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For thousands of years we have been content to have dogs as our companions, to admire them, to love them, and to rely upon them to protect us and to help us in our work and our sporting pursuits.
It is only relatively recently that we have begun to study the way a dog’s mind works, the way he learns and the way a dog interprets our own actions. In our over-crowded and busy world it is getting more and more difficult to keep pets. People can and do complain about even well intentioned dogs which bounce up to them in parks, bark at them from behind your own fence, or appear to threaten legitimate callers to your home. Such complaints can easily lead to court proceedings, so it is in your own interests to make sure that your dog causes no annoyance to anyone.
It is fortunate that we now have the benefit of studies, originally made in the United States and now going on in many countries, including Britain, into the natural behaviour patterns of dogs and their responses to human beings. Years of experience with our own dogs have made us aware that it is possible to bring up puppies to be fun-loving, but well-behaved members of a family group without the need for harsh, regimented training. We bring up puppies as we do children, to be aware of the limits of permissible behaviour, and to be aware when they are pleasing us and, equally, when they are on the verge of doing wrong.
We speak not of training puppies but of educating and managing them. We believe that if you follow the advice in this website your new puppy will have much less chance of acquiring bad habits which annoy you and other people. And even if your own dog has already acquired annoying, frustrating and even dangerous habits we believe that if you follow our methods you can turn such an animal into an enjoyable pet; a dog which will feel secure and contented about its position in the family pack. Dogs value, and positively need, their owner’s approval and we hope that once we have put you and your dog on the same wavelength you will be able to communicate easily and so be happy together.
Dog management our way does not take a lot of time, but on the other hand, it is not a magic formula which works immediately. You do not need to take your dog to training classes or learn the military drill which earns high marks in obedience competitions for those dogs and their owners who have aptitude and ambition in this sphere.
The secret of dog management our way is all a matter of approaching your puppy in the right way and programming your pet to fit in with your way of life. Our management programme starts early, on the first day you take a puppy into your home, or even, although this is harder work for both owner and dog, you can begin with a dog which already has behaviour problems.
This website will help you to understand your dog and will teach you to act in such a way that your dog can understand you. From there, the whole world of dog ability is open to you, or you may just settle for happy companionship with a well-behaved but lively and joyous dog which is the envy of all your friends.
If you have a dog which has already learnt that being a nuisance brings its own rewards we will show you that clever remedial work will bring you a dog you can really enjoy. . . you can teach an old dog, or at least a middle-aged dog, new tricks. Dogs are exceedingly adaptable, thousands of years of living close to man has honed that skill, but dogs need to know where they fit into a household and what is required of them. They need a consistency of management to give them a feeling of security in the environment in which they live. So when you start your programme of dog management you must beware of allowing a privilege ‘just this once.’
Your Promise To The Dog
Your commitment in taking on a dog should include:
- Feeding and grooming properly and regularly.
- Consulting a veterinary surgeon when you see signs of illness.
- Taking out veterinary fee insurance cover to help with the major bills if your dog becomes seriously ill or has an accident.
- Making sure the dog has protective vaccinations.
- Providing a collar and name tag with your own current address which must always be worn when the dog is outside your own house and garden.
- Providing sufficient exercise and constructive playtime.
- Considering having your male dog neutered or your bitch spayed early in life so that there is no risk of unwanted litters.
- Making arrangements to have your dog properly looked after when you cannot do so yourself.
- And realising that you have a commitment to make the dog a part of your family until the end of its days.
It is a sad aspect of modern society that people often seek to shed the commitment they have made to an animal on the thinnest of excuses, but they say they feel sure that someone else will be able to ‘give it a good home’ despite the fact that the dog has no house-manners at all. Many ofthe pathetic dogs in rescue homes are people failures, the victims of people who did not keep their promises, spoken or unspoken, to care for the dog for ever, including teaching it to be an acceptable animal in today’s world.
Owning a dog is one of the great pleasures of life, mainly because the dog takes up the slack where human companionship, collaboration and devotion fall short. It is a rare thing indeed for a dog to fail to keep its unspoken promise of devotion to its owner and its owner’s immediate family.
Dogs give unconditional trust and affection. They are uncritical of our failings and they give the same rapturous welcome always without reproach regardless of our shortcomings.
Dogs take years off your age by providing a compelling reason to take outdoor exercise, and also by allowing us to play in a child-like way without looking silly. . . a dog makes the ideal excuse.
A dog makes friends for you. When out with your dog you may speak to people and receive their cordiality in return in a way that would be impossible with non-dog owners.
A dog is a safety-valve in many relationships, and sometimes the only bridge across which people can communicate.
For an only or lonely child, the warm affectionate dog can be anything the imagination allows, from a magic animal with supernatural powers, to a confidant, a consoler, an agile and enthusiastic playmate, a loyal companion to share the burden of naughtiness, a friend that licks and never tells, or a possession to boast about, a status symbol for a child or older person where enhancement of their own self-image is needed.
We need dogs, and dogs need people, for our mutual benefit.
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