Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Dog person

One of my friends realy has some issues with his dogs. (no it's not you Curt if you are reading, your dogs are ok) After watching the Dog Whisperer on TV I realize that this guy's dogs are way out of control even though I have never owned a dog, I'm doing the right things when I meet them. I don't allow them to jump on me and I don't just reward them when I first meet them. I guess that explains why I got along so well with my ex-girlfriend Jane's doberman. That was a really cool dog. It was well trained to begin with, and Jane did a good job of taking control of it. And when I met that dog I did all of the right things by what I've seen on the TV show.

But if I go to the door of my friend's house and ring the bell, the dogs go crazy. And then when I go in they are all over me. They are constantly rewarded for all of the wrong behavior. What really gets me about it is I'm told I'm not a "dog person." Not a dog lover because I have a problem with this. But now I'm seeing that perhaps I'm more of a dog person than some of these dog owners. The reason I haven't been that crazy about owning a dog is because most of the people I've known who own dogs have let their dogs do whatever they wanted. It isn't the dog's fault. It's the owner's fault.

Jane's doberman was cool. I loved that dog, and I'm not a "dog person". It was well trained and we got along great. Perhaps Jane wasn't so bad after all. She understood dogs, but she certianly didn't understand me. I don't think she understood men. And I'm very well trained!

2 comments:

Diane Lowe said...

I love dogs. I sometimes wish I had one, to keep me company, but I don't have the time or resources right now to take care of him/her properly.

I astonished one woman and her friend once at a PetCo when I saw her dog, her dog saw me (I believe most dogs will instinctively know who is a dog person and who isn't), I asked her dog to sit (so that I could pet him), and he sat. She told me her dog never obeyed commands unless they came from her.

The other night my boyfriend and I were having a snack outside a bakery in Seal Beach and someone had left a cute little white dog (probably a terrier mix) secured by a leash to a park bench just outside the bakery. The dog, while quite friendly, also wanted treats (somehow I can resist my own dogs, but never others). I broke off a piece of the goodie we were eating and went over to the dog. Instead of sitting (like I asked and expected him to), the dog stood up on his hind legs and turned around in a circle. I was so impressed that I thought he deserved a treat.

I've never even heard of Dog Whisperer. Shows you how much I watch TV.

don said...

If you haven't seen that show with Cesar Millan, you would love it, as I know you love dogs.

Sometimes the dogs are so out of control nobody can visit the people, or the dogs are having some other negative impact on the people's lives. This guy shows up and re-trains the people to be able to manage the dogs and take back their lives.

It became clear to me from watching the program that one of my friends needs help and doesn't realize it.

You ring the doorbell and the dogs go crazy. They scratch the heck out of the inside of the front door, and they act like they will kill you if you go in. I just wouldn't put up with that, not to mention the rest of their behavior. They are just out of control.