[nagdu] control was Dog problems

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Julie J.
I am perfectly happy not to micro-manage my dog, but I do set boundaries, 
and I will take action if the dog crosses them.  So, he can look at other 
dogs while working, just so long as it doesn't get out of hand.  He has the 
run of the house, including the kitchen, but, if he started jumping on the 
counters to grab food, I would growl at him, and then figure out how to fix 
the problem.
It's good to set the dog up to be successful.  It's good to teach the dog 
self-control.  But I don't have a problem with imposing my will on the dog 
if he does things I think are undesirable.
Tracy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julie J." <julielj at neb.rr.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 11:40 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] control was Dog problems


> This thread has me thinking about how I interact with my dogs. 
> Specifically I am pondering the commonly used  term "control".  Often we 
> are advised to control our dogs or keep them under control.  Maybe I think 
> too much, which long time listers will be nodding their heads about right 
> now, still I can't help myself.
>
> What do we really mean by control?  It seems to me that there is a strong 
> sense of superiority, a feeling that we need to dominant another being. 
> Is that what we really want?
>
> This morning I'm thinking I'd rather encourage my dogs to have self 
> control. then they can go about their business unsupervised because I 
> trust them.   I don't want to micromanage their lives, any more than I 
> want someone breathing down my neck every minute.
>
> I see control as an imposition of my will.  I don't want to do that.   I 
> want my dogs to have as much freedom as is possible, while still living in 
> harmony in my house.  It's the same for everyone that lives here, and to a 
> lesser degree those who come to visit.  I want them to choose to do the 
> right thing, because it is what they want, not because I said so.
>
> Perhaps this is the fundamental difference between punishment based 
> training and clicker training?  I don't know.
>
> Julie
>
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