Severely anxious dog on board

[hellosailor]

" dogs bite on occasion, until they know better, it's defense. "
Having raised a few dogs, been a part of the raising of several others, and having been adopted by a dog that qualified as livestock, I would say that's dead wrong.
If a dog was raised properly from puppyhood, which means a human takes over from the mother and continues to play that role, the puppy learns very early on that ANY use of the teeth, ANY nipping, ANY thoughts of even showing aggression toward the new "human mother dog" are going to result in all hell breaking loose and reigning down on them.
And that doesn't mean kicking the dog, it means a very BIG LOUD MOMMA is going to grab them by the scuff of the neck, or the ear, and BITE RIGHT BACK and pick them up and show them total domination to set the record straight from a very early age that dogs can argue about pecking orders with each other--but any two-leg is not to be challenged with any aggression, at all, at any time.
They learn that when they are puppies.


If the dog has been abused, neglected, or simply not raised with care and attention? Maybe you can salvage them and retrain them. Maybe they're just a junk-yard dog that has to be put down.


But if they've been raised at all properly, they will never even consider biting a human. They'll take the command "DROP IT" and give you, literally, the dinner they were eating, IF they were raised properly.


Raised improperly? Willing to show aggression and teeth to a human? That kind of dog won't be allowed on my watch. Someone else wants to risk their own flesh "saving" the dog, that's fine. But not around me, not until the dog has been re-educated.

[hblask]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

the puppy learns very early on that ANY use of the teeth, ANY nipping, ANY thoughts of even showing aggression toward the new "human mother dog" are going to result in all hell breaking loose and reigning down on them.

And that doesn't mean kicking the dog, it means a very BIG LOUD MOMMA is going to grab them by the scuff of the neck, or the ear, and BITE RIGHT BACK and pick them up and show them total domination to set the record straight

Please stop spreading this old-style 'domination aggression' stuff. Fear is not training; training is not fear. There is a lot of actual scientific research on this, and fear does not prevent aggression; it creates something called 'deferred aggression' which is when all that fear and frustration comes out at a time when the dog feels safe -- on a stranger, a child, another pet, etc. It is an extremely harmful and dangerous methodology, it is the dog equivalent of Russian roulette.

These old techniques have been discredited decades ago; it's starting to look like it could be a couple more before they finally go away for good.

[sy_gilana]

I just have to chip in here. I have read this whole thread, and it seems like it has attracted a lot of dog lovers. I was.

Jack was a cross Black Lab/Border Collie. He was the best dog ever. When we adopted him he was scared of water. We lived in a house with a pool and he shared it with my wife and I and our then 7 year old daughter, an 8 year old Jack Russel "Crunchie" (who had a habit of eating the neighbours discarded rotten duck eggs and then farting while under our bed) and an English Bull Terrier (AKA The Chinese Racing Pig)

He was petrified of water. We noticed that he would never walk near the pool. Even if we threw a ball, all three dogs would set off, but Jack would veer and take a long path to avoid it. On the day of our daughter's 7th birthday party it was hot, and we had about 16 kids around, there was a lot of splashing and laughing and suddenly Jack was IN the pool with the kids! The lesson here was that behaviour can change, and more so if FUN is introduced. I think the previous owners were scared of water, and that fear is easy for a dog to smell. Be sure that you are confident and happy when you take your dog to the boat, he will sense your trepidation. When he sensed nothing but fun at that party he joined in.

Jack was a natural climber, and nearly scared me off the roof one night while I was aligning a satellite dish after a storm. I had a 20' extension ladder leaned up against the roof, he had climbed it himself. I had to show him an easy way down, jumping onto the adjoined cottage, a high, then a low wall. This was a mistake, as we had complaints from the neighbours that when we were at work, Jack used to climb onto the roof and bark at all the other dogs in their yards and set off a cacophony.

We sold up everything and bought Gilana, and left for cruising in '99 Our daughter was 9, and Jack was 3....He sailed with us for 14 wonderful years and gave us several heart attacks, but many more laughs. He got stabbed by a stingray, he herded fish and caught them and ate them. He got sick eating garbage in a marina, we thought he had been poisoned. The only thing he hated was flies. He loved cats, birds, and had a friend duck that he walked and swam with, alone, they used to seek each other's company and go walkabout/swimabout together.

He protected us from boardings, and prevented theft. He was a companion and friend.

We have had many emails asking us about pets on board via our web page and have answered all.

In the following link and, as a result of requests from total strangers, we complied a photo essay on our web page. You can see him age, he used to climb the ladder when we were hauled out, later I had to piggy back him. We even trained him to jump into my arms on demand for when that was needed.

Enjoy the photos here http://gilana.org/hilights/jack/jack.htm

IF you are a dog lover, do it, and do it right, it is wonderful to share the fun with a woofie.

[hellosailor]

Fear works. Some folks will argue otherwise, but it works. And when used in moderation and without abuse or pain, it is a very fast and clear way to communicate with that other species, which often has no idea what more subtle or complex attempts at communication mean.


If you think it is permissible for dogs to bite humans, for any reason at any time at all, then you just go ahead and enjoy your "kinder" methods. Which, coincidentally, will wind up getting the dogs confiscated and destroyed in most of the US, where there's a "one bite" rule. One documented bite, allowed. Second bite? Euthanasia.


I'd rather teach a pup "No bite, NEVER!" and not risk that.