Dogs of the World

I read a blog the other day by Robin Macfarlane, a training mentor and friend of ours in Wisconsin, and it brought back some thoughts.  She speaks of her recent trip to Greece and the noticeable difference in dog behavior compared to that of the United States.  Cesar Milan has also spoken of this in his native country of Mexico, and we have witnessed the same in Aruba and also back home in some instances.  Have you ever seen dogs in foreign countries or with a homeless person?

In the cases of dogs in Greece, Mexico, Aruba and the pets of homeless Americans, rarely do you see acts of aggression, dogs are not jumping on people, or experiencing other typical problems that people of this country frequently experience.  Dogs in other countries are sometimes treated very different then they are here; in some countries they are more welcome in public areas and they act very different.  Homeless people move forward in search for food which is provided by the owner, as well as water and anything else he may need.  They learn to cooperate and perhaps work together effectively,  and the person pushing the cart is always leading the way.  These dogs understand hierarchy, structure, pack mentality, they get enough exercise, they work for their food, and they are treated like and allowed to be dogs.

The photo below was taken during our trip to Aruba a few years ago.  Lounging by the rock is one of the many homeless dogs (well I suppose he does have a place he calls home); he lives at an old church on the coast.  We go out of our tour bus and l spotted him, he was in need of some minor vet care, but looked completely content lounging under the rock.  We also saw several dogs in lounging in people’s unfenced yards, walking along the street, and laying around the downtown areas.  In no way are we saying that homeless pets are better off, but what is the main difference between these dogs and ours?

Sometimes in America dogs are thrown birthday parties, carried in expensive purses, ribbons and bows are put into their hair, and we spoil them in so many ways.  Don’t get me wrong, we love our dogs like family, but we realize that they are dogs and are not treated as our precious little children and are not supposed to fill emotional voids in our lives.

So what does all of this mean?  Well, to you, all of us, it hopefully really drives home a point that these animals are DOGS.  That means we need to communicate with them in a way that a DOG understands, we need to be the leader that our DOG needs, we need to provide the proper balance that your DOG needs, and we have a great responsibility to our DOG to interact with them the way that makes sense to them, and not always a way that makes the most sense to us.  Love your dog, train your dog, play with your dog, be good to your dog, but remember that they are DOGS!

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