traumatic for both dog and human. When a dog is being protective of you it is not the same as owning you.

To help you better understand the dangers inherent in allowing your dog to ‘own’ you, I am going to provide a real life example below. This happened to some one I know in an animal discussion group that I participate in. 

The other group member posted the following:
I have had a French Poodle, pitch black, of high pedigree. He was very possessive over me, nobody could pass me or come close, either animal or person. I also had another Maltese x Poodle at the time, who I was I was very fond off. One day I tried to pick the Maltese x Poodle up for a bath and French Poodle turned around attacking me, but I still think it was because he was jealous and did not like the idea that I took noticed of my other dog. I landed in hospital and when I came out I was told that my French Poodle has been taken to the Vet and put down. I will never forget the grief – and even though it is more that 10 years ago, I sometimes still feel sadness for him.

This person still has dogs, as do many others in the group – the need to understand and avoid this situation in the future was of concern to all. They asked my advice on how to avoid and or treat this situation should any one by currently dealing with it, or encounter this type of behaviour in the future. 

When working with clients I always start by explaining the psychology of a situation. Having a clear understanding of the root causes, effects and outcomes of behaviour is vital to understanding the solution and preventing the development of the same situation in the future.

 

PART ONE – Understanding the Psychology of the Situation

This dog was dominating and owning it’s human. To teach personal space boundaries you have to show them by ‘owning’ space. By moving into the space he occupies, you take the space back from him. If your reaction to him being in your personal space has always been for you to withdraw from the space (even fractionally) you have not taught him. If your reaction has always been to allow your dog to remain in your personal, close space and own you, you have enabled the behaviour.

Human jealousy exemplifies itself in many forms – an insecure partner will often jealously dominate and own their spouse. If you used this specific instance/description of jealousy you would be – pretty close – to describing what was going on between yourself and your dog. Your dog is owning you and your space.

Most people do not realize what is happening, and think that the dog is simply being protective or even cute. This is not protective – it is ownership of the human exemplified by dominating behaviour. When a dog is being protective of you it is not the same as ‘owning’ you.

The mistake most people unknowingly/unintentionally make is in not understanding the true root of the behaviour. 

Ownership/dominating behaviour is not the issue – it is a symptom of the issue. The issue (the root cause) is that the dog is taking the leadership role, not the human. Most dogs do not want to be leaders – there are very few dogs born to lead. Most dogs prefer to have structure, rules, boundaries & a leader to coach & mentor them.

If the human asserts and/or reasserts themselves as leader, (on all symptoms, not just this one) immediately disagrees (in the right way) with the dog’s behaviour each and every time it occurs the behaviour will stop. 

Left unchecked the dog will continue to take over, their behaviour will escalate and eventually it is likely that the dog will attack – either another dog or a human.

This type of behaviour and its potentially dangerous outcome is completely avoidable.

This dog was not a bad dog, it just hadn’t been told the right way at the right time not to ‘own’ its human. The dog did not have a Pack Leader. In the absence of proper coaching and mentoring, rules and boundaries – the dog made its own rules.

 

PART TWO – Understanding the Psychology of How to Deliver Corrective Direction to your Dog

First and foremost you must emotionally disengage. You cannot be a Pack Leader when you are emotional. Instead engage your ‘leadership working’ mode. Remember that you must lead by example.

Never, ever try to correct your dog when your mind and energy is aggressive, angry, frustrated etc. Why? A) Because at best you are being hypocritical – your state of being is no better than your dogs. Your dog will know this and not listen to you. B) Worst case scenario – you can evoke the ire of your dog and be the cause of aggression.
To engage your ‘leadership working’ mode you must first attain a balanced state-of-being: a) be calm – no excess emotion, no tension, no fear, no frustration; b) be confident; c) be patient; d) be persistent – dogs are often persistent, so you must be even more so; e) your will to succeed must be stronger than your dog’s will to succeed!

So to sum this up – be 100% committed to calm, confident, patient, persistence = have a stronger will than your dog – never give-in, never let any of this behaviour pass without disagreeing, correcting, directing & following through.

And lastly, remember never, ever match your dogs unbalanced state – your state must be the polar opposite. But you do need to match the intensity of your dog’s energy. Mild, gentle but firm mentoring for low intensity behaviour, more intense but calm-confident firm mentoring for more intense behaviour.

 

PART THREE – How to Prevent ‘Ownership’

Directions to dogs should always be provide in three parts – get their attention, disagree if you do not like what they are doing and follow through by showing them what to do instead.

