It's Been Almost a Year...

I have decided to dust off this ol' blog and write down some of my thoughts as of late. I still have a pack, although the players have changed a little. My Golden Retriever wasn't getting along with everyone else, and it was cause for consideration and a little bit of reading on my part. I think we have a tendancy to forget that the furry little things bouncing around by our feet, following us on walks, and wearing cute collars and sweaters are animals. They are remincsent of wolves-and I think when we forget that, we leave ourselves open to trouble. Dogs speak their own language, and it is a complex language at that. They look for us to speak it as well, and although seldom realize it, we're telling them things we may not want to. Dogs don't understand English. They can learn commands and some listen so closely it seems like they are comprehending, but they don't understand it like we think they do. Take for example, when you're out on a walk with your dog-someone comes up to pet him. Even though they are smiling, holding out a hand, and saying "Hi!"-all polite things to a human-in reality, they are displaying dominance and maybe even aggression to your canine friend. Take a minute, read a book on some dog language, and try to put yourself in your dogs' mind. It's amazing how much better you will communicate when you can learn to align your body properly and speak to your dog how he speaks. As for Brody, he hasn't been taught his own language, or he refuses to speak it. It's a shame that we deny dogs the basic luxury of being around their own kind when they are developing, at the time they need it most. Puppies need to meet other dogs and people and learn how the world works, just like a child does. Isolation is one of the cruelest things we do to our dogs-and most of the time we don't even realize we've done it. Instead of fussing at my dogs when they bark, I'm going to respond cooler and calmer. I'm going to run around the yard with them. I'm going to try to open myself up to being a dog as much as they open themselves up to being a person. It's the least I can do for them.