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those awful children, by the way). If you don’t train
your dog because you “respect” him, you’re making a
mistake about what training is all about: it isn’t about
asserting your dominance over your dog as much as it is
about making your dog a responsible member of your
family pack and the greater community. Just as it’s the
parents’ job to make sure their children aren’t
endangered by their lack of life experience, it is the
pet-owner’s responsibility to keep pets safe by teaching
them appropriate behavior.
That said, you do have to assert your dominance as far
your dog understands the rules of pack leadership, or
you’ll end up with a dog who believes he has more rights
than you. Egalitarianism doesn’t work for a dog because
he sees the world in a model that says there should
always be a leader: if you’re not the leader, he will
be. Someone’s got to be in charge, and that someone had
better be you. Not taking charge is a way of avoiding
responsibility – a common social problem these days.
It’s also a great way to get bitten by a dog who sees
your refusal to assert dominance as an acknowledgment of
your subordination.
If you don’t train your dog because he makes you nervous
or afraid, then there is a much larger problem: the dog
has assumed the leadership position in your pack. Since
you are the one who could end up in jail if Fido bites
someone, you are the leader, whether you’re comfortable
with that or not. If you’re even a little bit afraid
of your dog, hire a professional trainer to work with
you and the dog until your position is clear to all
three of you. If you remain afraid of your dog
(maybe you inherited the animal, or his background has
made him intractable), give the dog to someone who can
manage him.
Training is preferable to buying gadgets: it is more
reliable; it builds your relationship with your dog and
addresses the reasons for barking rather than just
considering the barking as an isolated problem. Gadgets
don’t work for all dogs; they range from mildly
unpleasant to downright traumatic, and it’s hard to tell
how any particular dog will be affected by a specific
device. A collar that stops one dog from barking in two
days may cause another dog to become confused, depressed
or even aggressive. Some dogs will take note of the
stinky collars; others won’t even notice the smell. You
just can’t tell with devices, whereas with training, you
usually get good results as long as you, (the trainer)
are consistent and steady. But in some cases, training
may not work for you or for your dog, in which case you
may decide to invest in some anti-barking paraphernalia.
Here’s a summary of available anti-barking devices.
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