I run into this situation often with my clients. I teach my clients how to instantaneously disagree – I train them to be the pack leader, and show them how to coach and mentor their dog.

So, should this ‘ownership’ situation ever happen between you and your dog…
1) Never, ever let it pass without notice and correction.
2) Catch the behaviour as early on in its development as you can – open your ‘spidy’ senses and if you feel that the behaviour (ownership, domination) is present in even a small amount, address it right away.
3) Then immediately review other aspects of your human-dog relationship and ensure that you are the Leader, if you find gaps step up your leadership.

It is really important to catch this behaviour as early on as you can:
First and foremost, because it indicates that you need to ramp-up your leadership position. Your leadership skills may already be very solid but just need a little more attention when it comes to your dog trying to own you, or it may indicate that your overall performance as leader needs a review and boost. 

If the behaviour is in the EARLY stages of development, you can use the techniques I provide below to address and correct this behaviour. 

If the behaviour has become ‘well-ingrained’ and has escalated to a more intense degree, unless you have experience with this kind of thing you need to engage professional help. Do not attempt the techniques provided below you. Engage a professional – but make sure that the professional you engage really understands the psychology of the situation.

To assess the professionals ability to properly address this situation ask the person how they intend to resolve the issue. If they say that they will use tools such as (e-collars, pinch collars, treats, etc) as their primary method of intervention, this person is not the one you want to engage. If they say that they will use a combination of methods – human & dog psychology first and foremost you are on the right track. They should ask you questions that indicate to you that they understand that this type of behaviour does not exist in isolation – it is only one symptom of a bigger issue – lack of leadership.

Remember, it is always easier to correct an issue/behaviour in its early stages than when it is fully and completely ingrained and escalated. Never ignore or avoid – address early.

So if your dog is the early stages of developing this ‘ownership’ (dominating) behaviour… 

When the behaviour happens…
1) Get your dogs attention – you can quickly calmly (without emotion), firmly touch them (at the side of their neck, waist), snap your fingers, say ‘hey’ (make sure your tone is calm, low, clear and strong), etc – what ever you find works to get their attention;
2) Tell them ‘no’ (same tone of voice as above) and back the dog out of your space (walk into the space they occupy or use your body by just leaning in or toward the dog, or use your hand/arm to point them away. The technique you choose just depends on what works well for you and your dog;
3) Follow through, make sure your dog stays out of your private space. If your dog moves back in to your personal space, just back him out – be more persistent and committed than he is – this is a psychological test of wills – your will to succeed must be stronger than your dog’s.
4) Then tell your dog what you want it to do (i.e. sit, lie down or leave the space and go elsewhere, etc.)
5) Once you have accomplished this – sit back and access your leadership – is the gap just over this behaviour or is the gap in your leadership deeper. If your leadership is not prevalent enough in other ways take immediate measures to strengthen it ASAP.



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• Training;
• Behaviour Modification;
• Rehabilitation;
• Nutrition;
• Health

Whether you are experiencing dog behavior problems and would like assistance, or just want to bring your dog up to be a well-balanced canine -  I offer both a local and international service for people with one or multiple dogs. 

I work with all breeds - from small (i.e. Yorkie, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, etc.), medium breeds size (including Pit Bulls) and large breed dogs...

 

International e-Consultation 

Sessions, Advice via email for National and International Clients - Dog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Nutrition, Health 

In-person SessionsDog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Rehabilitation – Ottawa, Ottawa Area, Outaouais, Ottawa Valley

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Notes:

Please note - this article is for information purposes and is not a substitute for an in-person Session with me. When working with dogs I use many techniques - it is important to note that this article may touch on one or several techniques but not all. I select the technique that I use for a particular dog based on my observations of the dog and an intuitive, instinctive assessment of that dog's and its human's individual requirements. For example when I am working with a dog that is hyper sensitive and very physically reactive I will not use voice or touch. I use a lot of therapeutic touch on some dogs, others require the use of herding techniques and so on. Each and every technique must be combined with:

