Here Together We Are Leading The Way - Helping Dogs All Around The World!

This is my personal blog site, and the "hub" for sharing experiences with you. Here I advocate Cesar Millan's philosophy and ways, sharing success with you all and in the community too! Here there are many tips from my own experiences leading a pack and as a professionaly qualified Behaviourist. Bonus - some extra special insight gained from working for Cesar Millan during the UK Live Tour 2010 as Dog Handler.

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http://www.suziecrystaldogs.com/

WELCOME TO CRYSTALDOGS - WE ARE "ALWAYS DOGS FOR ALL DOGS"!

WELCOME TO CRYSTALDOGS - WE ARE "ALWAYS DOGS FOR ALL DOGS"!
It's a "Dog's Life" - 2 pack members swimming in the sea - Ava & PeterPan - "contented canines"!

Monday, 21 July 2008

What Not To Wear!

An interesting comment was made about how some owners think dogs don't like/or fear colours such as a high visibility coat - it is not the colour it is the way it changes your appearance that causes a different reaction!

Take an example from my pack - One time I put in a hat and scarf and came downstairs, a number of my dogs went into guarding overdrive! Barking at me and some backing...off some coming closer staring - which from a Doberman is the only warning one gets before they carry-out their role of serious guard dog! So very quickly I spoke to them .... nothing changed apart from slightly more inquisitive looks! I took off the hat an scarf and all was back to normal and they came over to me much more relaxed. So the hat and scarf was not something I normally wear or that they had seen me in before. I had changed my appearance yet was too far away for them to pick up my recognisable scent so they only had their eyes to use - dogs use their nose first then ears then last of all eyes. So by getting them to use their senses backwards this was not normal behaviour and their eyes are their weakest of their senses - so they did not recognise me!

It is well know in dog psychology that big winter coats can have the same impact on a dog whose owner comes home with the coat on they can get startled and even run away or worse go into attack!

So as high visibility coats are exactly that - highly visible to dogs as well!! They make you look different to a dog as your outline is how they recognise you via their eyes alone - you look different = you are different in a Dog's mind! Outside where there are so many other smells/sounds to challenge their nose/ears the chances are they may well react with an unusual behaviour towards you...it's not you...it's not the coat...it's the mixture!

So owners - "What not to wear" - remember that when we look different we may recognise ourselves (or not as the case maybe - we humans rely heavily on our eyes first and I for one have walked straight past a work mate at a weekend as they weren't in their suit I didn't recognise them!!) - so too then our dogs may not, for me I take that big winter coat off before I go inside..and the hat/scarf! For sure though a dog will get used to an owner wearing different clothes etc but others they normally greet with a welcome they may not if they look different! Oh you should have seen the Gt Dane that day - he shot off to try and hide behind a small kitchen chair - he truly believed I couldn't see him! And Gt Danes used to be guarding breeds...not anymore well not our Monty..now "hiding breed"... .Oh Yes that would be him!

Remember dogs live in the now - every single moment the context of an event may change that event making it unrecognisable - to a dog it is not completely the same as another time/similar situation - it is new and so they may act differently - more on that soon!!

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