Exactly. That is what causes dogs to "bite out of the blue." Their warning signals were suppressed in the past. Dogs don't just suddenly turn aggressive fo no reason. People who are unskilled or uneducated in canine body language, communication signals, calming signals, in other words, people who believe that dogs share our value system and should understand that something is "unacceptable" train in this harsh, stern way with lots of force and corrections. We may think something is unacceptable and it is in our society. But to just "tell" a dog that this is unacceptable by a leash yank or whatever does not change his thinking about that. He does not have the conitive ability to logically reason all that out. "Oh, they don't like that thing we dogs do with our teeth to settle differences. Oh yes, that's right, they have lawyers and police." OK....this what I just did was unacceptable in their society and by their morals." No....dogs don't think like that. So, to say, that something is unacceptable doesn't get humans anywhere with dogs. Teach the dog in terms he can relate to. Dogs do things that work for them. They're opportunistic, they're selfish, they're out for themselves. They aren't out to please you. Only indirectly because by pleasing humans got them left overs and all kinds of neat stuff when they were evolving. It's about survival. They do things so they can survive, reproduce and pass on their genes. They like humans because it works to like humans. If you want your dog to do something, make it work for him too....make there be a payoff so he'll want to work for you. This is so much easier than having a power struggle and forcing a dog to work for you.
Gosh, I just wish people would try.
Gosh, I just wish people would try.
I dont know if this post was towards me or not. But if it was, I dont know where you or anyone else is getting the idea that I abuse my dogs and force them to do things. Mace, my oldest is so hard an stubborn, there is NO WAY I could force him to do something. And I hate struggling with my dog. If he/she is having some sort of issue I just remove them from the situation, or train at a later time. I really wish people would stop saying that I abuse and know nothing about canine behavior and training.