• an understanding of the real intelligence, sensitivity and capability of dogs;
• an understanding of how to read a dog's face and a dog's overall body language;
• an understanding of the full spectrum of ways that humans communicate and dogs communicate; 
• understanding and recognition of the individual that is each dog - no two dogs are the same...taking a 'cookie cutter' approach to techniques is not the way to work with a dog;
• a complete recognition and understanding of all the elements that feed a behaviour and create an issue:
•  the vast majority of people can only identify one or two elements...which vastly inhibits the ability to resolve behavior issues;
• behaviours do not exist in isolation - there are always many elements that feed a single behaviour, there all always multiple behaviours that create a behavioral issue;
• self-restraint and discipline on the part of the human who is directing the dog;
• sensitivity, awareness, intuition, instinct and timing on the part of the human who is directing the dog;
• to understand, connect with and adapt quickly and effectively to a dog's learning requirements you must be able to employ the same tools a dog uses - acute sensitivity, awareness, instinct, intuition and timing;
• kindness, endurance, consideration, patience, persistence, perspective, the ability and know how to let the past go, the ability to set realistic expectations at any one point in time;
• the creation of structure, rules, boundaries and limitations for each situation at the macro and micro level;
• understanding of all the elements that make up an instruction and direction to a dog...there are multiple steps involved in an instruction - not just one!
• absolute honesty - if you cannot be honest with yourself you will not be able to communicate clearly with a dog.

These are just some of the techniques that I teach my clients - it is a holistic, all-encompassing approach. If you are missing any one element of the above mentioned your success rate will be affected to one degree or another in implementing the techniques offered in the article presented above.

DOGS AND THUNDER

Thunder? Who cares, not me anymore - I have my toy & my comfy place to be!

MANY PEOPLE FIND THAT THEIR DOGS ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY THUNDER AND THUNDERSTORMS. I am often asked why this happens and what can be done to help the dog.

My first dog 'Shanny' was affected by the noise - I was fortunate as I was with her when she first reacted as a puppy and I had the instantaneous opportunity to effect the outcome, changing her fear to joy...as you will see further below.

Two members of my dog pack (my pack consists of ten dogs, mostly rescues) arrived with previously acquired thunder/storm anxiety. While a third member of my pack arrived with previously acquired thunder/storm excitement - he would get intensely excited (barking, dashing about - not fearful but intensely excited!) by thunder and the associated storm activity.  The other seven pack members are not affected by these storms at all. All three of the ‘affected’ dogs are much better these days when storms occur.

It is important to remember that (just as in people) behavior is transferable from one dog to another - we all learn from the examples around us to one degree or another. If I had 'supported and enabled the unbalanced behaviour of the three pack members who behaved in an unbalanced reactive manor - the behaviour of the remaining seven dogs would have become unstable as well. Behaviour is also transferable from human to dog.

FIRST SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION

DOGS ARE MORE SENSITIVE THAN MOST PEOPLE REALIZE…

A dog's sense of hearing and smell is much more acute then ours. For most people our primary form of communication is voice, but dogs rely on body language to consciously communicate much more than humans do.

When we think of something that makes us happy, unhappy, sad, angry, excited, etc. the thought translates to our body. We may tense our shoulders, clench our hand, narrow our eye, purse our mouth, change our breathing and so on. This is our physical reaction to our own thoughts. This in itself is a form of communication and your dog has taken notice…our dogs are often aware of what we feel before we are.

Because I work with dogs who are in various states and intensities within the scales of behaviour, I have had to train myself to be very aware of how I feel. I have to be capable of disengaging emotion and refocusing instantly or I can have a negative influence on the dog. Understanding this is key to understanding how we can affect our dog's perceptions & associations of events, things, places, people, etc. This is the psychological factor.

Many non-human animals have a greater and more immediate sensitivity to changes in the environment than we do. For example, some dogs can sense the onset of an earthquake minutes or more before we feel any sign ourselves. A dog's sensitivity to environmental changes (is ambient air pressure changes, noise, visual, electrical energy, vibrations in the air and ground, etc.) vary from one individual dog to another. And just as some people get migraines from changes in air pressure, some dogs can find environmental changes at best unsettling, at worst painful. This is the physical factor.

So, If a dog's state of being is adversely affected by thunder...
The root of the dogs discomfort may be psychological, it may be physical or a combination of both. Most of the dogs I encounter that have a fear of thunder have a psychological trigger rather than a physical trigger.

THE PATHOLOGY OF ‘THUNDER ANXIETY’

Most often, a dog’s dislike of thunder starts with an initial incident. If during this initial incident the dog is not helped to understand that it is safe from harm, that thunder is normal and not a threat - the dog then experiences the thunder in an unrelieved state of stress. The storm ends and the dog - not having had the opportunity to experience the storm in another state (i.e. calm, non-threatening with a sense of safety) then moves into the future associating thunder with uncertainty, insecurity and fear. If left unaddressed, the dog’s anxiety gets worse over time. If the dog’s human feel distress at the dog’s anxious state the dog’s anxiety gets worse. A self-feeding cycle of tension &anxiety is then fully established.

