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This brings me back to the dog - our best friend. Stop making excuses for his unacceptable behavior! If you don't (and most won't) then you become the problem. Don't blame the dog or make excuses for your inability or willingness to distinguish between good decisive leadership and cruelty. So often I hear the words "I would not put a choke collar on my dog" and perhaps they shouldn't, perhaps it is them that need the collar. Proven training (teaching) devices and techniques, which sometimes include training collars, in the hands of a capable and caring leader will serve only to augment the relationship between human and dog. Dogs NEED leadership! Yes, they unequivocally NEED leadership. If you don't or can't provide fair and decisive leadership, then the dog will! Chances are very real though that the leadership, and subsequent discipline administered by the dog, to you or others failing to adhere to his rules, will not be acceptable to you or society as a whole. Don't blame the dog. If you don't lead - he will. It is that simple.  Every day, perfectly great dogs end up in shelters, or even worse, at veterinary clinics to be euthanized, simply because we humans have been mislead into believing that dogs should be treated like people. Believe me - your dog does not want to be a human! Hey, there are many days I am reluctant to consider myself part of the undisciplined species we have become.
So, how do we provide proper and effective education and leadership to our beloved dog? First and foremost you must always be fair. Never expect your dog to do or know things you have not taught him. Be consistent, do not allow him to misbehave or disrespect you one day and then discipline him for similar or like behavior the next. Keep your negative emotions out of his education. There is no place for negative emotions anywhere in the teachings of your dog. He will only learn to disrespect you if you cannot, or do not provide fair, decisive, and consistent teaching and leadership methods. Communicate with your dog in a manner "he understands"! He does not speak your language and he never will - thus you must learn to speak his. Dogs learn by association. They will accept and develop behaviors that are pleasing to them and quickly abandon those behaviors which do not produce the hoped for results. Always recognize and reward his positive behaviors (see above photo). Never negotiate with your dog. You will always lose!
 Don't make excuses for his unacceptable behavior. Teach him the proper behavior. Being excited is not an excuse to act like an idiot. That applies to us as well.
Because your dog may have experienced a prior dog bite from another dog at a dog park, does not justify acceptance of him biting or threatening other dogs. That is an excuse and one I am not interested in hearing. Teach your dog to respect you and he will respect others. Not so different than raising a family now is it. He is part of your family pack. Treat him accordingly, keeping in mind he is a dog.
I am a grandparent and I love my granddaughter's more than life itself. That does not mean I don't strive to provide them with proper guidance, or give into their every wish. My responsibility as a grandparent is to be a mentor. One they can and will be proud of. My responsibility as a trainer is to provide dogs the leadership they so desperately strive for, and will respond positively to.
The next time your dog acts out in a way that is unacceptable to you, ask yourself the question why? Is it that you have not taken the time to teach him acceptable behaviors and then insisted he conduct himself accordingly? If that is the case, call me and I will help you become a more confident and respected leader. You owe it to your dog. You owe it to yourself.
L. Neilson
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Did You Know?
A shrimp's heart is in its head.
It is physically impossible for you to lick your elbow
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
In 10 minutes, a category three hurricane releases more energy than all of the world's nuclear weapons combined.
Almost everyone who reads this email will try to lick their elbow. (who licked their elbow?)
Pearls of Wisdom
Treat the earth well.
It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.
--- Ancient Indian Proverb
Whether you think you can or think you can't - either way you are right.
The news and truth are not necessarily the same
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
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The following freelance article was written not to disparage any reader, but to draw attention to the need for us as pet guardians to educate and provide responsible leadership to our pets for the benefit of all both of the two and four legged variety, who come in contact with your pet.