Quote:
Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl
I don't think that's entirely necessary, MothBalls. Gargamel didn't say the jobs were particularly important to him or that he needed them to get out of mom's basement. All he said was that it was frustrating. I don't know how old he is but it is pretty callous to accuse him of malingering when we don't know the situation. Maybe his dog doesn't escape regularly. Maybe he loves the dog more than he wants an easily replaceable job at a gas station or whatever.
That said, I'm not sure where he lives that people stick mail in car doors. Also, I think he needs to train his dog better, if it is in fact his dog and he does care for it. A well-trained dog will never run away when called. A really well-trained dog won't try to "get out" because it has no desire to do so. It has been trained to understand that it has a limited "jurisdiction", so to speak. Not harshly-trained, mind you, just in case anyone gets the impression.
All posited scenarios aside, it is not our place to judge someone's nature on the basis of a rant about things that happened to them in the real world where, as I'm sure we are all aware, stuff happens.
|
Kudos -- this is spot on.
I also agree that he needs to spend some time training with his dog. Remember: Every time you interact with your dog, one of you is training the other (think: What do you do if a dog drops a tennis ball in front of you? Throw it for them? They have you well-trained!). Heck, all you have to do to get the dog to come when called is to reward them when they do come. Could be giving them a dog treat, could be playing tug, heck, it could sometimes even be "Good boy. Now Go!" -- giving them the green light to run out away from you again (Premack principle, for behavior geeks). How you reward good behavior depends on the dog -- some like lamb treats most, some like playing tug more than treats, etc. You just have to know your dog.
Reading your next post on dog training, UnderseaLcpl ... you have some strange ideas on the subject. It really is simple behaviorism: Behavior that is reinforced will increase, and behavior that is punished will decrease. Saying "Oh, you have to Be The Pack Leader" seems silly -- when was the last time you confused your dog for another human? Do you really think your dog will confuse their humans for other dogs? Why do you think they'd relate to you as if you were a dog, too?
As for pack hierarchy ... the alpha of a social group eats first, and the lower ranking ones get the leftovers. When was the last time you had to beg your dog for leftovers?
Oof. Thread derail! Perhaps this topic is worth starting a new thread?