This is a very exciting time to be working with dogs.
Thirty, twenty and even ten years ago the professional and scientific view was that dogs couldn't think and didn't have feelings.
These ideas may stem from the seventeenth century French philosopher Rene Descartes, who felt that dogs had no consciousness and whose actions were robotic reactions.
Up through the early to mid 1990's the word "anthropomorphism" was used to describe any of us that gave dogs any credit for cognition.
Anthropomorphism is defined in Webster's New World College Dictionary as "the attributing of human shape or characteristics to a god, animal or inanimate thing".
The debate today seems to be to what degree does the dog posses cognitive ability.
Through the wonders of modern scientific testing, with equipment such as brain scans, it is accepted that dogs have some degree of feelings and some degree of reasoning ability.
For the sake of this article, let's use that as a given.
Personal awareness has evolved a great deal during this same time period.
In the seventeenth century, people were given a role to play during their life.
This role was based on an individual's social class and gender.
If your father was a servant, chances were you would be a servant.
If you father was royalty, chances were you would continue this royal line.
And females dutifully walked ten steps behind their husbands.
Times have certainly changed.
Dogs sleep on their human's beds and we have stay at home dads while the wife is the breadwinner of the family.
In my practice as a Life Coach I have had the opportunity to work with many people to discover what their true wants and needs are and then determine what changes needed to occur to fulfill those wants and needs.
During my years as a dog trainer I have been able to assess what is out of balance with a dog to cause behavior problems.
Humans and dogs both need balance in their lives.
Some things are obvious and can be easily fixed.
I worked with a woman who had climbed the executive ladder.
She was at a point where she became so tense it was beginning to affect her job performance.
The higher up the ladder she got, the longer hours she worked.
She became very uptight with her coworkers and with her husband as well.
I asked her what had made her happiest in her past.
She said that in college she was on the track team and the basketball team.
She loved them both.
Did she get any exercise now? No, she didn't have time.
So we worked out a schedule, which she committed to, and ran five mornings a week.
It made all the difference in the world to her.
Her athletic body craved exercise and needed exercise to be in balance.
When she didn't get any exercise she developed behavior problems.
I worked with a couple who had a year old golden retriever named Sam.
Sam had been doing quite well in his journey through puppyhood until there was a change in his life style.
The lady of the house had a baby and no longer had time to walk Sam.
Sam started being destructive by chewing on furniture.
The couple attributed this behavior to Sam being jealous of the baby.
I didn't think so.
Sam was accustomed to two long walks daily and now he was merely let out in the back yard.
He simply needed the exercise.
So the couple began taking turns and Sam got his twice daily walks.
His behavior problems ceased.
He was again a balanced dog.
Humans and dogs both need praise in their lives.
And they both need it from someone they respect.
Descending from the wolf, dogs are pack animals.
They are taught from day one to respect the alpha pack leader.
Today's domesticated dog generally has a human pack leader.
Praise is the dominant tool used in communicating to the dog what is acceptable behavior.
Humans react similarly to praise.
And it means much more when coming from a pack leader of ours-a mentor, teacher, parent or boss.
Think in your own mind how praise from a boss makes you work harder.
Your dog will do a down stay for twenty minutes if she knows she will receive your praise as a reward.
Humans spend millions of dollars each year on training to teach dogs how to fit into the human world.
Dogs don't charge a penny but are a wealth of knowledge if we would just open our minds and observe.
Thirty, twenty and even ten years ago the professional and scientific view was that dogs couldn't think and didn't have feelings.
These ideas may stem from the seventeenth century French philosopher Rene Descartes, who felt that dogs had no consciousness and whose actions were robotic reactions.
Up through the early to mid 1990's the word "anthropomorphism" was used to describe any of us that gave dogs any credit for cognition.
Anthropomorphism is defined in Webster's New World College Dictionary as "the attributing of human shape or characteristics to a god, animal or inanimate thing".
The debate today seems to be to what degree does the dog posses cognitive ability.
Through the wonders of modern scientific testing, with equipment such as brain scans, it is accepted that dogs have some degree of feelings and some degree of reasoning ability.
For the sake of this article, let's use that as a given.
Personal awareness has evolved a great deal during this same time period.
In the seventeenth century, people were given a role to play during their life.
This role was based on an individual's social class and gender.
If your father was a servant, chances were you would be a servant.
If you father was royalty, chances were you would continue this royal line.
And females dutifully walked ten steps behind their husbands.
Times have certainly changed.
Dogs sleep on their human's beds and we have stay at home dads while the wife is the breadwinner of the family.
In my practice as a Life Coach I have had the opportunity to work with many people to discover what their true wants and needs are and then determine what changes needed to occur to fulfill those wants and needs.
During my years as a dog trainer I have been able to assess what is out of balance with a dog to cause behavior problems.
Humans and dogs both need balance in their lives.
Some things are obvious and can be easily fixed.
I worked with a woman who had climbed the executive ladder.
She was at a point where she became so tense it was beginning to affect her job performance.
The higher up the ladder she got, the longer hours she worked.
She became very uptight with her coworkers and with her husband as well.
I asked her what had made her happiest in her past.
She said that in college she was on the track team and the basketball team.
She loved them both.
Did she get any exercise now? No, she didn't have time.
So we worked out a schedule, which she committed to, and ran five mornings a week.
It made all the difference in the world to her.
Her athletic body craved exercise and needed exercise to be in balance.
When she didn't get any exercise she developed behavior problems.
I worked with a couple who had a year old golden retriever named Sam.
Sam had been doing quite well in his journey through puppyhood until there was a change in his life style.
The lady of the house had a baby and no longer had time to walk Sam.
Sam started being destructive by chewing on furniture.
The couple attributed this behavior to Sam being jealous of the baby.
I didn't think so.
Sam was accustomed to two long walks daily and now he was merely let out in the back yard.
He simply needed the exercise.
So the couple began taking turns and Sam got his twice daily walks.
His behavior problems ceased.
He was again a balanced dog.
Humans and dogs both need praise in their lives.
And they both need it from someone they respect.
Descending from the wolf, dogs are pack animals.
They are taught from day one to respect the alpha pack leader.
Today's domesticated dog generally has a human pack leader.
Praise is the dominant tool used in communicating to the dog what is acceptable behavior.
Humans react similarly to praise.
And it means much more when coming from a pack leader of ours-a mentor, teacher, parent or boss.
Think in your own mind how praise from a boss makes you work harder.
Your dog will do a down stay for twenty minutes if she knows she will receive your praise as a reward.
Humans spend millions of dollars each year on training to teach dogs how to fit into the human world.
Dogs don't charge a penny but are a wealth of knowledge if we would just open our minds and observe.
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