Toby the Dog is not my dog but I've spent quite a bit of time with him over years. My friend has not done too much to train him and he gets a bit exuberant.
Somewhere, some time, someone must have kicked him around some and I'm sure you know that song. With Toby the Dog, it left him cowering in fear if I showed any behavior which may seem it will result in him being hit or kicked.
It's gone for a long time in getting him to understand I will not hit him, although, rarely, I will raise my voice with him. He will still cower sometimes and he may never lose that fear altogether but he slowly recovers.
That's nice, very nice, but it still does not get him trained in any way. He's a border collie and they show happiness by jumping, a lot. They're sheep and cattle dogs and they're a smart li'l firecrackers but fear is the mindkiller and you know how that goes.
The hair density on a dog is nowhere near that of a cat so he is allowed inside, after being thoroughly bathed, when it turns cold outside. His hair is short anyway so he has little protection against anything approaching severe weather.
That jumping behavior is not so endearing inside and he trusts me much more these days so I can tell him no and he may cower somewhat but not so much. It's only a few days of this and he understands I will scratch his ears for a moment if he comes around but he's really got it not to jump. He's not yet got it 100% but he is one smart li'l dog and he will.
His thinking is to jump to prod with his feet and it's the same way he may assist in herding cattle but it's not so cool when he only wants a little hello of some kind. He will probably always be overly needy in that way but he's got it so fast doing it to me is not a good idea and he knows almost perfectly I won't hit him ... but ... somewhere, some time, someone must have kicked him around some. There is no editorial on people so weak as to do such things but there are things we can do if that has ever happened.
So, the story of Toby the Dog continues and it's feeling good to see him improve and he becomes a happier dog when he's clear where the lines are.
Note: I will never, ever try to train him to do tricks. I really have no editorial on that either, I simply will not do it.
Somewhere, some time, someone must have kicked him around some and I'm sure you know that song. With Toby the Dog, it left him cowering in fear if I showed any behavior which may seem it will result in him being hit or kicked.
It's gone for a long time in getting him to understand I will not hit him, although, rarely, I will raise my voice with him. He will still cower sometimes and he may never lose that fear altogether but he slowly recovers.
That's nice, very nice, but it still does not get him trained in any way. He's a border collie and they show happiness by jumping, a lot. They're sheep and cattle dogs and they're a smart li'l firecrackers but fear is the mindkiller and you know how that goes.
The hair density on a dog is nowhere near that of a cat so he is allowed inside, after being thoroughly bathed, when it turns cold outside. His hair is short anyway so he has little protection against anything approaching severe weather.
That jumping behavior is not so endearing inside and he trusts me much more these days so I can tell him no and he may cower somewhat but not so much. It's only a few days of this and he understands I will scratch his ears for a moment if he comes around but he's really got it not to jump. He's not yet got it 100% but he is one smart li'l dog and he will.
His thinking is to jump to prod with his feet and it's the same way he may assist in herding cattle but it's not so cool when he only wants a little hello of some kind. He will probably always be overly needy in that way but he's got it so fast doing it to me is not a good idea and he knows almost perfectly I won't hit him ... but ... somewhere, some time, someone must have kicked him around some. There is no editorial on people so weak as to do such things but there are things we can do if that has ever happened.
So, the story of Toby the Dog continues and it's feeling good to see him improve and he becomes a happier dog when he's clear where the lines are.
Note: I will never, ever try to train him to do tricks. I really have no editorial on that either, I simply will not do it.
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