You can see if any of these examples reflect your dog’s situation…

A dog has a predisposition to being insecure when left alone. The dog is alone, hears thunder for the first time, becomes startled. The dog’s human companion is not present to coach/mentor the dog through the experience.

A dog hears thunder for the first time, the dog seems startled. The dog’s human instantly reacts with extreme concern for their dog.  The human’s reaction confirms to the dog that its initial response to thunder was justified, because it’s human is upset.

An adopted dog has no prior dislike of thunderstorms. However their new human companion is nervous/uncomfortable/startled by storms (wind, heavy rain, thunder etc.) - this discomfort can be transferred to the dog...remember dogs look to their humans for leadership

The dog & its human companion are out walking in the rain when it starts to thunder, the human gets annoyed/anxious or concerned about getting wet - just then the thunder booms - the dog now associations thunder with a nervous state.

There are many variations on this theme but you can get a sense of how this state of anxiety starts and is then reinforced.

WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT  DO

Do not reinforce your dog's anxious/agitated state. If  you feel badly, sorry or distressed for your dog you inadvertently reinforce their commitment to the anxiety. Don't indulge yourself, don’t be reactive- it seems a harsh, cold thin to say at first but displaying and feeling, any emotion is not what your dog wants.

Patting your dog is not going to help either - it will have the reverse effect. I know that many of you will read this and not like what you hear at first, but read on and then decide.  To pat a dog when they are in an unbalanced state is received by the dog as a reward for being in that state. If a child (or adult) is behaving in an unbalanced manor and you offer a reward the message is that they will be rewarded for being in that state. In addition, if you pat your dog while you are anxious you have doubled the trouble. Below I will talk about touch in a different way.

Remember what I noted above - dogs read your body language, and take note of the energy behind your voice instantaneously - they can tell how you feel. As their pack leader they look to you for leadership - if they feel you are upset it tells them that they should also be upset. If you are nervous/fearful of thunderstorms, high winds etc. you can create the same fear/discomfort in your dog. Lead consciously by example.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

If you are present the first time your dog reacts...

You have the opportunity to address and determine a normal outcome from the get go. Pay attention if your dog starts to react to a storm or thunder be deliberately calm and confident. Provide direction not affection.  Your dog really wants to feel secure in knowing that you are confident that all is safe and well. Treat the environmental change as normal in your mind and be aware and control your physical reactions. This will have a big impact on your dog - by being calm & confident you provide the example. Then provide direction - let your dog know what you want it to do - i.e. sit and lie down. If your dog gets up - correct by following  through immediately, provide calm, confident, assertive direction again - i.e. sit and lie down. Have patience, do not get frustrated. Keep the pitch of your voice low key, and without excess emotion. Attention, direction, correction, follow through.

If the fear behaviour is a long standing issue…

You want to help your dog attain a balanced, comfortable state of being by so doing you ease your dogs psychological pain and trauma. The best case scenario is that you completely change your dog’s association of thunder from negative to positive. This is curing the issue. If you are not able to cure the issue on your own you can still positively intervene. As you read through ONE, TWO, THREE and FOUR below you will see what I mean.

I recommend that ONE always be used and that TWO, THREE and FOUR be used as support if required and then removed when no longer required. This is a ‘cure’.

If you only use TWO, THREE or FOUR without ONE you are unlikely to affect a permanent cure. You will always have to address this issue. This is a ‘band aid’.

Both are good approaches but the first  is best.

ONE - Employ psychological intervention by using your own state of being - lead by example - by being calm & confident, all as noted in the paragraph above. You can try to use this method alone but if you are not well versed in Pack Leadership, I recommend using ‘ONE’ with a combination of ‘TWO’, and/or ‘THREE’ or ‘FOUR’. ‘FOUR’ is an excellent approach and when used with ‘ONE’ is very effective!

TWO - If your dog normally paces or runs about in an anxious way - stop your dog right away!  One of the worst things to do is to allow a dog to run around, pace, etc. in an anxious state. At this point the dog is driven by fear and does not know where to go or what to do to feel safe. It is really important (once again) that the dog’s human takes the leadership role and shows the dog what it should do. Incessant pacing/running about, indicates that your dog is not only distressed but does not know what to do...and does want to find a safe place to be. If your dog is crate trained, put him/her in their crate and close the crate door. They want guidance at that time - crating tells them were to be and provides them with a safe haven. Don't talk to them, pat them or worry. Just treat this as normal. They may tremble & continue to show other signs of stress at first, but if you just leave them in peace they will start to calm & will even fall asleep. This may take multiple storms to achieve the calm & sleep state but with patience and the right energy as noted in ONE above your dog will start to normalize thunder. If your dog is not crate trained you can assign it another ‘gated’ space to lie down in like a bathroom, or bedroom. Remember your dog seeks peace and calm.

