I found this delightful article whilst going through some old files. I have absolutely no idea who wrote this little gem, but am glad to be able to share it with you all!
What are "good dog manners"?
• Willing, eager, compliant, smart, mannerly.
• Listens and follows directions.
• A dog who is easy to live with and fun to take everywhere with you.
People expect their dogs to act more like humans than canines. The behaviour we want from them often goes against their nature.
They must learn to accept restraint, allow handling and grooming, crate quietly, eliminate in the correct places, stay alone for hours on end and chew only on acceptable objects and respond reliably to cues. They need to learn to allow people to safely take things away from them, including food and toys. If you give a dog a rawhide and he chews it down to the point that you fear he may choke on it, you'll need to be able to take it away from him. Dogs must learn to accept limits and have impulse control. Food and items within reach do not automatically belong to them.
They must be still when they'd rather wiggle, come away from things they'd rather keep investigating, wait when they'd rather go, walk gently on a loose leash instead of ploughing ahead with all their might, and sit for petting when they'd rather get up close and personal. They must keep their opinions to themselves when they'd rather pick a fight. They must wait for permission and say please. They must be patient. This is the essence of a well-trained dog.
We often expect our dogs to abandon their doggy view of reality, in favour of our own. When people act like dogs, dogs must remember we are humans and not treat us like dogs. They must not give in to the impulse to chase and leap when children squeal and run. They must inhibit the force of their bite when playing and remember that people don't like slobber.
When people break all laws of doggy etiquette, dogs must make allowances for their lack of social graces and learn that threatening body language isn't always meant to be so. We expect them to tolerate the clumsy and invasive treatment of our children.
Some of our expectations are not so reasonable from the dog's point of view.
We expect our dogs to monitor their own impulses in our absence: to resist that loaf of bread left on the counter or not shake and kill that towel left dangling from the cupboard door; deny themselves the blissful activities of digging deep holes in the moist earth under our manicured lawns. We expect them to choose only allowable sticks and resist the sweet stems of our prize roses, even when left unsupervised for hours in the yard with no prior instruction. We expect them to know the difference between our children's toys and their own.
We don't appreciate their bravery when they kill the evil snakes that are attached to the sprinklers in our yards. We yell "shush" when they announce intruders on the sidewalks bordering our territory but still expect them to defend us and our homes. At the same time they should know not to bite the person who comes every day to rattle the mailbox on our house or read our meters but chase off only those who sneak into our garage and touch our stuff.
We expect a LOT from our dogs!
A satisfied dog is one who has a job and feels useful and appreciated.
Dogs like to feel important. They enjoy being needed. Generations of breeding dogs to perform tasks have made this part of their very being.
Dogs love learning. Life is an experiment. Unfortunately, many people expect dogs to be model citizens with little or no education, supervision or guidance. People come to class believing dogs should "know better" and even attribute lapses in the above to "blowing them off" or "getting back at the owner."
Everyone wants Lassie without realizing how many hours and hours of ongoing, continuous training that Rudd Weatherwax put into making that dog look so perfect on screen (or the number of re-takes it took to GET each shot!) It was his full-time job!
The saddest thing of all, is that there are still books in print and advice modelled and passed down from grandma to mom to child that advocate "catching them in the act" and "showing them who's boss." People "rub their noses in it" throw things at them, thrash them with rolled newspapers and euthanize them when they don't live up to their expectations. It's unfair and totally unreasonable.......................
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