[nagdu] cooperation vs. force

[Meghan Whalen]

Julie:

Thank you for this message!  I agree 100%, and it is something I need to 
keep telling myself, too.  I had to let Dayton make mistakes while he 
was learning to guide so I could show him and he could show me that we 
were good to go.


On 2/29/2012 10:58 AM, Julie J. wrote:
> All the recent messages on this list and others concerning 
> corrections, tie downs, muzzles etc. have me thinking.  Although I'm 
> not absolutely opposed to corrections, confinement, muzzles or any 
> other sort of punitive measure that comes to mind, it does make me 
> wonder how the use of these affect the relationship with the dog.  To 
> me the relationship I have with my dog is the most important thing.  
> If that is built from trust, cooperation and mutual respect then 
> everything else will be fine.  I want a dog to want to be with me and 
> work with me not out of fear of a punishment, but because he genuinely 
> enjoys my company.  I want him to feel empowered to think for himself 
> and to try new things.  I feel that too much use of punishment based 
> interaction will hamper the ability for him to do these things.  I 
> want him to learn self control so he can manage his own impulses out 
> of a place of  confidence in his own choices rather than me 
> micromanaging his life.
>
> I'm not explaining well.   I guess what I'm trying to say is that I 
> think freedom of choice on the part of the dog is an important thing.  
> Too often I have fallen into the trap of micromanaging too much of my 
> dog's lives, not allowing them any amount of freedom.  I regret that.  
> It is something that I have learned with Monty.  To truly trust a dog 
> you have to give them opportunities to mess up so they can show you 
> that they won't.
>
> Julie
>
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