THREE - You can use supportive tools such as rescue remedies for dogs. Theses are commonly available via the internet, pet supply stores and some health food stores. Make sure you are purchasing rescue remedies consisting of all natural ingredients.  Bach Flower Canada as well as Black Wing Farms make excellent products as so other companies.

Many people use the ‘Thundershirt’. The point of the Thundershirt is that it applies an even pressure all around the dog - and as such is intended to have a calming effect. I know many people who find this works very well.  The Thundershirt like the rescue remedies is available via the internet and at many pet supply stores.  (I have never used it on dogs myself only because I have never had to as I use methods ONE, TWO and FOUR with success).

FOUR - You can also teach your dog to change their association with thunder and storms by providing them something to do during storms i.e. work, walking/running on a treadmill etc. To do this successfully 1) start with an awareness of your state - calm, deliberate confidence, with a solid commitment & persistence 2) an expectation that you must work at this over time to have it take effect. I have also used this technique with great success.

It is important to note that in the end - your goal is change your dogs association of thunder from negative to positive. If done properly, over time you will not, should not always have to support with TWO, THREE and FOUR, but you should always employ ONE - Pack Leadership!

On the subject of touch - in some cases I do use touch, not for affection in the way people normally associate touch with, but instead as a calming measure. I do not do this with all dogs - only for special cases where I feel, instinctively that touch will aid not abet. The touch is really more akin to a deep tissue type massage - it is not a ‘pat’ and my state of being when I do this is firmly centered in calm confidence. This is a form of affection (as I define affection - any action carried out for the true good of the dog) but has a deeper and broader meaning and purpose.

The single biggest problem with affection is that people share it with their dog for the wrong reason at the wrong time and in the wrong way. Not all affection is good. Not all affection is truly, honestly shared with the dog’s well fare first in mind.

AN EXAMPLE OF A GREAT OUTCOME
The tale below (an excerpt from the Tales page of my website) is mine & Shanny's story about how she and I worked together to positively effect her first experience with thunder and thunderstorms. Shanny was my first dog and my best friend!

SHANNY & THE THUNDERSTORM
When I lived in Orleans (Ottawa, Canada), my house was about a twenty-five minute walk from my Mom's and Dad’s home. Sometimes Shanny and I would walk over to my parent’s home and then go for a walk with them and their dog ‘Button’, on the wooded ravine trails near their home.

On this one particular occasion Shanny and I were walking home from my parent’s place - we were about half-way home when all of a sudden, thunder, lightening and rain began. Shanny was under 12 months of age at the time and although she had experienced other such storms she became very alarmed at the first sound of thunder.

I just looked at her, then looked at the huge puddles forming on the pavement and said "never mind that Shanny, lets go play". I proceeded to jump in a puddle with Shanny in tow. Shanny looked at me, looked at the puddle, stopped shaking and joined me to play in the deep puddles. We continued to jump in puddles all the way home. When we reached the park that we would need to pass through to get to our home, we found even bigger puddles. I let Shanny off her leash and she dashed for the largest puddle (this puddle was like a brook, as the water was streaming into the gully between two landscaped hills. She ran through the puddles; head down, she ‘piggy snorted’ the water while dashing back and forth. It was a joy to watch her - I spent the next five minutes laughing while she played. We were both thoroughly soaked, but it was a warm rain and we had enjoyed ourselves. I called Shanny over to me and we crossed the street and went home.

Shanny was never again fearful of thunderstorms - in fact she would ask me to take her out to the park across the street to play in puddles during the storms. If I judged the conditions to be safe we would go out to play in the water.

Cheers, everyone - I hope this article is helpful to you and your dogs to better ‘weather’ thunder in the future!

Thunder, what thunder?

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• Training;
• Behaviour Modification;
• Rehabilitation;
• Nutrition;
• Health

Whether you are experiencing dog behavior problems and would like assistance, or just want to bring your dog up to be a well-balanced canine -  I offer both a local and international service for people with one or multiple dogs. 

I work with all breeds - from small (i.e. Yorkie, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, etc.), medium breeds size (including Pit Bulls) and large breed dogs...

