The ultimate question....

[ShrekDawg]

I don't like dogs either. Would never own another one. Cats are fantastic! They are clean. Mine shed very little. They are loving & affectionate without being noisy & over the top & they never bother the chickens. An untrained dog is an absolute menace & as most of the ones round here fall into that category I have no time for them. Packs of them are plain nasty. Know lots of you love yours & I will assume you train them well. Rarely the case round here & I know 2 things about myself:

• I don't have the time to train a dog properly
• & I don't have the pack mentality required to become the alpha pack leader a good dog requires ~ so no dogs.

You don’t need to be the alpha or have a pack mentality or anything like that to have a good dog. Just consistency, rules, and structure. Now, the time thing is another story as training DOES take quite a lot of time, years really, and then refreshing throughout their whole life. But there are plenty of well trained dogs trained with all sorts of different training methods so the whole alpha thing is definitely not a requirement or necessity by any means. You don’t need anything special to be a good dog owner.

 

[MarkJr]

@MarkJr , he's not doing what he's doing in order to make you mad. He has no idea that you have emotions. He does not even know what emotions are. He has his own reasons for why he does things. If you can figure out what motivates him, then you can solve the problem and stop the behavior. Look at it as a puzzle, a challenge. Like a video game. You have to figure out WHY he's doing what he's doing then "redirect the behavior." Change the environment so he is no longer motivated to get up there. Don't think so much in terms of punishing him. Look at the situation through his brain, his eyes. Then change what he sees, what he desires. Change the motivation, change the behavior, problem solved. You win, you're the hero, the cat is no longer a jerk, he's just a cat.

His motivation is ‘So what do those dummies keep up here that is so important I’m not allowed up here?’

I open the bedroom door or simply walk down the hall I hear feet hit the floor.

He knows dang well he’s not supposed to be up there.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Wife’s cat is 16 and a bit. Thinking him being blood thirsty and huge is why we tolerate each other.

makes sense! Meanwhile Luna is like 9 pounds she’s tiny! And she lets chipmunks, squirrels, etc. waltz on by.

 

[ShrekDawg]

His motivation is ‘So what do those dummies keep up here that is so important I’m not allowed up here?’

I open the bedroom door or simply walk down the hall I hear feet hit the floor.

He knows dang well he’s not supposed to be up there.

I really feel there is something quite interesting going by those windows every night and curtains might help

 

[MarkJr]

You don’t need to be the alpha or have a pack mentality or anything like that to have a good dog. Just consistency, rules, and structure. Now, the time thing is another story as training DOES take quite a lot of time, years really, and then refreshing throughout their

makes sense! Meanwhile Luna is like 9 pounds she’s tiny! And she lets chipmunks, squirrels, etc. waltz on by.

Theo, the wife’s cat, has brought two cottontail rabbits in the house alive. One half eaten jackrabbit, and I don’t know how many ground squirrels.

There’s disadvantages to dog doors.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Theo, the wife’s cat, has brought two cottontail rabbits in the house alive. One half eaten jackrabbit, and I don’t know how many ground squirrels.

There’s disadvantages to dog doors.

Oh wow!! I’m glad we don’t have any dog doors Luna used to be a great hunter (even if it was just bugs and mice ) but she’s gotten quite lazy in her old age lol she’s 10.

 

[Ribh]

You don’t need to be the alpha or have a pack mentality or anything like that to have a good dog. Just consistency, rules, and structure. Now, the time thing is another story as training DOES take quite a lot of time, years really, and then refreshing throughout their whole life. But there are plenty of well trained dogs trained with all sorts of different training methods so the whole alpha thing is definitely not a requirement or necessity by any means. You don’t need anything special to be a good dog owner.

I respectfully disagree. For starters you have to actually like them. I don't. I also disagree on the other 2 points. The best dogs I've seen have seen their owner as the pack leader & seen themselves as part of the pack. Everyone around me here has dogs. Very few are what I would call a good dog & in each case the dog has a very well defined place & is trained to keep its place. The worst are the ones with no structure & rule their owners. It's a very different mindset to a cat colony which is often structured to be mutually beneficial to all members with no designated leader. I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm just a cat person through & through.

 

[electrycmonk]

GMTA, my friend.

True-Dat!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I respectfully disagree. For starters you have to actually like them. I don't. I also disagree on the other 2 points. The best dogs I've seen have seen their owner as the pack leader & seen themselves as part of the pack. Everyone around me here has dogs. Very few are what I would call a good dog & in each case the dog has a very well defined place & is trained to keep its place. The worst are the ones with no structure & rule their owners. It's a very different mindset to a cat colony which is often structured to be mutually beneficial to all members with no designated leader. I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm just a cat person through & through.

That’s fine! Everyone has their own opinions and I respect that but I think we actually do agree or come close maybe but are just using different terms or misunderstanding maybe.

I am absolutely not saying to let the dog walk all over the owner or anything like that. They definitely do need structure and rules and all that. But I just don’t think they necessarily need an alpha or to be dominated to do that if I’m making any sense.

Because, for example, there are tons that compete in high levels of competition or know hundreds of tricks, etc. that train with positive reinforcement methods. I would consider those dogs highly trained. Many service dogs are trained this way as well. They are all well trained but they have definitely, as you’ve said, been trained and had structure and rules enforced from day one, just in a different way.

I should note I have no problems with balanced training or properly done corrections or even tools or anything like that btw. Every dog is different. But I think alpha/dominance is a whole different thing BUT I have noticed that many trainers on both sides use a lot of the same methods but just call it something different I think we are misunderstanding maybe.

But I totally understand where you are coming from and will leave it at that lol I think the main issue though, as you’ve stated, is untrained dogs and owners that don’t care. When the owners take the time to train, regardless of the method, the dogs are usually wonderful and a pleasure to be around rather than a pain but sadly many don’t train and also don’t exercise them either which is another huge issue. I will leave this now though as I know it can be hot topic LOL

 

[ShrekDawg]

And cats are great too