 

International e-Consultation 

Sessions, Advice via email for National and International Clients - Dog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Nutrition, Health 

In-person SessionsDog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Rehabilitation – Ottawa, Ottawa Area, Outaouais, Ottawa Valley

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DO DOGS SMILE?

My German Shepherd x Malamute 'Jordie'...yes, he is smiling!

FOR MANY YEARS I HAVE WATCHED MY DOGS EXPRESS MANY STATES OF BEING IN THE EXPRESSIONS ON THEIR FACE… happiness, concern, concentration, pain, tension, consternation…yep! And much more.

My German Shepherd x Husky 'Sarah' - definitely a smile on that face!

So does that make me a little crazy, a little too warm hearted, indulgent or perhaps I anthropomorphize? Or is it possible that what I ‘think’ I see is reality. Forgive my certainty but, I have always with complete and absolute conviction believed that dogs could, and in fact, do smile.

Apparently, there is now some consensus among those of the scientific community that dogs can and do smile! Maybe I am not so crazy.

We will get to that in a moment, but before we do…did you know that dogs and humans have similar facial expressions controlled by a very similar set of facial muscles?

The topic 'do animals smile' came up in one of the discussion groups I belong to - people from around the globe participate on topics related primarily to dogs & cats. I thought that there would be many people here,  in Ottawa who would enjoy the topic as much as I did.

The discussion started with a post from ‘Green Picks Blog’ - the two writers Sarah B. Weir & Trystan L. Bass talk about the subject 'Do animals Smile'. Below, is an excerpt from their article - the portion relevant to dogs smiling  [to quote]…“Professor Nicholas Dodman, head of animal behavior at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts School of Medicine and a regular on Animal Planet’s Dogs 101 and Cats 101, until recently, scientists have generally underestimated the emotional range of animals. He says that today it is widely understood by scientists that mammals do experience primary emotions such as fear, sadness, anger, and happiness and even some secondary emotions like jealously and embarrassment—and they communicate them. Dodman says that dogs even have a sense of humor and laugh with a kind of huffing sound. He describes a study that examines how playing recordings of this laughing sound actually calms shelter dogs”. “As for dogs’ smiles… “Note that the lips horizontally retract into what’s called a ‘submissive smile’ – a sign that a dog is non-threatening. It’s an expression that disarms possible aggression, much like the human smile.” 

As far as I know, scientists still do not know everything about how non-human animals use their senses and what other senses animals may use that we humans are still unaware of. New discoveries are made all of the time, even so, I believe that we will never know everything. I do not believe that any scientist knows the full range or depth of a dogs primary or secondary emotions. Scientists may perform studies upon studies - but all is done from a human point of view. How can we, as humans ever really judge the entirety of what we know about another species abilities? We are limited by our own abilities, our own senses.

You know what about me?

Sorry scientists but we humans who, with our eyes and minds wide open, have shared our lives with, loved, observed and learned from our animal companions - we have known for a long time that dogs have distinct facial expressions - including smiles!

Our means of study and subsequent conclusions were derived from common sense, intuition and our first hand experience with our animals. It is our animals who have taught us that the human species is not exclusively special as many may think. For us, the cost was being brave enough to challenge and go beyond what society has taught us - that only humans smile and laugh. We knew this was wrong.

For those who ventured to carry out such studies to prove what they already knew in their hearts and minds - great work guys. Thank you for finally confirming what our hearts, our minds our eyes have seen! Professor Nicholas Dodman - you are a good human being and worthy of our respect.

For all those who needed a scientific study to allow a glimmer of this truth to invade their minds, to open their eyes from their adamant and steadfast denial that animals could ever posses such abilities...now you have your proof. When all the time the truth was staring you in the face - you just could not, would not see. Now I wonder what else you have missed...but not to worry, just let your dog teach you.

Yeap, that's right - we are smiling!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Training;
• Behaviour Modification;
• Rehabilitation;
• Nutrition;
• Health

Whether you are experiencing dog behavior problems and would like assistance, or just want to bring your dog up to be a well-balanced canine -  I offer both a local and international service for people with one or multiple dogs. 

I work with all breeds - from small (i.e. Yorkie, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, etc.), medium breeds size (including Pit Bulls) and large breed dogs...

 

International e-Consultation 

Sessions, Advice via email for National and International Clients - Dog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Nutrition, Health 

In-person SessionsDog Training, Puppy Training, Behaviour Modification, Rehabilitation – Ottawa, Ottawa Area, Outaouais, Ottawa Valley

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